Problem Installing 2015 Battery in 2012 LEAF

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alembic42

Active member
Joined
Oct 31, 2016
Messages
26
Hi,
I purchased a 2015 battery for my 2012 LEAF. I have a mechanic who claims to have done this twice before but neither he nor i knew that the connections were different. (We did understand that it requires a reset to make the VCM recognize the new battery, and he says he has a tool to do this reset.)

The 2012 battery has two connections and the 2015 battery has 3 connections. There is a High Voltage connection in the middle that appears to connect fine, but the round black (data?) connection does not have the same kind of plug. I understand that the third connection just needs to be sealed.

At the moment the 2015 battery is installed in my car, but he's not able to make the black cable fit into the black plug.

Is there an adapter for this?

Before you lecture me about doing my research, i want to emphasize that i have been trying very hard to get a straight answer on this. The dealer will not give me any meaningful information, Nissan won't help, i did find some info on this forum but it didn't address these connections - i didn't realize this was an issue.

Can someone please help me figure out how to get my car running? Hoping to have an awesome LEAF when I'm done. This battery supposedly has 12 bars and 97% SOH.

I'm aware that it's possible, but a lot more work, to swap out the cells from each battery. Is that what i have to do?? I bought all the other gear that I thought i needed to make the 2015 battery directly fit in my car. From this page: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=24272

I have pictures of the different connections but i do not know how to post them.

Thanks so much.
 
It's more manual work, but doable with the parts you have.

-Open up both packs
-Remove everything from both packs
-Use the 2012 shell
-Use the 2012 BMS / wiring / Contactors / heaterpads
-Use the 2015 cells
-Seal up the battery
 
Dala said:
It's more manual work, but doable with the parts you have.

-Open up both packs
-Remove everything from both packs
-Use the 2012 shell
-Use the 2012 BMS / wiring / Contactors / heaterpads
-Use the 2015 cells
-Seal up the battery
...that's what i was afraid of... but there must have been a way it was done on these other cars? is that really what the dealership does? thanks
 
alembic42 said:
Dala said:
It's more manual work, but doable with the parts you have.

-Open up both packs
-Remove everything from both packs
-Use the 2012 shell
-Use the 2012 BMS / wiring / Contactors / heaterpads
-Use the 2015 cells
-Seal up the battery
...that's what i was afraid of... but there must have been a way it was done on these other cars? is that really what the dealership does? thanks

They use CONSULT3+ to reprogram the VCM to accept the new BMS. Maybe that is the tool your mechanic has access to?

But the CAN port, hmm
Here is a pic of the old style battery, on the right side is the CAN port.
030.jpg

Are you sure that the ports are different? If so, the dealership probably uses the CAN-adapter that you speak of. Then all you need is the adapter, or a way to fashion your own. After all it is just wires, but I don't know if someone here has made their own adapter...
 
alembic42 said:
Hi,
I purchased a 2015 battery for my 2012 LEAF.
...
Before you lecture me about doing my research, i want to emphasize that i have been trying very hard to get a straight answer on this. The dealer will not give me any meaningful information, Nissan won't help, i did find some info on this forum but it didn't address these connections - i didn't realize this was an issue.
Of course not. The dealer simply needs to order the right pack and adapter kit for the vehicle in question. There are multiple different part numbers.
I can't provide any direct help, but read the posts by Cor at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=21997.

Off the top of my head, what Dala suggested sounds like the best method.
 
There is an adapter kit required to fit the 2013+ style battery into the 2011/12 model Leaf. If you search here, you can probably find the part numbers needed. The dealer service department should be able to look them up. This also requires pairing the new battery to the car. Since you are not ordering the battery from the dealer, they are not likely to be much help.

The cell swap from the 2015 pack into the 2012 shell is probably your best option. This does not require any adapter kits or BMS pairing. It is more manual labor, though.
 
baustin said:
There is an adapter kit required to fit the 2013+ style battery into the 2011/12 model Leaf. If you search here, you can probably find the part numbers needed. The dealer service department should be able to look them up. This also requires pairing the new battery to the car. Since you are not ordering the battery from the dealer, they are not likely to be much help.

