I personally installed a Battmobile LiFePO4 battery back in June 2017. It is already set up to be a direct replacement without Tesla software revamp. It is doing great! I was over 2000 miles from home and they overnighted it for me. They have a great install video also.
Xenoilphobe
Active Member
Free, I blew my main traction battery fuse and they were going to have to swap it anyway.
FlatSix911
Porsche 918 Hybrid
bktiger86
Member
The form factor is much smaller than a standard 12V car battery...
Since it is smaller than a standard 12v battery does that mean we have to buy it from Tesla? Or is there some place we can buy it ourselves and install it ourselves. Doesn't seem too hard.
Dborn
Confirmed
The ease of replacement varies with the model/year. Earlier models have battery quite deeply buried and requires significant disassembly.
I say it is relatively easy to replace even if it is buried. And no, you do not have to buy from Tesla. There are videos on the net to help you.
Xenoilphobe
Active Member
I did notice a side benefit of the new Battmobile battery - I have an aftermarket AMP from LH - and I noticed a significantly increased performance from the audio, now when I play it on 5 - 6 on the volume control it is similar to when I played at 7-8 on the volume control on the old battery. Also the "sub punch" is so much more pronounced, so much so that I had to turn it down to 3 when before I was on 4.5. I suspect the old battery was almost done, but I believe the LiFePO battery has a deeper reservoir of AMPS that the Amplifier is now taking advantage of... makes complete sense - now if I could just run a heavier gauge power wire direct to the factory AMP, it would be even more powerful....
mspohr
Well-Known Member
Probably due to lower internal resistance Li battery.
From Battery University:
"Lead acid has a very low internal resistance and the battery responds well to high current bursts that last for a few seconds. Due to inherent sluggishness, however, lead acid does not perform well on a sustained high current discharge; the battery soon gets tired and needs a rest to recover. Some sluggishness is apparent in all batteries at different degrees but it is especially pronounced with lead acid. This hints that power delivery is not based on internal resistance alone but also on the responsiveness of the chemistry, as well as temperature. In this respect, nickel- and lithium-based technologies are more responsive than lead acid."
From Battery University:
"Lead acid has a very low internal resistance and the battery responds well to high current bursts that last for a few seconds. Due to inherent sluggishness, however, lead acid does not perform well on a sustained high current discharge; the battery soon gets tired and needs a rest to recover. Some sluggishness is apparent in all batteries at different degrees but it is especially pronounced with lead acid. This hints that power delivery is not based on internal resistance alone but also on the responsiveness of the chemistry, as well as temperature. In this respect, nickel- and lithium-based technologies are more responsive than lead acid."
I hope my replacement holds out a while longer, but I'm definitely going with Battmobile in the future - after seeing one in person and how featherlight it is, it will make the swap SO much easier for rear wheel drive cars!
Our factory battery gave up the ghost on one of the hottest days of the year - in Arizona! - and not only stranded us but it was a sweaty, slippery mess trying to wriggle that heavy battery out of its tight-fitting hole. The only thing worse than getting it out was dropping the same darn thing back in and knowing that I'd condemned myself to the same problem in the future.
Thanks for a good solution to a perennial problem!
BattMobile Batteries, Custom Lithium Batteries
NiallDarwin
Right to Repair!
So I browsed through this forum because the 12V on my (unsupported) car is done. WTF...Incoming anger...
Seriously?! We can't even change our own 12Vs? Sort it out Tesla....
Anyway, I'm liking the sound of the Battmobile Batteries but their website is down. When I go to https://www.battmobilebatteries.com/ on the latest version of Firefox nothing comes up. What's the story @ElectricLove?
Seriously?! We can't even change our own 12Vs? Sort it out Tesla....
Anyway, I'm liking the sound of the Battmobile Batteries but their website is down. When I go to https://www.battmobilebatteries.com/ on the latest version of Firefox nothing comes up. What's the story @ElectricLove?
Battmobile batteries changed its name to Element3 batteries:
https://www.element3batteries.com/batteries
NiallDarwin
Right to Repair!
Thanks AP85.
@ElectricLove, get your webguy to do a redirect so you don't lose business from the name change
Just got a "like" on my earlier post in this thread, and realize I never came back to it... so hears an update nearly a year an a half later...
Ended up having the 12v swapped at the service center, but total was about $160, not the $300 I had been told earlier.
Given that was not much more than the $144 I was expecting to pay for the battery itself, that part didn't miff me too much. However not bring able to repair my own car still does.
Knightowl
Whovian
thought I would update this, the battery lasted only 13 months!
Replaced again 3/15/2018
but this time goodwilled by Tesla as it was 1 month past 12mo warranty for a new battery, same version as last one. Annual battery replacement is getting old fast.
A month ago a Ranger drove 2 hours to my home and swapped my hard to reach battery for $220 tax and all.
Considered Element3 bit in a cold climate like Green Bay had concerns about longevity and their answers to my questions were very salesman-ish.
I like the idea but with a suggested charging temp of above freezing I feel they should make folks aware. If they think it will work they need to get some guinea pigs to try them in -20f and publish results.
Considered Element3 bit in a cold climate like Green Bay had concerns about longevity and their answers to my questions were very salesman-ish.
I like the idea but with a suggested charging temp of above freezing I feel they should make folks aware. If they think it will work they need to get some guinea pigs to try them in -20f and publish results.
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