12 Volt Lead Acid Battery Replacement

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Stanton said:
If you really want to "get the lead out" for the 12v battery, why don't you just replace it with a LiFePO4 made for that purpose (BMS included)? There's a whole thread on it http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=11999

Thanks! I'll take a look at it. The fear I have is what would happen with a LiFePO4 battery at -40*F/-40*C?

Edit: Doing a little reading at that thread you posted and it looks like a LiFePO4 battery gives only 10% of its usable power at -40*F. So if it's a 40Ah battery, it then becomes a 4Ah battery in a worse case scenario. That's better than a 500F ultra capacitor pack (0.5Ah from 13V to 9V.)
 
IssacZachary said:
Any suggestions for a good battery replacement for Colorado high mountains where -40*F/-40*C temperatures can occur?

I was thinking the Winston 90ah battery. It's rated to -45*C charge and discharge.

Or a capacitor pack made from 6 3,000F ultra capacitors made by Maxwell's Boostcap. Those are rated to -40*F/-40*C.

Leaf keeps voltage in 14.5V mode below +3C. Including preheat, including driving, including charging.
Just normal lead acid battery will work if Leaf is used at least every other day. Keeping at 14.5V for
hours during charging is good enough.

Your Leaf should have traction battery heater. Do you have LeafSpy? Do you have reading of HV battery temperature while 2, 1 or 0 bars?

Do NOT install Lithium battery! Not possible to recharge safely at -25C or below.
 
arnis said:
Leaf keeps voltage in 14.5V mode below +3C. Including preheat, including driving, including charging.
Just normal lead acid battery will work if Leaf is used at least every other day. Keeping at 14.5V for
hours during charging is good enough.

Your Leaf should have traction battery heater. Do you have LeafSpy? Do you have reading of HV battery temperature while 2, 1 or 0 bars?

Do NOT install Lithium battery! Not possible to recharge safely at -25C or below.
Thanks!

I'm wanting to get LeafSpy but I'm not sure what all I need to get it. I asked about it in the LeafSpy Thread Here but haven't gotten any answers. I'm guessing I need a different phone and some sort of thing that goes in the OBD 2 plug.
 
IssacZachary said:
arnis said:
Leaf keeps voltage in 14.5V mode below +3C. Including preheat, including driving, including charging.
Just normal lead acid battery will work if Leaf is used at least every other day. Keeping at 14.5V for
hours during charging is good enough.

Your Leaf should have traction battery heater. Do you have LeafSpy? Do you have reading of HV battery temperature while 2, 1 or 0 bars?

Do NOT install Lithium battery! Not possible to recharge safely at -25C or below.
Thanks!

I'm wanting to get LeafSpy but I'm not sure what all I need to get it. I asked about it in the LeafSpy Thread Here but haven't gotten any answers. I'm guessing I need a different phone and some sort of thing that goes in the OBD 2 plug.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Super-Mini-OBD2-OBDII-ELM327-v1-5-Android-Bluetooth-Adapter-Auto-Scanner-Torque-/231217581366?hash=item35d5a44d36:g:mmcAAOxyc2pTXwPE&item=231217581366&vxp=mtr

80% chance that this will do the trick.
You need just any android phone that has Bluetooth, nothing else. Pretty much every single smartphone works.
Even the 99$ special offer phones.
And tablets also work. If you have one.
 
arnis said:
IssacZachary said:
arnis said:
Leaf keeps voltage in 14.5V mode below +3C. Including preheat, including driving, including charging.
Just normal lead acid battery will work if Leaf is used at least every other day. Keeping at 14.5V for
hours during charging is good enough.

Your Leaf should have traction battery heater. Do you have LeafSpy? Do you have reading of HV battery temperature while 2, 1 or 0 bars?

Do NOT install Lithium battery! Not possible to recharge safely at -25C or below.
Thanks!

I'm wanting to get LeafSpy but I'm not sure what all I need to get it. I asked about it in the LeafSpy Thread Here but haven't gotten any answers. I'm guessing I need a different phone and some sort of thing that goes in the OBD 2 plug.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Super-Mini-OBD2-OBDII-ELM327-v1-5-Android-Bluetooth-Adapter-Auto-Scanner-Torque-/231217581366?hash=item35d5a44d36:g:mmcAAOxyc2pTXwPE&item=231217581366&vxp=mtr

80% chance that this will do the trick.
You need just any android phone that has Bluetooth, nothing else. Pretty much every single smartphone works.
Even the 99$ special offer phones.
And tablets also work. If you have one.

Thanks! You wouldn't happen to know if there's a LeafSpy app for Windows? If not and if I can't get it to work on an Android emulator on my Windows tablet I'll look into a used Android phone or tablet.
 
