Dala's Leaf buildthread (2015 Nissan Leaf)

You know the app &timer will enable you to charge to x?% and preheat/defrost (while still on charge) - which allows you to start the journey at 100% in a toasty frost free vehicle ?
 
Ofcourse, but I don't have any electrical outlets :(

All the pictures are taken from my parents place, where I have experimented with timers and prewarming.

If only I had an outlet at home...
 
Hi Dala,

Why is it that you don't have an outlet at your apartment? Is it because you rent it electricity included? In that case I guess you bet nobody noticed you where charging you car in stead of preheating cause many Finnish ICE cars have electrical heaters as well. :)

Anyhow, as you already said if you can neither charge at home nor at work than it is a pain in the ass.

Nice thread, I'll follow!

Regards, Rik
 
Anyone thought to make new battery block out of 18650 or 20700 recycled batteries. I like the idea to do an Leaf with bad battery and build it with 20700 cells of which I got heaps and love their output.
 
I finally caved in, and started renting a garage space 200m from the apartment. It costs 50 per month, with unlimited electricity. This solved my range anxiety issues permanently. I am limited to 8Amp charging, but that is OK, I only need this space once or twice a week. I should have just done this from the start :D

image_tlekby.jpg


Now I can start to experiment with the timers properly before going on a long trip!

Oh, and here is a snip of a LeafSpy screenshot, showing the consumption during prewarming.

image_vectty.jpg


On 21*C, with fanspeed on 2, it makes the cabin nice and warm in a matter of minutes. Consumption hovers between 1500-1800W in this state. Green is going in, red out.

With the 16A charger (3300W), you can charge the battery and still preheat the cabin. Awesome!
With a 8A charger (1600W), if you preheat, all electricity will be pulled from the battery, and the charger barely keeps up replenishing it.

Some people on the nissanleaf forums have even reported SoC dropping a few % when preheating, this is probably only in USA where they have only 110V, and a normal L1 charger would only output 1000W+-200W. Thanks EU for 240V :)

RikH said:
Hi Dala,
Why is it that you don't have an outlet at your apartment? Is it because you rent it electricity included? In that case I guess you bet nobody noticed you where charging you car in stead of preheating cause many Finnish ICE cars have electrical heaters as well. :)

Yeah, no parking spaces available, need to get on a multi-year waiting list for the apartment. Workplace also told me to wait for 2022, when they complete the new facilities. LOL

Menno said:
Anyone thought to make new battery block out of 18650 or 20700 recycled batteries. I like the idea to do an Leaf with bad battery and build it with 20700 cells of which I got heaps and love their output.

That would theoretically work, but the currents involved would limit you to only using new cells for safetys sake. Since you have no control of charge/discharge currents. Also the shunts are so shitty, so a change in chemistry would be more noticeable. Maybe if you replace all cells with 18650 it would work better.
 
This showed up in the mail.


image_acoenp.jpg


Now I can start capacity testing the big Leaf cells! I settled on the reasonably priced Antimatter charger/discharger. It can do 10A charge and 7A discharge. I started it a bit more gently, and the test is going to take some time. I set the upper voltage to 4.1V, and discharge down to 3.0V. If I had set the upper voltage to 4.2, it would ofcourse net more capacity, but as long as I do the same for each cell I test, I will come to a conclusion what cell would be best to use in the car.

My reasoning for 4.1v instead of 4.2v, it's just what the Leaf BMS targets for optimal cell lifetime.
 
I now have some capacity numbers to share, and time to make a decision.
Test, 5Amp discharge, from 4.1V -> 3.3V
USA cell: 39,77Ah
Italy cell: 43,30Ah

So presuming I have an USA cell from the same batch, If I upgrade to the Italy cell, I'd get a 9% range increase! I could also try looking for better cells, but most people just sell untested cells :/ Hmm...
 
Dala said:
I finally caved in, and started renting a garage space 200m from the apartment. It costs 50 per month, with unlimited electricity. This solved my range anxiety issues permanently. I am limited to 8Amp charging, but that is OK, I only need this space once or twice a week. I should have just done this from the start :D

image_tlekby.jpg


Now I can start to experiment with the timers properly before going on a long trip!

Oh, and here is a snip of a LeafSpy screenshot, showing the consumption during prewarming.

image_vectty.jpg


On 21*C, with fanspeed on 2, it makes the cabin nice and warm in a matter of minutes. Consumption hovers between 1500-1800W in this state. Green is going in, red out.

With the 16A charger (3300W), you can charge the battery and still preheat the cabin. Awesome!
With a 8A charger (1600W), if you preheat, all electricity will be pulled from the battery, and the charger barely keeps up replenishing it.

Some people on the nissanleaf forums have even reported SoC dropping a few % when preheating, this is probably only in USA where they have only 110V, and a normal L1 charger would only output 1000W+-200W. Thanks EU for 240V :)

RikH said:
Hi Dala,
Why is it that you don't have an outlet at your apartment? Is it because you rent it electricity included? In that case I guess you bet nobody noticed you where charging you car in stead of preheating cause many Finnish ICE cars have electrical heaters as well. :)

Yeah, no parking spaces available, need to get on a multi-year waiting list for the apartment. Workplace also told me to wait for 2022, when they complete the new facilities. LOL

Menno said:
Anyone thought to make new battery block out of 18650 or 20700 recycled batteries. I like the idea to do an Leaf with bad battery and build it with 20700 cells of which I got heaps and love their output.

That would theoretically work, but the currents involved would limit you to only using new cells for safetys sake. Since you have no control of charge/discharge currents. Also the shunts are so shitty, so a change in chemistry would be more noticeable. Maybe if you replace all cells with 18650 it would work better.

