SHENZHEN FACTORY TECHNOLOGY battery packs- is it real?

[MikeinPA]

It falls under the same thing I have done with older cars that are modified with a different engine.

Building fast ICE cars is something we are all familiar with--not scary at all to most (although they should be). EV battery fires, on the other hand, are already feared by many. Just look at the coverage every single EV fire gets, despite the fact the ICE fires are five time more likely per mile driven than EVs. If we do get EV fires that can be traced to modified packs, I expect that eventually EV inspections will include verifying the pack is not modified, and EV insurance will also require showing pack is not modified. Time will tell.

 

[CherarD]

I recently bought a 50kWh kit from VIVNE (Shenzen Factory), going to use it on a e-nv200.

I guess I'll have to wait like a couple of months until it arrives to Barcelona (spain). The kit comes with an original reprogrammed BMS and all the cells are from CATL.

I'll keep you updated

 

[JMTUT]

I can see your point. I rebuilt a Pontiac Fiero in 2015. That car had less than .05% of the cars catch fire in the 80s due to an engine failure/recall and the car is still known as the car that "catches on fire spontaneously". No way to gauge where public opinion and regulations are going to go in advance...

 

[MikeinPA]

Looking forward to your report on the battery upgrade.

I just wish Nissan or AESC would make a repack kit.

 

[sfewings]

I've been watching this thread to see people's experience with these replacement cells as I have a ZE0 with 55% SOH that I will eventually replace.
There is some risk involved, that will always be the case. But it is not a complex problem. Current LiFePO cells are safe and reliable. It feels like the issues raised within this thread are simple teething issues. And they will be solved. I'm just waiting for the 50% SOH trigger to put an order in for one of these kits.

 

[cornbinder89]

I just wish Nissan or AESC would make a repack kit.

Neither will likely do that. liability lawyers in both companies would be a vote against. The fact is that very few percent of Leaf owners would be willing to shell out for a new "re-pack" of the original cells, if upgrades are done then they would be "on the hook" for the quality of the Canbridge and program.
There might be a case made, for a company that could buy up spent Leaf's and re place battery packs on a large enough scale to interest the top end battery mfg.
The problem then becomes can the re-sell the referbed car at a profit while competing against the cheap used Leaf's on the market? My guess is no, at least at present.

 

[MikeinPA]

What I am imagining is that AESC/Nissan (who have made the leaf cells/modules from the start) would crank out some 40 kWh modules, an updated LBC, and a firmware update for the VCM so that owner of 24 kWh vehicles can just have a shop repack the battery. All certified by Nissan like any other repair part. Car makes do something similar with crate engines, Ford Chevy Chevy even does an Ecrate package of electric motor and batteries. https://www.chevrolet.com/performance-parts/ecrate

I think at 250$ to 300$/ kWh Nissan would make a profit, and do a lot to buff up their image in my view.

But I do appreciate your idea of scaling up a remanufacturing line. Sadly--the world doesn't really care about rebuilding things as an alternative to new build. Unless its a B52 or something like that.

 

[ZE0SV]

Current LiFePO cells are safe and reliable. It feels like the issues raised within this thread are simple teething issues. And they will be solved.

Unfortunately it’s not that simple, LiFePO cells operate at a lower voltage, simply building a pack like this would require a whole new BMS among other things. I’m afraid NMC battery tech is what is safest when considering any aftermarket kits for the leaf. I have a ZE0 with about 41% SOH and 22.5% Hx I’m right there with you when it comes to needing a replacement. All I’m saying is, do the appropriate research before taking any action with your own vehicle, you don’t want to mess with too many variables.

 

[AdventureMuffin]

2024 now. I have purchased similar from YASTE, hoping to pickup my battery this week.
Can you update on your experience?
I will be self installing, purchasing insulating gloves etc. don't mind admitting a little scared as my industrial experience has both prepared me for this and provided sufficient knowledge of the risk to not be complacent.

I am considering the same. How was your experience? Installation directions clear, product works as promised?

 

[DougWantsALeaf]

I just saw this new 75kWh Leaf Pack advertised.

 

[EVPowers]

I am considering the same. How was your experience? Installation directions clear, product works as promised?

All of these installs have some kind of quirks upon installation.
Have low expectations and have lots of room for "looking the other way" when it comes to anomalies on the dash, hiccups in installation process, incorrect or confusing directions, head scratching quality issues, etc.

Most of the things are not complete show stoppers, and it is within the realm of what is to be expected in race-to-the bottom pricing for this kind of product.

Be realistic. It ain't gonna be perfect. Come on, you already know that, right?

If you are going to be nit picky and demand OEM quality and standards, these products are not for you.
Seriously. Don't do it if you are in that kind of mindset.

If you are willing to risk getting a dud, don't mind having some weird behavior at times, are ok with having some down time while sorting through issues, and can be patient with customer service that is half a globe away, you'll save some money and be a test subject that others can watch.

When it works it'll be great. When it breaks, it's gonna suck.

Edit: and as always, I'm happy to chat about this topic via phone anytime. Just call my shop at the number in my signature (Madison, WI, USA)

 

[Lester]

My 68kWh pack is going very well, zero issues so far with it.

Updates?

 

[Riore]

Updates?

I've only put 4000kms on the clock but it's still going well.

 

[safetyuggs]

@MikeinPA You can reflash a BMS with whatever capacity, cell voltage tables, SOC tables, Max charge/discharge rate, and any other parmater you wish to choose. It's not a mystery and doesn't require any proof or video of the procedure. The Balancing 'algorithm' isn't outdated and unsafe like others have mentioned. They simply discharge the highest voltage cells to match adjacent cells. If the internal resistance and capacity of the CATL cells are well matched then balancing won't be used as heavily as missmatched cells. It appears both VIVNE and YASTE use genuine CATL cells. If they are genuine then each cell has a barcode and each barcode has cell capacity and internal resistance data to best match cells in a pack.

