my Renault Zoe (2013) has LV (low Voltage/12V DC) PTC heaters in it at a maximum of 1800w - suppose to supplement the heat pump system in cold weather , but when my heatpump packed up once I enabled the PTC heater to run and at least it gave me some heat in the car which was better than none at all
I was looking to buy a 2012 Nissan Leaf about 18 months ago which was listed for a very reasonable price and in fantastic condition for the age with no loss of battery bars. It had an interesting history as it was a UK model but never registered here, it was exported to Singapore where it spent its whole life before it was shipped back for sale. I test drove it, inspected the health with LeafSpy and ended up putting down a deposit pending the service to be done by Nissan. Unfortunately it fell through because of the PTC heater part had failed when they did the inspection and it was going to cost £1000s to fix, they said they’d also need to dismantle a lot of the car to get to it which no longer made the sale financially viable for the vendor. I think it was only the very early Leaf that used this but something to be aware of (I test drove it on probably the hottest day in 2019 so wouldn’t have noticed the broken heater). Wasn’t all bad news though because the day it fell through a 22kW Zoe ended up being listed on a local EV group for an excellent price which I ended up getting.
Mike you got a good deal on your ptc heater. I have a 2012 leaf your one looks very simalre to mine. Anyway my ptc heater failed took it to rip off nissan charged me plus labour 3500 quid. The heater was worth more than the car. Spent a number of months without a heater. I managed to source a part from the US and also managed to get a garage to fix it. Be very wary of leaf that use the Ptc common failure and very expensive to fix.
Its exactly the same part. If you want to see more on this subject, see this page and the links at the bottom www.gogreenautos.co.uk/how-tos/renault-kangoo-ptc-heater
I'd suggest sending to / contacting bigclivedotcom on youtube. He's great at taking electronics apart and diagnosing problems. You may not get it back, but he'll certainly let you know what the problem is :)
I heard and according to the owners manual that it is not recommended to use full fan speed with the heater full on. I only use it on the first speed and it's more than adequate. Maybe the elements are being used too hard by people expecting it to work with a fan at full blast which is not what the manual recommends.
Its just a water heater, so fan speed should make any difference. Its probably stating that in the manual more to converse energy as you could soon suck out the heat and make the heater work at maximum for little gain.
You could be right, PTC heaters are self regulating, if the fan is running at full speed more cold water will be flowing over or around the element and it will have to pass more current to maintain its temperature.
@@Bernie_the_Bolt I think there is something in this because it seems odd that a vehicle designed to such a high standard has such a defective part. It may be to do with incorrect use of the heater.
@@stephenhayes50 Having watched the video that Matt has linked to it appears the heater is not well made, but it could be the harder it is required to work the more likely it is to fail
Mine has gone in my leaf now. Please can i have that one to try to repair it for my muxsan leaf. I think the issue is poor soldering on the lowest level of of the pcb that connects to the elements. The leaf ones are supposed to be 5kw so maybe its not the same but id gladly try to mend it for my car.
@@matematic7240 Everyone worries about battery packs, but these are one of the most reliable components on an EV and in most cases will outlast the vehicle. True, inverters, chargers, heaters etc are expensive but generally are very reliable too. Costs will reduce. The main problem now is that dealerships don't have the diagnostic skills, so labour costs too much for repairs. This will and is changing though. See some of Cleevely EV's videos. Overall, though, EVs are hugely more reliable than ICE vehicles...far less moving parts, far less wear and in reality, the repair costs aren't any more expensive than modern ICE vehicles either when fixed at main dealers. I hear some horror stories about modern ICE vehicles and their costs!
@@matematic7240 Yes these heaters are for the cabin heater, but they heat up water which then gets pumped around the heater system..in the same way a ICE vehicles pumps hot water into the cabin heater matrix.
In the UK, the 22kWh vans were 2011-2017 models. From late 2017 they were 33kWh. Only the 33kWh vans had heat pumps and I think possibly only the vans with air conditioning too.
@@GoGreenAutos Its a bit of a odd one, 2019 maxi, with the 22kw pack and Continental engine, but I have aircon, and no idea about the heater, Its just came out of warranty and the check electrical system has popped up, think its time for some 3rd party extended warranty type break down insurance, That heater thing in NZ would be like $2500 by the time you convert it and pay the Kiwi tax. Has just done over 60k Km's so far
@@MINIDISK111111 Yes thats the old motor used in the 22kWh models. This was discontinued in early 2017 in the UK. I see your have air conditioning too, but that will have a PTC heater (if the same as the UK models). Is the AC charger 3.6kW or 7kW?
my Renault Zoe (2013) has LV (low Voltage/12V DC) PTC heaters in it at a maximum of 1800w - suppose to supplement the heat pump system in cold weather , but when my heatpump packed up once I enabled the PTC heater to run and at least it gave me some heat in the car which was better than none at all
I was looking to buy a 2012 Nissan Leaf about 18 months ago which was listed for a very reasonable price and in fantastic condition for the age with no loss of battery bars. It had an interesting history as it was a UK model but never registered here, it was exported to Singapore where it spent its whole life before it was shipped back for sale. I test drove it, inspected the health with LeafSpy and ended up putting down a deposit pending the service to be done by Nissan. Unfortunately it fell through because of the PTC heater part had failed when they did the inspection and it was going to cost £1000s to fix, they said they’d also need to dismantle a lot of the car to get to it which no longer made the sale financially viable for the vendor. I think it was only the very early Leaf that used this but something to be aware of (I test drove it on probably the hottest day in 2019 so wouldn’t have noticed the broken heater).
