Heater core replacement
Post date: Mar 28, 2015 8:35:21 PM
Since there will be no running engine making hot water, and the controller/electric motor do not produce enough heat, there is no way to defrost the windshield. Either we add a separate hot water heater that re-uses the original heater core inside the car, or we put in an electric heater and blow through it with the original fan. The Nissan Leaf uses a reversible heat pump to achieve efficient heating and cooling, but this is a step too far for us.
So, we sourced two 750W 110V ceramic heaters from a Chinese supplier at Aliexpress with the idea to put them inside the original air distribution box:
When applying current to the heaters, they keep heating and their resistance falls, increasing the power draw even more, until the bolted-on thermostat interrupts at about 160 C. After one try, one thermostat broke already and stayed open.