How hard is it to pop out the battery and change it?

[stone]

A little fun here. I know the battery is a gigantic thing integrated into
the bottom of the car.

But check out this article about battery improvements. With this
'engineered' carbon, it sounds like it might be possible for newer
and improved batteries to come into existence while you own
your vehicle.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57376855-76/engineered-carbon-gives-batteries-ultracaps-a-boost/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Is there any provision for battery replacement?

Thanks.

 

[Ingineer]

Not that hard. Remove the plastic covering the bottom of the car, disconnect the connectors, remove the bolts and the whole thing lowers down.

It takes even a first-timer less than an hour. A fast shop with a nice hydraulic lift could likely do it in less than 15 minutes.

-Phil

 

[Randy]

Ah, but that's the easy part. It's what you replace it with that will take a long of time to engineer and package up so it meshes with all the existing signaling, measurements, and controls...

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Ah, but that's the easy part. It's what you replace it with that will take a long of time to engineer and package up so it meshes with all the existing signaling, measurements, and controls...

What is the possibility for someone other than Nissan to create "clone" modules in the future? Either with the same or higher capacity? Would that involve software modifications to other things in the car?

 

[TomT]

Unless it is a direct replacement and of identical specs, it is almost a certainty that other systems modifications would be required.

What is the possibility for someone other than Nissan to create "clone" modules in the future? Either with the same or higher capacity? Would that involve software modifications to other things in the car?

 

[adric22]

Unless it is a direct replacement and of identical specs, it is almost a certainty that other systems modifications would be required.

What is the possibility for someone other than Nissan to create "clone" modules in the future? Either with the same or higher capacity? Would that involve software modifications to other things in the car?

I would imagine an aftermarket battery pack could be designed, possibly with superior cells (assuming they exist at a later date) but they would need to re-engineer a brand new battery pack ECU. I am HOPING that the rest of the car doesn't really care as long as it gets the voltages it needs to operate. I would think the battery ECU shouldn't be too hard to reverse engineer and duplicate. I'm even somewhat hopeful that the battery ECU is what tells the car how much energy is left in the battery and what its state of degradation is. I would "think" that if you replaced a worn battery with a brand new one, the battery degradation gauge would reset, since it would get that info from the battery ECU. If I designed the car, that is how I would make it.

So I'm going to go out on a limb and say that a Leaf could be designed to operate with anything from lead-acid, NiMh, or Lithium as long as the battery ECU is programmed properly to handle the battery. I could be wrong on this, but I hope I am not. So I wouldn't rule out the possibility that 5 or 10 years down the road we could replace our current battery packs with one that would give us 150 miles range. AND that the screen on the dash would properly reflect that information. But it will all depend on if any company decides to invest the engineering effort to do it.

 

[Ingineer]

Nissan made the system modular. The Battery ECU (LBC) is located inside the pack housing. It manages the pack and reports limits to the rest of the Leaf's systems. (Charging, drive, etc)

It would be relatively simple to substitute a new pack technology with a new battery ECU. I've done exactly this in a Prius several years ago.

-Phil

 

[smkettner]

As long as the new battery technology operates at the same voltage I don't think any change would be needed to make the swap.
Could even have its own internal BMS if needed.

Please post when I can click and buy a 150+ mile replacement for under $2,000

 

[stone]

Wouldn't it be nice if you could drive into a place
and quickly switch out the battery pack for the
cost of a charge plus a small fee.

This would be engineering!

Perhaps something like a drive through car wash, but instead
your battery is getting changed out down below, and you drive off
after swiping your credit card.

Useful engineering, like this never seems to happen
in our short range world.

 

[Ingineer]

Wouldn't it be nice if you could drive into a place
and quickly switch out the battery pack for the
cost of a charge plus a small fee.

This would be engineering!

Perhaps something like a drive through car wash, but instead
your battery is getting changed out down below, and you drive off
after swiping your credit card.

Useful engineering, like this never seems to happen
in our short range world.

Someone tried this, so far it's not doing well.

-Phil

 

[Bern101]

Hi Ingineer,

I have this crazy idea :

I can have a Nissan Leaf battery pack from a wrecked car.

I will put it on a trailer with an aerodynamic cover.

All wires from the 2 battery packs (the one under the car and the one in the trailer) will go to some kind of a master switchbox connected to the system of the car (Inverter, charger, computer)

I just want to switch beetween the two battery pack when the car is stopped and not running, I will do the same thing for charging.