The cell swap from the 2015 pack into the 2012 shell is probably your best option. This does not require any adapter kits or BMS pairing. It is more manual labor, though.

i have searched high and low for this adapter. i did find and purchase some items from this forum but the data cable does not connect to the '15 battery. Now planning on doing the cell swap. if anyone can tell me how to FIND such an adapter i will be very grateful. but i don't think it exists. Thanks
 
alembic42 said:
baustin said:
There is an adapter kit required to fit the 2013+ style battery into the 2011/12 model Leaf. If you search here, you can probably find the part numbers needed. The dealer service department should be able to look them up. This also requires pairing the new battery to the car. Since you are not ordering the battery from the dealer, they are not likely to be much help.

The cell swap from the 2015 pack into the 2012 shell is probably your best option. This does not require any adapter kits or BMS pairing. It is more manual labor, though.

i have searched high and low for this adapter. i did find and purchase some items from this forum but the data cable does not connect to the '15 battery. Now planning on doing the cell swap. if anyone can tell me how to FIND such an adapter i will be very grateful. but i don't think it exists. Thanks

When you buy a replacement battery from Nissan, they also provide the adapter. I don't have a part number, and a number of nissan dealerships have forgotten to add the adapter to the order, resulting in delays for battery replacement. I do know the adapter does exist and is something that can be ordered separately. I would recommend going to the parts department of a nearby nissan dealership.

If you're planning to do a cell swap, this is not necessary. Simply use the 2011 shell and swap the cells. DO NOT USE the wiring harnesses for the 2015 cells as it WILL fry the 2011 BMS. Use all components from the 2011 battery pack, except for the actual cells themselves.

If you do this, you won't need to re-pair the battery to the car. Everything should just work. If your friend can perform a BMS reset, i would do so. This will reset your car to 12 bars and reset the information about the internal resistance. This will let the car re-learn the battery performance and should make the regenerative braking work better, if your previous cells had high internal resistance.

If a BMS reset is not possible, I wouldn't worry about it. Hopefully the car will learn over time, but you will need to recognize that the battery capacity bars may never go up.
 
These may help the OP.
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=544855#p544855 - OP might've read some of these already.
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=542902#p542902
 
I imagine that a replacement battery invoice would show the adapter kit.
Or perhaps the technical manual that details the replacement instructions has the part #

Perhaps this will help: https://www.iatn.net/forums/13/59108/registering-a-battery-pack-for-a-nissan-leaf
A part number is mentioned that might be the adapter although after reading the post I'm less confident OP will succeed even if he does get the hardware.

Nissan and its dealerships reach new heights of incompetence and customer antagonism every day.
 
Just for posterity sake, I am going to post this bit of info here as well:
The adapter kit for the new Leaf battery is *NOT* to adapt the control harness.
When a dealer orders a newer battery (2013-2015 type) for an old Leaf (2011-2012) they use the part number that causes the factory to deliver a new battery with the *old* style B24 connector *and* with 4 thermal sensors, so the car gets the info it requires (newer packs come with 3 thermal sensors).
The adapter kit is nothing more than 2 steel brackets that bolt above the rear axle and are holding the new *4 smaller* hole battery rear up, because the old style battery had 2 holes of the same type that bolt the battery to the frame, no clue why Nissan decided to change this. It is possible to re-use the old brackets by drilling new holes and buying the bolts yourself, they are standard Metric.
Note that the old plastic covers no longer fit, so that is why two new body panel plastic parts are also on the conversion list, though I have driven around without them and there was no noticeable difference, they cover the flat part of the battery. The front is still covered by the original belly pan (the 3rd of the plastic parts, so in my opinion if you order the correct battery with the old style connector, that is the only part that is critical, the rest is mostly fluff that you can deal without if it is for your own car.
If you ordered or bought a battery with a new style B24 connector, you need to order the 36 pin B24 connector and splice it in or use a conversion cable from one of the upgrade websites. I have not found a source of B24 connectors that is under about $100, the best I can find at this moment is EVsEnhanced plug either self-crimp or with flying leads. I still hope recyclers start to offer this connector but have not had much luck yet.
 
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