First of all, it is important to know that Nissan Leaf has a automated charging timer function. I got confused by this settings and I believe that was the reason why I could not charge at first.
This timer is in the dashboard settings. On the steering wheel, select the settings icon, in the EV settings, select charging timer and make sure both charging timers are off. After this is done you may connect the public charger to start charging immediately.
If this function is ON, the car will wait and not charge. This is because if the current time is not in it’s set charging duration, it will not charge.
Had huge issue charging the car at first and found out it wasn’t the charger’s issue wasn’t the charger, it was my lack of knowledge with the car. 😄
Understand your car and make sure you know any automatic cut off your vehicle may have built in.
With that most important information out of the way, it is actually quite tortuous to charge this EV in public charging stations. #1, it does not have CCS Plug so most public charging stations in Singapore are not compatible. The Nissan Leaf has a CHAdeMO connector which is the Japanese standard that is actually safer than the CCS system that a few electricity contractors could agree on. Unfortunately, Singapore went with the American standard and hence you see more CCS connectors instead of CHAdeMOs.
So how do I charge my Nissan Leaf in Singapore? I only have the type 2 AC charger port and solely relying on this has been a pain but with that also comes a positive point. My car’s battery is well taken care of at least. I have no option to fast charge easily and hence the battery is definitely in better health condition than other EVs on the road.
