Aftermarket iMiEV battery upgrade project

[nuggetgalore]

Hi All,
Of course, with an IMiev, I have an interest in this discussion. I don't recall seeing any talk about a guesstimate of the likely total cost of doing one of these projects. Has anyone made any comment about this.
It does also seem to me that it would be highly recommended to do the first car and have it drive around reasonably often for at least some months and have reports of any unusual behaviour for the car in question as that is what the rest of the applicants would experience, wherever they were, and however far away.
Finally, I guess I should say that the true cost of this project for one car should be compared to the cost of buying a Mitsubishi battery set and a comparison be made with the difference between the performance of each, in a practical sense.

I would like to find out how many AEVA iMiEV owners have genuine interest in replacing their traction pack. As I said before, for a single owner to risk 14K and end up with a heap of cells and the cost to put the original cells back in the car,that's a lot of dough. Not only that,but every other iMiEV owners gets the huge benefit of knowing if it is worth doing.
I think we should all chip in and get one done.

[tonyw]

Count me in.

I'm prepared to pay the full amount and risk having to undo it all again. Even if you don't get the full 93 AH out of the cells because of Big Brother BMS, it's likely that you would get at least the nominal capacity, with the benefit of a reduced DOD and a longer life.

Haven't contacted Graeme yet, but I must do so soon before I find myself way back in the queue!

[brunohill]

Just letting all you iMiEV keeners know that Graeme bought some of the 93 Ah cells for an iMiEV upgrade and they seem to fit OK. Took a bit of jury-rigging to have them fit into the cradles, but once the BMS tabs are added it looks quite viable.

93 Ah in iMiEV cradle.jpg
4s 93 Ah in iMiEV cradle.jpg

I'm happy to undertake a full 93 Ah upgrade here in Perth, while Graeme is well placed to service East Coast projects out of Logan.

Is that a home made LEAF battery in the background?

[jonescg]

Dunno. It's in Graeme's workshop.

[wovenrovings]

Yes I am definitely interested.
A thought I had is about how the car counts the Ahs. If it uses a current sensor could you modify/change the current sensor so that the it under reads the current?

[brendon_m]

I came across some cells on alibaba and thought they could be a possibility.
LG N2.1
3.7V 60Ah
14.5*100*300mm
My rough size estimates say you should be able to lay 8 down in each of the modules but I don't know about the 4 cell banks
They're only 60Ah so not a lot of range gain and being pouch cells, the packaging and wiring will be a bit trickier.
I was quoted $5280aud(+ import taxes) to have 100 cells shipped to Perth Australia.

[mark_hetho]

14.5mm? Is that a pouch cell?

[brendon_m]

Screenshot_2020-05-08-17-11-20-420_com.android.chrome.png (298.16 KiB) Viewed 1454 times

Yes, they are pouch cells. I did say they would be harder to use.
Not the seller I was talking to but these are the same cells
https://wholesaler.alibaba.com/product- ... 65456.html

[wovenrovings]

That looks like the lg E63 that Francisco is using.

[brendon_m]

Similar, but slightly smaller.

[dracekvo]

This battery use Škoda Citigo IV.
I mean will be problem with DC charging. Cigito have 2x60Ah and maximum charge is 40kW.

[brendon_m]

This battery use Škoda Citigo IV.
I mean will be problem with DC charging. Cigito have 2x60Ah and maximum charge is 40kW.

Good call, the cells are only rated to 1c max charge /discharge. That's not going to cut it at 60Ah.
Well, it was an idea anyway..

[Travers]

I would like to find out how many AEVA iMiEV owners have genuine interest in replacing their traction pack. ...

Count me also as interested
Still have a usable 60km range at the moment but I will definitely need to do something when that gets too much lower.

[abenn]

I'm in Perth with an iMiev. Range down to about 85km. I'd be willing to pitch in for the trial pack.

[nuggetgalore]

I'm in Perth with an iMiev. Range down to about 85km. I'd be willing to pitch in for the trial pack.

How keen are you?
Sent you a PM.

[jonescg]

Pauline has informed me that her car has been sold. Tiago bought it and has plans to upgrade the battery, but remains to be seen if he's interested in these 60 Ah cells and related kit or go straight for the big ones (the smarter option).