Wasn’t all bad news though because the day it fell through a 22kW Zoe ended up being listed on a local EV group for an excellent price which I ended up getting.
Thank you , Matt. That was interesting. I see Nikki ('Transport Evolved') published a video on electric car heaters just today also.
Thanks, will watch that.
Mike you got a good deal on your ptc heater. I have a 2012 leaf your one looks very simalre to mine. Anyway my ptc heater failed took it to rip off nissan charged me plus labour 3500 quid. The heater was worth more than the car. Spent a number of months without a heater. I managed to source a part from the US and also managed to get a garage to fix it. Be very wary of leaf that use the Ptc common failure and very expensive to fix.
Its exactly the same part.
If you want to see more on this subject, see this page and the links at the bottom www.gogreenautos.co.uk/how-tos/renault-kangoo-ptc-heater
I'd suggest sending to / contacting bigclivedotcom on youtube. He's great at taking electronics apart and diagnosing problems.
You may not get it back, but he'll certainly let you know what the problem is :)
I have been informed of the problem...clearly a bad design overall - see ev-olution.yolasite.com/Nissan-Leaf-Heater-Fault.php
Great idea.. I follow BigClive too.. he would be your man for stripping and see if it could be repaired 👍
I heard and according to the owners manual that it is not recommended to use full fan speed with the heater full on. I only use it on the first speed and it's more than adequate. Maybe the elements are being used too hard by people expecting it to work with a fan at full blast which is not what the manual recommends.
Its just a water heater, so fan speed should make any difference. Its probably stating that in the manual more to converse energy as you could soon suck out the heat and make the heater work at maximum for little gain.
@@GoGreenAutos understood, thanks
You could be right, PTC heaters are self regulating, if the fan is running at full speed more cold water will be flowing over or around the element and it will have to pass more current to maintain its temperature.
@@Bernie_the_Bolt I think there is something in this because it seems odd that a vehicle designed to such a high standard has such a defective part. It may be to do with incorrect use of the heater.
@@stephenhayes50 Having watched the video that Matt has linked to it appears the heater is not well made, but it could be the harder it is required to work the more likely it is to fail
It seems like mine give up. How long should you wait for warm air to start blowing from the start? Is there any fuse to check before I start to worry?
The heater should be pushing warm out in about 15 seconds or so.
As for fuses, I'm not sure, but I suspect there is.
Mine has gone in my leaf now. Please can i have that one to try to repair it for my muxsan leaf. I think the issue is poor soldering on the lowest level of of the pcb that connects to the elements. The leaf ones are supposed to be 5kw so maybe its not the same but id gladly try to mend it for my car.
It's probably produced in a very small quantities, which is why the price is so high.
Not that small...Renault have sold 58,000 Kangoo ZE's !
@@matematic7240 Everyone worries about battery packs, but these are one of the most reliable components on an EV and in most cases will outlast the vehicle. True, inverters, chargers, heaters etc are expensive but generally are very reliable too. Costs will reduce. The main problem now is that dealerships don't have the diagnostic skills, so labour costs too much for repairs. This will and is changing though. See some of Cleevely EV's videos.
Overall, though, EVs are hugely more reliable than ICE vehicles...far less moving parts, far less wear and in reality, the repair costs aren't any more expensive than modern ICE vehicles either when fixed at main dealers. I hear some horror stories about modern ICE vehicles and their costs!
@@matematic7240 Cleevley EV is www.cleevelyev.co.uk/ . They don't have a YT channel, but videos are posted by James here th-cam.com/users/James0852
@@matematic7240 Yes these heaters are for the cabin heater, but they heat up water which then gets pumped around the heater system..in the same way a ICE vehicles pumps hot water into the cabin heater matrix.
I have a 22kw/h 2019 over here in nz, how do I tell if i have a heat pump or a 400v kettle?
In the UK, the 22kWh vans were 2011-2017 models. From late 2017 they were 33kWh. Only the 33kWh vans had heat pumps and I think possibly only the vans with air conditioning too.
@@GoGreenAutos Its a bit of a odd one, 2019 maxi, with the 22kw pack and Continental engine, but I have aircon, and no idea about the heater, Its just came out of warranty and the check electrical system has popped up, think its time for some 3rd party extended warranty type break down insurance, That heater thing in NZ would be like $2500 by the time you convert it and pay the Kiwi tax. Has just done over 60k Km's so far
Heres the car: imgur.com/a/FF21wFh
@@MINIDISK111111 Yes thats the old motor used in the 22kWh models. This was discontinued in early 2017 in the UK.
I see your have air conditioning too, but that will have a PTC heater (if the same as the UK models). Is the AC charger 3.6kW or 7kW?
@@GoGreenAutos 3.6 unfortunately
Use a camper van heater 120 pounds