Do you think it is possible to do that ?

 

[Ingineer]

Hi Ingineer,

I have this crazy idea :

I can have a Nissan Leaf battery pack from a wrecked car.

I will put it on a trailer with an aerodynamic cover.

All wires from the 2 battery packs (the one under the car and the one in the trailer) will go to some kind of a master switchbox connected to the system of the car (Inverter, charger, computer)

I just want to switch beetween the two battery pack when the car is stopped and not running, I will do the same thing for charging.

Do you think it is possible to do that ?

Of course it's possible, but it's going to be a big hassle and a lot of expense. You'll now have a heavy trailer to tow. You'll probably end up spending more on that rig than on another Leaf. You could likely save money (and hassle) and just park a second Leaf at your usual destination and then swap cars, effectively doubling your range, and then not needing to tow both back and forth! =)

-Phil

 

[cwerdna]

Regarding Better Place, http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=245223#p245223" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; is the start of some of the bad news that keeps streaming out of them. All indications (to me) is that they're toast.

 

[Bern101]

Hi Ingineer,

I have this crazy idea :

I can have a Nissan Leaf battery pack from a wrecked car.

I will put it on a trailer with an aerodynamic cover.

All wires from the 2 battery packs (the one under the car and the one in the trailer) will go to some kind of a master switchbox connected to the system of the car (Inverter, charger, computer)

I just want to switch beetween the two battery pack when the car is stopped and not running, I will do the same thing for charging.

Do you think it is possible to do that ?

Of course it's possible, but it's going to be a big hassle and a lot of expense. You'll now have a heavy trailer to tow. You'll probably end up spending more on that rig than on another Leaf. You could likely save money (and hassle) and just park a second Leaf at your usual destination and then swap cars, effectively doubling your range, and then not needing to tow both back and forth! =)

-Phil

Hi Ingineer

Thank you for the answer.

My usual week commute is around 20-35 miles each day, (no problem with my Leaf) but the week-end I would like to have a range of around 100-110 miles.(and I can not afford a Tesla S)

I understand that I will not double my 70 miles range to 140 miles with the second battery pack on a trailer because of the weight and drag, but I expect 100-110 miles.

I can have A Nissan Leaf battery pack for 6000$, I have found the hitch on Ebay for around 200$, I estimate the price of the trailer with an aerodynamic cover at 1000$ and maybe 500$-700$ for the wires and switchbox for a total of around 8000$
It is least expensive that your solution of a second Leaf and more practical I think.

My question for you now: When you disconnect the battery pack on the Nissan Leaf and you reconnect it, does the car start right now or you have to perform some kind of resset with a specialised Nissan computer ?

 

[Bern101]

Hi again

This is I would like to be able to do :

http://www.ebuggy.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[adric22]

You could likely save money (and hassle) and just park a second Leaf at your usual destination and then swap cars, effectively doubling your range, and then not needing to tow both back and forth! =)

Hahaha.. I've said the same thing when people talk about battery swap stations. I've said it would be more economical to swap the whole car by having a fleet of charged up Leafs at various stations as you drive across country. Ridiculous, I know, but would still be more economically feasible than the battery swap stations.

 

[stone]

I think you guys are being too hard on the battery swap idea.

If the car and battery were designed from the beginning to
be swapped, it could work very easily. And as time and
battery technology progress, it would be even better.

But in the mean time, how about a towed generator trailer?
That's the ticket, yeah!
Heh!

 

[EV1]

But in the mean time, how about a towed generator trailer?
That's the ticket, yeah!
Heh!

Classic:

 

[stone]

Ah, classic idea. see:

I like this! I would even like it more if it were more utilitarian, more clunky.
Like something with a big propane tank, or diesel, or even wood burning.

Or better yet, coal.

 

[cwerdna]

I think you guys are being too hard on the battery swap idea.

If the car and battery were designed from the beginning to
be swapped, it could work very easily. And as time and
battery technology progress, it would be even better.

There are some huge issues related to swapping. Some of them were touched upon in http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=232471#p232471" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=232486#p232486" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=277159#p277159" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

Think about it more carefully and why Better Place has failed. It's very costly to build and staff the stations, develop the technology, keep enough spare charged packs on hand, etc. And, why would automakers WANT to standardize on a particular spec (form factor, chemistry, capacity, etc.) for a battery pack? Each wants to differentiate their EV from the others and have an advantage.

I'll reply more when I have some time.