Additional batteries and second charger

[Jillmark99]

I’m wondering if someone can offer some help.
I have a 2015 S85. My car has a single charger. I would like to add a second charger to the car as well as additional batteries for additional capacity. I am a very mechanical person and I have no issues performing the actual install but I would need someone that could assist with the programming that might be required to activate the second charger and add the batteries to the car so they are recognized.
Anyone done this before? Can anyone help?
Thanks in advance.

 

[DMC-Orangeville]

I’m wondering if someone can offer some help.
I have a 2015 S85. My car has a single charger. I would like to add a second charger to the car as well as additional batteries for additional capacity. I am a very mechanical person and I have no issues performing the actual install but I would need someone that could assist with the programming that might be required to activate the second charger and add the batteries to the car so they are recognized.
Anyone done this before? Can anyone help?
Thanks in advance.

You used to be able to buy a second 40 amp charger in the online store. I'm not sure if Tesla even offers them any more. Check with the Lawrence or Oakville store (or Montreal if you are in Eastern Ontario).

But

There is no capability of adding additional batteries on an S85.
Sorry.....

 

[Tam]

...additional batteries for additional capacity...

There's a do-it-yourself expert who can upgrade from 90 to 100 kWh for $24,900 but I don't see any upgrade offer for 85.

 

[No2DinosaurFuel]

There's a do-it-yourself expert who can upgrade from 90 to 100 kWh for $24,900 but I don't see any upgrade offer for 85.

Most likely will void warranty and maybe even supercharging capability.

 

[Jillmark99]

I don’t have an issue with voiding the warranty. There must be a way to add additional batteries in parallel. I was hoping to purchase a battery pack from a wrecked Tesla and add them into my car to double the capacity and range.

 

[Nick B]

I don’t have an issue with voiding the warranty. There must be a way to add additional batteries in parallel. I was hoping to purchase a battery pack from a wrecked Tesla and add them into my car to double the capacity and range.

I'm not an expert but did you factor in the additional weight and impact it could have on the frame of the vehicule? I mean by this that it could potentially cause serious issues to the aluminium frame of the car

 

[KyleDay]

You'd have to root your car and Gateway, modify the Battery Management Software to add new modules so that it can manage charge/discharge/balancing, figure out how to add active thermal cooling to the new modules, write custom firmware so the car updates it's range calculations, etc. I just don't see this happening.

Simply adding battery modules in parallel will not do much other than void your warranty.

 

[Jillmark99]

I’m not worried about the additional weight. The vehicle could easily carry 1200 lbs of passengers and I almost always drive alone.

 

[Jillmark99]

You'd have to root your car and Gateway, modify the Battery Management Software to add new modules so that it can manage charge/discharge/balancing, figure out how to add active thermal cooling to the new modules, write custom firmware so the car updates it's range calculations, etc. I just don't see this happening.

You are exactly correct. So now I just need to find someone that has the ability to do this.

 

[Don85D]

Not sure why you need the extra range. Charging stations from Tesla and Ontario government are being added. We have slowed our pace of travel when touring and find it more comfortable. Our S85 has more than enough range and if you are considering a drive to the Arctic circle best get a diesel pickup truck with camper on the back. It's for that purpose.

Check out a battery pack at a Service centre and take dimensions. It's not small and I doubt that it can be separated into pieces. Cooling of the pack is also required for safety and efficiency. There would be a lot of mods required.

If you are looking for a project consider putting aTesla rear drive and battery into a standard pickup truck body. What you learn would be of value if you really need to add a second battery pack to a Model S.

Personally I would just get another vehicle if your battery is too small.

 

[Zooomer]

The most practical way would be to have a secondary system in the trunk that charged the primary battery. This can't be done during driving but would be much easier to implement than trying to tie into the vehicle's primary system. I'd say that borders on impossible because of the closed software systems.

 

[emmz0r]

There's a do-it-yourself expert who can upgrade from 90 to 100 kWh for $24,900 but I don't see any upgrade offer for 85.

That price is insane for 10 kWh...

 

[Jashev]

I’m wondering if someone can offer some help.
I have a 2015 S85. My car has a single charger. I would like to add a second charger to the car as well as additional batteries for additional capacity. I am a very mechanical person and I have no issues performing the actual install but I would need someone that could assist with the programming that might be required to activate the second charger and add the batteries to the car so they are recognized.
Anyone done this before? Can anyone help?
Thanks in advance.

You can certainly add a second charger to your car (I have a '15 85d and had a second charger installed by Tesla last year). As far as upgrading your battery pack to 170 kw, based on everything I know, that is physically not possible. Aside from the fact that an 85 kw pack itself weighs 1200 lbs, the frame is not designed to handle the additional weight if you were thinking you would hang the pack below the existing one. There are much more knowledgable guys on this forum than me but I think you will find general agreement that this is not achievable without investing in a major rebuild of the vehicle. Not to mention a major re-write of the software. All of which would also exclude you from using the SuC network as well as Tesla Service support.

 

[Uncle Paul]

Least expensive way to achieve your goal would be to sell your current Tesla and purchase another used one with the range and features you desire.

Adding onother battery pack is one thing, but just adding more cells to your current battery is frought with complications.

 

[DMC-Orangeville]

Well, there are a few folks who mess around with wrecked Teslas.
Check out: Repairing a Flooded Tesla Model S : HOW-TO

Some contacts; if they are still active, they may help/may charge for it:
@wk057, @Ingineer, @Btr_ftw You can look at their feeds and see......

 

[Joelgjr]

This is a joke post right ? This is simply impossible

 

[OPRCE]

Rich Rebuilds has added a dual charger to his Model S in one video and should be happy to take your surplus money if you twist his arm:
Rich Rebuilds

 

[Jillmark99]

This is a joke post right ? This is simply impossible

No it’s not a joke. And nothing is impossible. Anyone that tells you something is impossible is simply afraid to try

 

[D.E.]

I don’t have an issue with voiding the warranty. There must be a way to add additional batteries in parallel. I was hoping to purchase a battery pack from a wrecked Tesla and add them into my car to double the capacity and range.

I suspect you might do more than lose the warranty, you might lose the ability to use superchargers. I don’t know this is true but I’d check before trying to open and alter your battery pack.

 

[Don85D]

No it’s not a joke. And nothing is impossible. Anyone that tells you something is impossible is simply afraid to try

I am still not clear why you want to do this. If you need a vehicle for a special purpose there may be better choices. The issue that I see is lack of reliability once you have built a 'hot rod' version of a Model S. Keeping a vehicle going with roadside repair is from the past. You will need a chase truck with equipment and experts. I would like to know the purpose of a custom Model S with two battery packs.