I have a YASTE kit on its way, due in a week or two. It doesn't include a reflashed BMS, rather a can bridge and from other forums and feedback from people that have done this mod, YASTE is the only supplier that has a bug free can-bridge that won't trigger turtle mode or miss-report capacity and range.

A reflashed BMS is the 'correct' way in my opinion to do this conversions but Vivne are the only company offering the service at I think it was $700USD last time I looked. The reflash takes only minutes, doesn't even need the BMS opened or removed from the battery pack. A few people involved with the process have sent me various calibration files to reflash to BMS's to correct capacity, discharge curves etc. I have a thread on my reverse engineering attempts and hope to have a free solution to reflash these BMS's via the OBD2 port.

You can read more info about this project in the thread.

 

[JMTUT]

Installation is scheduled for next week. I'll update after.

I realize this isn't for Used batteries but I said I would update.... My experience was very good with Greentec. It did take 2 weeks longer because they had to order a water pump from Nissan. So far I haven't seen any issues with home charging at 110V.
Temperature has dropped here recently so with heater on I'm seeing ~ 140 miles range (165 Eco) at 35F temperatures outside. No glitches in charging or turtle mode. It does have a can bus installed as it is a 40kWh battery in 2012 leaf. I have just starting charging to 80% using the option in the control panel on the car. Have charged from 60 miles range to full charge.
I do notice that the estimator for charge time has not been accurate. (predicted 17 hrs on 110v and only took 10 hours overnight to finish.
I will continue to monitor this as I intend to keep this car until the wheels fall off and I might need a new battery in few years.
Thanks to everyone willing to trailblaze.

 

[proflutz]

@MikeinPA ...

A reflashed BMS is the 'correct' way in my opinion to do this conversions but Vivne are the only company offering the service at I think it was $700USD last time I looked. The reflash takes only minutes, doesn't even need the BMS opened or removed from the battery pack. A few people involved with the process have sent me various calibration files to reflash to BMS's to correct capacity, discharge curves etc. I have a thread on my reverse engineering attempts and hope to have a free solution to reflash these BMS's via the OBD2 port.

Pardon my newb question, but why the BMS has to be reflashed? Is it because the chemistry is changed? ex from LMO to NMC? If it's the same chemistry, shouldn't any good BMS learn the new capacity? And use the same charging algorithm? I've read the VIVNE reprogramming service page but there's no technical explanation. Is this because of VIN serialisation?

And why a CAN bridge is usefull if the BMS is not reflashed? I thought the BMS was inside the battery pack, the bridge is between what and what?

[EDIT: I found this https://evsenhanced.com/products/battery-translator/, it clarifies a lot of things]

thx!

PS: (I'm a 2013 Leaf owner looking for a retrofit).

 

[ExCodeTel ExCodeTel]

I am actually hoping I will never need this battery from China since my current 40kw one is in good shape at 5 years old. But it is never bad to have this kind of option if really needed one day.

I can tell you the information that I got, the ship comes to a shipyard in Croatia, Rijeka. It is possible to pay only the freight to there and then take it directly from the shipyard if you have a way to carry the cells or the whole battery pack yourself. This would cut a lot of the cost.

The offer I got for a 62kw pack is:
Price + shipping for the full pack with case - USD7450 delivery to port Rijeka, USD8350 delivery to door.

So 900 dollars less if you come get it yourself, for me it's not so far away, 2h drive.
My idea was to get in touch with a local mechanic in Rijeka and do the swap there with their help.

But it is a lot of money, even though they claim this is the entire cost, taxes included, I am a bit skeptical.

Hybrid Tek - it seems they are using the same CATL cells as Robert from China but they are in Hungary. From what i google, this would be much simpler for Lucky and myself as it is a neighboring country.
Under their products page it seems like battery upgrade for Leaf is already available. We should get in touch and ask for a quote.

Hello Astral, and these Hybrid Tek from Hungary, have they website or facebook or something? because i cannot find them and we are also Hungary neighbour. Thank you

 

[leafy greens]

Just by sheer luck, this video popped up on youtube today, and it turns out to be a local NZ business that can do battery upgrades for Nissan Leaf. It isnt their main business and they did the upgrades for their friends and family, hence never advertised it!


Looks like I will be saving up money to get my pack upgraded with them. I reckon it will work out to be same if I ordered a pack from VIVNE, when all the additional costs are taken into account (shipping, customs, garage rental/hire to do the swap).

Very excited and happy to have found someone local who can sort it out! yay!

Do we know where in NZ these guys are?

 

[noelho]

Do we know where in NZ these guys are?

Yeah. They are in Silverdale, Auckland.

Dion runs a computer recycling shop in addition to replacing batteries for cars.

Thats his website but its only for the pc recycling. He didnt update it for EV replacement.
https://freecomputerrecycling.co.nz/

I've been holding off on the upgrade myself, because of the US/NZD exchange rate. It was 1.4 when I was looking at upgrading, but its now at 1.7!

In other news, VIVNE have released two videos. One is their custom OBD2 reader, so you dont need a phone + leafspy to get up to date battery details:


And the other is a video of how they update the BMS parameters for battery capacity:

 

[almacd64]

Just FYI, I have a VIVNE 50kwh kit in transit for my eNV200. Shipped the other day. I'll probably do a little video of the fitting process. I really like VIVNE so far, they've been good to deal with. Great communication, and questions answered instantly. Nothing that doesn't make sense from a technical perspective. Looks like they use a specialised international battery shipper for the packs too, these guys, I did google translate as the website is all in Chinese. Again, looks to be all above board and well thought out. https://www-an--yun-net.translate.g...l=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp