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17+ pound weight saving! 12 volt battery swap.

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by Jerry Liebler, Jan 29, 2017.

  1. Jerry Liebler

    Jerry Liebler Member

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    My 12 volt battery was showing signs of being near the end of it's life, 24 hours of rest following a full charge showed 12.1 volts, so I looked for alternatives. I found:
    https://www.aliexpress.com/snapshot/0.html?orderId=81451779298650&productId=32702860294
    I decided to give them a try. I ordered the two 20 amp hour units planning to use them, in parallel, to replace the AGM (lead acid) OEM battery rated at 45 AH. It, of course, took a while to get them but they arrived and I installed them. The pair of 20 AH batteries is about 3" smaller in the longest dimension but about 1/2" wider and 1 1/4" less tall, and weighs 11 1/4 # compared to the OEM battery that weighs 28 1/2 #. To adapt the hold down I drilled 2 new mounting holes in the original mounting hardware and one new hole in the hold down top piece. The new holes added 1" to the available mounting width, unfortunately there are now 2 bolts instead of 3 securing the " tray". Because of the height difference I added a 1/2" plywood "floor" to the mounting area and added a 3/4" plywood spacer under the hold down strap. I made 8" long "jumpers" to parallel the batteries out of 10 Awg finely stranded wire with crimped on ring terminals red insulation on the positive and black on the negative. I stripped the insulation in the middle of each jumper. In the negative case I soldered the cut off end of the OEM negative lead to the midpoint of the jumper. The positive jumper I cut at the midpoint and crimped the pieces of the jumper into a ring (1/4" hole) terminal lug designed to hold 6AWG. I removed the positive battery post terminal at the bolted junction and bolted the car side wire to the positive jumper's middle terminal.
    Some electrical tape over the connections to the jumpers and it's done! I now have a LIFEPO4 12 volt 40 AH battery that should out last both me and the car.
     
  2. Chabelo

    Chabelo Junior Member

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    Is there a BMS on those??
     
  3. Sam Spade

    Sam Spade Senior Member

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    Sorry but that link doesn't work unless you are already signed on there with an existing account.

    And how much did this actually cost you ??
     
  4. Jerry Liebler

    Jerry Liebler Member

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    Sorry for the bad link!, Try this one.
    12V 20Ah battery pack 26650 lifepo4 battery pack for golf cart EV battery electric vehicles / Electric Bicycle-in Electric Bicycle Battery from Sports & Entertainment on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group
    I have not done any reverse engineering and can only repeat the seller's claims. There is a BMS "Built-in PCB for over-voltage, under voltage and over-temperature". High rate LIFEPO4 "2650" cylindrical cells are arranged as 4S 6P to make the 12 volt 20 AH battery. I paid $299 which can only be justified if the result outlasts 2 of the OEM type batteries, it should.
     
  5. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    We may hope the seller was scrupulous. For examples of what sometimes can be found inside unvetted alibabulous products, there's Michael Dunn's teardowns of some imported AC-to-12V adapters ... kind of a classic ....

    -Chap
     
  6. Sam Spade

    Sam Spade Senior Member

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    Is that $299 EACH or for the pair ?
    If it is each, then they need to outlast more than 2 sets of conventionals........and maybe more than 10 years.
     
  7. kenmce

    kenmce High Voltage Member

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    Starting to feel not-so-hardcore here...:confused::(:oops:
     
    Fostel likes this.
  8. Brian in Tucson

    Brian in Tucson Active Member

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    Wow $600 for Prius batteries. That's crazy! Sorry, but I can reduce the 17 lbs by not eating cheeseburgers and not drinking beer for a couple of weeks. I have a Shorai LiFe Po battery in my motorycle, even there, the weight saving is pretty illusory.
     
  9. Jerry Liebler

    Jerry Liebler Member

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    NO!!!!!! NOT $600 !!!!!! Follow the link and look at it !!!! What I paid was $299, including shipping, for TWO LIFEPO4 20 AH batteries that together were installed, in paralel, to replace the OEM battery. The weight saving is almost exactly what was saved by eliminating the spare tire, hardly illusory!
     
  10. Brian in Tucson

    Brian in Tucson Active Member

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    Sorry Jerry, you are correct
     
  11. Simtronic

    Simtronic Active Member

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    So you get weight saving, further economies from the better recharge efficiencies of LIFEPO4 and more useable battery capacity. Sounds worthwhile to me. Providing of course the batteries are as they claim. ;-)
     
  12. Mark in NY

    Mark in NY Junior Member

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    I would go with the small Optima replacement from Amazon or such for 1/2 that price.