Replace small 12v battery to regular one.

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Markokk888

Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2018
Messages
24
Is it possible to replace the nissan leaf original small 12v battery with a bigger capacity one from the petrol or diesel car ?
or the car will somehow struggle with the regular car battery ?
 
It will work just fine, I ended up with the OEM sized 51R Optima for a replacement but if I were going with a regular lead acid I'd have picked the largest one that would have fit under the hood and between the hold-downs.
Others have gone with a much smaller battery and they seem to work OK too, just not as much as reserve capacity if you accidentally leave something on or park the car for an extended period of time.
 
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=18129&p=439206#p439206 replaced the 12 volt with a larger one meant for a Nissan Rogue.
 
arnis said:
Bigger battery doesn't fix a thing.
Just replace it with cheap appropriate battery.
The cheaper the battery, the better :)

There is evidence that higher capacity batteries charge better in the Leaf than the OEM size.
 
LeftieBiker said:
arnis said:
Bigger battery doesn't fix a thing.
Just replace it with cheap appropriate battery.
The cheaper the battery, the better :)

There is evidence that higher capacity batteries charge better in the Leaf than the OEM size.
Well it's very logical because that small battery always charging when the car is on or at the charging station. So why not have some additional capacity and use it for example for charging a laptop or something like that.. i don't always like to leave my car running when i want to use 12v accessories.. so the additional capacity is very good idea for that.
 
Markokk888 said:
LeftieBiker said:
arnis said:
Bigger battery doesn't fix a thing.
Just replace it with cheap appropriate battery.
The cheaper the battery, the better :)

There is evidence that higher capacity batteries charge better in the Leaf than the OEM size.
Well it's very logical because that small battery always charging when the car is on or at the charging station. So why not have some additional capacity and use it for example for charging a laptop or something like that.. i don't always like to leave my car running when i want to use 12v accessories.. so the additional capacity is very good idea for that.

Actually, it goes more like this: the Leaf stops charging the OEM battery too soon because it reaches the predetermined voltage too quickly, while it is still undercharged. The bigger batteries stay at a lower voltage much longer as they soak up charge, so the car keeps charging them for much longer. We've speculated for years that the Leaf was designed for either a lithium 12 volt battery or an AGM unit, but the company cheaped out when it went into production and just used a small starting battery instead.
 
Easy fix is to disconnect current sensor and all you guys will be happy with OEM battery
being heavily charged like with good ol' gasoline car.
 
arnis said:
Easy fix is to disconnect current sensor and all you guys will be happy with OEM battery
being heavily charged like with good ol' gasoline car.

i have just done that and will keep an eye on my OEM battery for now to see if it indeed an improvement :)
 
Leaf15 said:
Replaced with exact fit 12V 46Ah 650A Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery LiFePO4 and never looked back. Always 13.35V when parked.

I have done the same with a LiFePO4 battery about half the "size" (20AHr) with no issues; you can search for the thread I started over 3 years ago if you wish. Remember: the Leaf doesn't require "cranking Amps" like an ICE car; Nissan just put something similar to what they already use in their low-end compact cars (high-volume, low cost part).
 
arnis said:
Easy fix is to disconnect current sensor and all you guys will be happy with OEM battery
being heavily charged like with good ol' gasoline car.
Yeah right and if its a lithium battery it will soon release a magic smoke and probably get the whole car on fire... Ether way the error code will appear as the current sensing is not gonna make much sense to the on board computer.. the car can even refuse to even charge the battery on some models. i suggest to not do something stupid like this. This is not old gasoline car. And things don't work quit as same.
 
I keep an eye on these threads for the day when I will have to replace the 12V battery. Over 4 years and the car still has the original OEM 12V battery. It has never had a problem other than the first time the 3G TCU locked up and caused the battery to go low (lots of DTCs).
 
Markokk888 said:
arnis said:
Easy fix is to disconnect current sensor and all you guys will be happy with OEM battery
being heavily charged like with good ol' gasoline car.
Yeah right and if its a lithium battery it will soon release a magic smoke and probably get the whole car on fire... Ether way the error code will appear as the current sensing is not gonna make much sense to the on board computer.. the car can even refuse to even charge the battery on some models. i suggest to not do something stupid like this. This is not old gasoline car. And things don't work quit as same.

Your talk is based on what knowledge or education? If it is assumption/guessing, then let it be that.
If you don't know how to use multimeter, then don't state those things you just said :| Myth generation
 
bitmanEV said:
arnis said:
Easy fix is to disconnect current sensor and all you guys will be happy with OEM battery
being heavily charged like with good ol' gasoline car.

i have just done that and will keep an eye on my OEM battery for now to see if it indeed an improvement :)

well 9 mouths later; i can confirm that i have not had any 12 volt battery problems after this simple mod :cool:
even over Christmas the Leaf stood even still for 4 weeks due holiday's without charging with no issues to report
 
Although the charge profile is not optimal for a FLA style battery (on my 2012 Leaf), the OEM battery lasted 6 years - likely the longest auto battery life from any that I've ever owned! I replaced it with the cheapest FLA battery I could find (Costco). We'll see if the quality of this cheap one is as good as the OEM battery.

Charge profile not optimal? On my Leaf, the battery SOC was kept at levels that (theoretically?) degrade the life (by sulfation) the majority of it's life. However, good care (water levels) and low stress usage may have offset the degradation mechanisms?

BTW, I have a permanent trickle charge wiring system to conveniently charge the 12V battery most times when I don't plan on using my Leaf for a few days to build back the SOC to 100%
 
My 2011 with 34000 mi and 7 bars has original battery. Never had a problem with it. I also put float charger on it for 3 months every September when I travel to the mainland.
 
downeykp said:
My 2011 with 34000 mi and 7 bars has original battery. Never had a problem with it. I also put float charger on it for 3 months every September when I travel to the mainland.

Yea, my guess is that if I'd been the original owner and float charged every few weeks/monthly, the OEM battery would still be working. It certainly appeared to be a well constructed battery.
 
Leaf and many modern vehicles charge 12V battery to very optimal state of charge, around 80%.
Problem arises when vehicle is not being used on daily basis.
Some vehicles, like Tesla, have heavy vampire drain. If car software doesn't recharge 12V battery often when
vehicle not in use, 12V battery will take a hit.

13.0V float charging voltage is near ideal for current lead acid batteries that are used DAILY.
For those being slowly discharging for many days when vehicle stationary, 14.4V charging voltage will give a better buffer
for deeper discharge during those idling days. This is why disconnecting current sensor will help.

14.4V is slightly too much for daily "many hour float charge when Li-ion battery is being charged overnight".
Especially in hot weather.
14.4V is fine if vehicle is charging 1-30 hours each week ( up to 4h per day) - it's fine to unplug current sensor.
14.4V is too much if vehicle is charging every day for more than 5 hours and it's hot - keep the sensor plugged in.

@bitmanEV - thanks for feedback. I was sure then and now it has been confirmed by you :)

My Leaf is 5 years old and runs on original battery which is in a good state (measured).
For 5 months in a year I have winter and vehicle keeps 14.4V mode on anyway. Can't bypass that.
 
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