Otherwise they are still up for sale.

[wovenrovings]

I have been keeping an eye on the battery hookup. They have a complete bmw battery on there at the moment. https://batteryhookup.com/collections/m ... attery-96s
Aren't these the samsung cells that are the first preference for the battery replacement?
No shipping out of the USA but maybe something could be arranged.

[jonescg]

The terminals are welded on - would be a big and difficult job to pull them apart and re-fit in the iMiEV, but yes they are the same basic cell as the 93 Ah cells on offer by LiYuan.

[nuggetgalore]

The terminals are welded on - would be a big and difficult job to pull them apart and re-fit in the iMiEV, but yes they are the same basic cell as the 93 Ah cells on offer by LiYuan.

Are these the cells you are referring to?
COMPLETE BMW OEM 32kWh EV ACTIVE-E BATTERY 96S

Battery Hookup

Regular price $2,999.99
Further down in the description it says:
"These use 45ah cells and are in 2p format. So the 4s module is actually 8 cells in 4s2p configuration."

[nuggetgalore]

No shipping out of the USA but maybe something could be arranged.

I have a niece and nephew in who live in New York ( 1.5 hrs by car from Bensalem) , they probably could organise transport to Australia. But it would cost a small fortune and a few headaches to do that. A set of new cells might be not much more expensive considering all the hassle.

[wovenrovings]

Ok so welding of the terminals makes it difficult and the freight.
What about the Liyuan cells? Aren't we looking at about $11000 for them plus freight?
I will ask at work about how much it would be on their account.

[jonescg]

Yeah they were about $13,000 landed in Fremantle (similar for the East coast). Graeme has made good progress on it so far, so he should have some good news to report soon.

[martinwinlow]

On a side note and as the question has come up in this thread, using the MUT3, it is possible to re-program the IDs of the CMU (cell module unit) BMS PCBs using: (from the BMU tab in the MUT3 app) 'Special Function' > 'CMU ID Numbering'. The process only takes a few seconds and you get confirmation of a correct re-configuration of the mis-ID'ed cell (or cells, I expect - I only did one) on completion via a DTC 'P1A9F - Change ID(CMUxx)' where 'xx' is the ID of the PCB renamed. Erasing DTCs removes this DTC/message. This opens the way to use CMU PCBs from different CMUs for repair purposes. Also, the battery's HV leads do not need to be attached for this procedure, just the 4 data cables.

Unfortunately, it appears you *must* use the same revision of PCB or you get a 'U1937 - Bat-LIN Slave Error' under the BMU tab and a 'U1924 - BMU Bat-LIN Bit Error' under the EV-ECU tab that won't clear. However, the car appears to drive (albeit with the yellow car&! on the dash and can also maybe charge but I forgot to confirm this before I disconnected the battery again) but I have not put everything back together properly (car is still on the lift and will be until I get the correct BMS boards and fit them ~2weeks time). I hope this of use/interest to anyone in the future. My repair thread is here... https://www.speakev.com/threads/i-miev- ... 620/page-1

[nuggetgalore]

On a side note and as the question has come up in this thread, using the MUT3, it is possible to re-program the IDs of the CMU (cell module unit) BMS PCBs using: he correct BMS boards and fit them ~2weeks time). I hope this of use/interest to anyone in the future.

An other side note: I bought an iCarsoft i909 MUT3 clone.


I can connect and read the following items :
ETACS
LIN
EV-ECU
BMU
Keyless op
MCU
CMU (all 12 units)

All other items throw up the error shown on the picture on the right.
Disconnecting the auxiliary battery brings on the airbag warning light (Mitsubishi at the last recall did reset that same warning light once before). I was hoping to be able to reset this with the i909 but no such luck.
Note that I can connect to the (EV-) ECU but the fault says it cannot connect to vehicle ECU.
I am wondering if anybody else using the i909 has similar problems.
The next question is who in the EV family has a MUT3 or clone that can not only reset faults but also adjust parameters? That would most likely be required if the traction battery is fitted with bigger cells.

[jonescg]

@reecho ?