Upgrade battery.

[havrla]

Have a nice day gentlemen.

Today (2 week ago) I upgraded 60REx -> 120REx.

For infos:

http://elektroforum.cz/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=857#p9079

More information will follow.

Havrla )

 

[Bertone]

Hi,
Yes, please give us all the details!

What happened after full recharge of the new battery? Was any coding needed?
What is the new kilometer range with 100% charge?
Do you know new net battery capacity recognised by the car?

Thanks for sharing with us.

 

[Star63]

This is very interesting!
Thank you for sharing.

Do you know a good source of a used 120 Ah battery?
Have you been able to solve the voltage issue yet (4.19V vs. 4.07V)?

 

[havrla]

This is very interesting!
Thank you for sharing.

Do you know a good source of a used 120 Ah battery?
Have you been able to solve the voltage issue yet (4.19V vs. 4.07V)?

I bought the battery from the ad, by accident.
The battery control unit is not yet paired with the car. I haven't solved the pairing yet. The difference in voltage when charging is a reality, 120Ah I charge more.

 

[havrla]

Hi,
Yes, please give us all the details!

What happened after full recharge of the new battery? Was any coding needed?
What is the new kilometer range with 100% charge?
Do you know new net battery capacity recognised by the car?

Thanks for sharing with us.

Details are given in the link.
Range the same as every I3 with 120Ah, fast driving 200km, slow driving 300km. Photos are attached.
Coding is needed, I'm halfway there so far. The car works, but the battery is not registered and works in "factory default" mode and works well. I want to solve it as soon as possible. The car politely rejects the full battery voltage (100 percent)

 

[flynt]

That is awesome news! Thank you for sharing.

 

[Joff]

Thank you for sharing here! Please let us know if a solution is found to get it out of "default mode" I want to increase my range, but I want to be able to go more than 56 mph even more!

 

[eXodus]

Thank you for sharing here! Please let us know if a solution is found to get it out of "default mode" I want to increase my range, but I want to be able to go more than 56 mph even more!

I think it's going faster - just not having full power output - it's locked to something like 70% power out I read.

The i3 does not not need full power drive 70mph -> only like 50% the i3 is limited to 95 by software and not by power It's mostly acceleration which suffers.


The Germans figured it out:
https://www.goingelectric.de/forum/viewtopic.php?f=71&t=51220&sid=0253239c95cb3c14363a6349b99dd96a

apparently they also switched the main control module "Akku Hauptsteuergerät " of the 120ah battery into the 60ah car. Which contains the software to run the 120ah battery correctly.

Since you are already getting the battery from 120ah donor car - ordering the control module from the same car should be easy.

BMW even sells the 120ah batteries directly. (expensive - like 10.000 Euro, but they do)

and the German discussion board is already talking about 150ah batteries - cool

 

[havrla]

Hi
Replacing the battery with 120Ah so that everything works properly is not as easy as reading forums and saying that it is easy.
Yes, it is feasible, but not as simple as the reader imagines.

Havrla

 

[eXodus]

Hi
Replacing the battery with 120Ah so that everything works properly is not as easy as reading forums and saying that it is easy.
Yes, it is feasible, but not as simple as the reader imagines.

Havrla

Sorry, lost in translation - the ordering of the parts is easy - not the conversion.

 

[Joff]

I think it's going faster - just not having full power output - it's locked to something like 70% power out I read

The pictures I saw where the power bars indicated reduced power mode, there was also a circle with 90kph in it. I assumed was the car indicating it's limitation 90 kph = about 56 mph. Now that you say that is not the case, it occurs to me that I was probably looking at the road speed limit. We have a similar but rectangle sign in the USA

 

[eXodus]

BMW apparently sells the 120ah modules cells directly:

https://www.leebmann24.de/zellmodul-hochvolt-batterie-61277933747.html Not cheap, 8x 3000 euro = 24000 euro

But dealers in Germany apparently can get the whole pack for around 10-12k + 2-3k in labor

Which is actually very interesting. Because the 94ah batteries are selling for around 5-7k and 60ah around 4-6k
- so if they software issue would be resolved somehow -
You could upgrade your 94ah for around 3-6k out of pocket to a 120ah and a 60ah for about 5-10k.

and if the rumors are true - there will be 150ah in the next year or so.

 

[3pete]

so if they software issue would be resolved somehow -
You could upgrade your 94ah for around 3-6k out of pocket to a 120ah and a 60ah for about 5-10k.

I would pay about 5-10k to upgrade my 60ah to 120ah if it was offered. I would even consider the lower end of that range for 60-94ah upgrade. It seems to be a bit of a chicken and egg situation right now for mechanics; there isn't enough volume to have the know-how to do it cheap, and because it's not cheap, there isn't enough demand to offer the service. I'm still hoping that changes a bit and battery swaps become a bit more commonplace.

Things like this could help normalize battery/ motor swaps in vehicles (Chevy Bolt e-crate motor):
https://www.thedrive.com/news/37354...ke-electric-drivetrain-swaps-easier-than-ever

 

[havrla]

Hello to everybody.
I will now perform a second upgrade of 60 - 120 Ah.
When I complete the second update, I will offer a commercial upgrade for the BMW I3 at reasonable prices. Czech Republic - Central Europe.
Also, if someone skilled will be interested, I will provide them with knowledge on how to upgrade.

Finland:
https://dalasevrepair.fi/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tAs21zhjkQ&feature=youtu.be

 

[eXodus]

Hello to everybody.
I will now perform a second upgrade of 60 - 120 Ah.
When I complete the second update, I will offer a commercial upgrade for the BMW I3 at reasonable prices. Czech Republic - Central Europe.
Also, if someone skilled will be interested, I will provide them with knowledge on how to upgrade.

Finland:
https://dalasevrepair.fi/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tAs21zhjkQ&feature=youtu.be

Thank you Havrla for making all this information available! It's great to keep this amazing cars going.

The whole initial idea of the i3 to make this sustainable possible. Yet it got forgotten in the corporate world of higher sale figure and making more profit. BMW selling batteries - is also selling :?

 

[havrla]

BMW is not doing badly. Quite the contrary. It gives the opportunity to earn even small specialized players who do a exclusive work.
These exclusive workers are just being born.

 

[eXodus]

BMW is not doing badly. Quite the contrary. It gives the opportunity to earn even small specialized players who do a exclusive work.
These exclusive workers are just being born.

you are right, and it's all matter of perspective.

I remember when Volvo built, super reliable (1.000.000km+) and practical cars in the 80s and 90s - and for this the company went bankrupt. People didn't buy new Volvos anymore, no need.

In my opinion, we should have gone through the EV revolution which is just starting already 10+ years ago.
The tech was ready at that time. Yet it was a gamble back then.

 

[havrla]

Helooo next upgrade 2013 BEV 60Ah -> 120Ah

 

[eXodus]

Awesome havrla!

http://elektroforum.cz/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=857&start=100

Did you solve the coding issue? Full power enabled?

 

[Star63]

Great!