I got a Kyocera Event, new old stock, for $30. That's one of the phones that works with the correct android BT OBDII reader. At that price, just leave it in the glove compartment, with a few games added for killing time at charging stations.
 
LeftieBiker said:
I got a Kyocera Event, new old stock, for $30. That's one of the phones that works with the correct android BT OBDII reader. At that price, just leave it in the glove compartment, with a few games added for killing time at charging stations.
Thanks!
 
Remember that you don't have to activate it. Just use it in Airplane Mode with the WiFi on if you have WiFi access, and it's a decent little almost-free smartphone.
 
Thanks to this forum for saving me money and saving me from wasting time at the dealership .
I got the T/M failure visit dealer message and my Leaf was freaking out when I tried to start it. While waiting for a tow to the dealership I read this topic. I had a car jump starter I got for Christmas and when I hooked it up to the battery, the car started fine.

So instead of towing to the dealer and the subsequent expense and trip to get the car back, I shopped a new battery, I got another lead acid battery, a local brand called Deka on sale for $82. I had trouble finding a matching battery until I found the Deka. The major chains kept trying to sell me a $237 Optima battery. The Deka only has 18mo warranty, I guess I’ll see how long it lasts and if it can handle the demands placed on it by the Leaf.

Thank you Forum!
 
Charge the new battery fully with an external charger, and then give it an occasional external charge if the resting voltage is less than 12.6 volts after that. This will extend the battery's life. If the resting voltage stays above 12.5 volts don't worry about it.
 
LeftieBiker said:
Charge the new battery fully with an external charger, and then give it an occasional external charge if the resting voltage is less than 12.6 volts after that. This will extend the battery's life. If the resting voltage stays above 12.5 volts don't worry about it.

Should I check the charge using a multimeter with car off, or can I use the reading from Leaf Spy?

Thanks!
 
Open the hood (or just unlatch it) then turn the car off, and check the rest voltage with the car having been off and all doors closed, for at least 15 minutes.
 
I came back from a 2 week vacation to find that my 12volt battery had died. Called AAA, who tested the battery, advised me to get a new one, and $147 later my 2012 LEAF was good to go once again. After 6 and a half years, I am still loving driving my LEAF.
 
LeftieBiker said:
I think that 5 years should be the maximum for replacing the 12 volt battery as a matter of course.

Depends on where, just like the traction battery.

Shorter in hot places, longer in cool places.
 
You cannot estimate your 12v battery by time. It depends on how it is stressed, and how well it keeps at a full charge.

I recently replaced an ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT battery that was 10 years old!!
 
powersurge said:
You cannot estimate your 12v battery by time. It depends on how it is stressed, and how well it keeps at a full charge.

I recently replaced an ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT battery that was 10 years old!!


The battery can be measured objectively, but it takes more than a simple voltage measurement. It must be placed under a substantial and calibrated load. Load testers can be had fairly cheap (around $20 for a 100-amp tester). This will tell you the general condition of the battery instead of just measuring the surface charge. ICE vehicles have a built-in "load test" of a sort, in the form of the starter motor. Sluggish starts generally let ICE drivers know when the end is near. With EVs it will sneak up on you unless you load-test periodically.

The other aspect is sudden failure, which can occur in flooded batteries as grid material is shed over time and accumulates on the bottom of the case. Batteries are designed with room at the bottom for this debris to collect, but if/when it gets deep enough to contact the plates that's the end of the battery. So that is an age-related failure mode that is more difficult to predict.
 
Nubo said:
powersurge said:
You cannot estimate your 12v battery by time. It depends on how it is stressed, and how well it keeps at a full charge.

I recently replaced an ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT battery that was 10 years old!!


The battery can be measured objectively, but it takes more than a simple voltage measurement. It must be placed under a substantial and calibrated load. Load testers can be had fairly cheap (around $20 for a 100-amp tester). This will tell you the general condition of the battery instead of just measuring the surface charge. ICE vehicles have a built-in "load test" of a sort, in the form of the starter motor. Sluggish starts generally let ICE drivers know when the end is near. With EVs it will sneak up on you unless you load-test periodically.

The other aspect is sudden failure, which can occur in flooded batteries as grid material is shed over time and accumulates on the bottom of the case. Batteries are designed with room at the bottom for this debris to collect, but if/when it gets deep enough to contact the plates that's the end of the battery. So that is an age-related failure mode that is more difficult to predict.

I agree with everything you said..... I said that you cannot estimate a battery's life span by time (years). Yes, I know that the health of the battery is a load test.
 
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