I am only using one type when building a pack. So Panasonic 20700A or Samsung 21700-40T. The 18650 I get are for my power wall. Which is being build in packs of 14S40P from only one type of cell per pack.
image_qvigej.jpg

image_shcybi.jpg
 
Thank you...interesting read and very precise and concise presentation of events. Welldone!!!
 
Shiamaru said:
Thank you...interesting read and very precise and concise presentation of events. Welldone!!!

Thanks :)

Status update on the Leaf. It's been cold here, but it's finally turning now.

I assembled the OpenEVSE unit. Now I need to decide where I mount it. I will most likely make it open to the public, since it probably goes in the middle of nowhere :D

image_awdzhk.jpg


We have also had a fair bit of snow :D

image_rngyxv.jpg


Due to all the cold and snow, I decided to get some proper snowtires instead of the all-season ones that came with the car.

I settled on "Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3"
in the format: 205/55 R 16 94 R XL

image_chauty.jpg


This is the tyre that Nokian primarily reccomends for electric cars, since it's a low rolling resistance and wont impact the range. On the sticker they are branded as B on the economy gauge. The efficiency step between A - B - C goes something like 100% - 97% - 90%, so there is a huge benefit from stepping up from C to B. From B to A the 3% effiency step is not as noticeable.
 
Kewls, it has OpenEnergyMonitor project with it. Nice.


In the last pic, I see you have your furnace stacked up. That smoke stack will produce LOTS of heat in the garage :p
 
Dala said:
This showed up in the mail.


image_acoenp.jpg


Now I can start capacity testing the big Leaf cells! I settled on the reasonably priced Antimatter charger/discharger. It can do 10A charge and 7A discharge. I started it a bit more gently, and the test is going to take some time. I set the upper voltage to 4.1V, and discharge down to 3.0V. If I had set the upper voltage to 4.2, it would ofcourse net more capacity, but as long as I do the same for each cell I test, I will come to a conclusion what cell would be best to use in the car.

My reasoning for 4.1v instead of 4.2v, it's just what the Leaf BMS targets for optimal cell lifetime.

Interesting thread for me, keep up the good work & investigation.
Just a thought from me .... Would you not be best to put the max load on cells you can when testing capacity? ....
As surely this is more representative of its working environment.
Will likely show a weak cell easier?
Saves time too ? ?
(4.1v max makes sense tho)

Thoughts from others?
 
obd.tech said:
Just a thought from me .... Would you not be best to put the max load on cells you can when testing capacity? ....
As surely this is more representative of its working environment.
Will likely show a weak cell easier?
Saves time too ? ?
(4.1v max makes sense tho)

Thoughts from others?

Yes, higher load would be better and save time. The chinese lithium tester, I'm not so sure I even want to push it hard. If I had invested in better testing equipment, for sure, testing with higher load is beneficial.

In other news, I'm in the local paper!


image_xcbswh.jpg


I'm currently in the process of starting up my own company, aiming to be the first in Finland to offer 3rd party EV battery service/swap/upgrades. It's gonna be a wild ride!
 
I went and added the garage to the Plugshare map, in-case someone is close to getting stranded in the middle of the Kvarken world-heritage archipelago :D


image_yfufbn.jpg



image_ksyezr.jpg


It sure is an EV dead-zone out here :D
 
Very Nice
 
So, now that the weather is getting warmer, it is way more inviting to work on the car. First order of business, getting the undercoating tiptop.

This is what the stock rear wheel-well looks like

image_apsvak.jpg


Not very protective at all, when you run on gravel roads, the noise is awful when it slings small pebbles straight on the metal inner arch. So, I de-greased it, brushed it, rinsed it, let it dry, and applied some rust coating with a brush. It also doubles as sound deadener!

image_xmwidp.jpg


One done, three more to go :D

Oh, and for my repair company, I bought this essential tool, the 'EVs Enhanced HV Battery Paring Tool'

image_yilamf.jpg


Now I can swap batteries properly between cars :) Here is more info about their tool if anyone is interested http://evsenhanced.com/products/hv-battery-pairing-tool/
 
Soo, the Leaf developed a leak... quite a big one too! Not so fun to see it drip from the side airbag :D

image_xpcgfh.jpg


Tore the interior apart to investigate, it leaks on the top part

image_jlqqvk.jpg


Spread the rubber gasket with zipties, blowdried it

image_mtwcrc.jpg


Applied lots of clear silicone, let's see if it holds. If not, the windscreen needs to be resealed. Fingers crossed for an easy fix :)

image_mbnnma.jpg


Started working on the looks. The front of this car is really "froggy". Eyelids should help the look quite significantly. Started by removing the rear piece, not used for anything.

image_jpmfoi.jpg


Wrapped the rear piece. Still need to wrap a slight amount on the upper headlight too, but let's see how the material hold up. It had a slight purple color, would have liked matt black more. Ohwell, I will iterate as I go

image_llxosd.jpg


Then I focused my attention to something more fun. The horn! On all the Leafs, the horn is pathetic. It sounds like a toy car. Lets fix that!

Started by removing the front splash shield, peeking up on the horn assembly from under the car

image_wbonsk.jpg


Here is the stock Denso unit, compared to a 1991 Nissan NX horn setup. I really like 90s Nissans, so it felt like a perfect choice. The same horn setup is found in the S13 afaik!

image_xedtgv.jpg


Horns mounted. The horns ground via the mounting bolt, so had to fashion a wiring adapter. Note the one pin that's not needed anymore.

image_wtwjhj.jpg


Here's a comparison
 
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