Wait... Nissan LEAF Battery Replacement Just Went OPEN SOURCE!?

The Nissan LEAF has been produced and sold in significant number for nearly fourteen years - and while the majority of those cars are some still happily rolling on their original, healthy battery packs many years later, others are in need of replacement packs.
To date, that process has either involved paying a Nissan Dealer a small fortune to have the battery pack replaced with an identical-spec one to that fitted in the car when new; or paying a specialist to replace the battery pack with a newer one from a salvage LEAF.
That latter process has relied on reverse-engineering of the Nissan LEAF's CAN bus and developing a hardware and software solution that allows older LEAFs to happily work with more modern LEAF packs. And that reverse-engineering is reflected In the costs associated with asking a specialist to replace the battery pack.
But now Daniel (Dala) of Dala's EV Repair in Finland has announced that he's open-sourcing the technique he's used to successfully upgrade customer's LEAFs to larger, newer packs.
Here's why that's a MASSIVE deal, and could dramatically lower the cost of LEAF battery replacements.
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00:00 - Introduction
02:21 - What we're covering
02:53 - The LEAF's biggest flaw
03:17 - A refresher on acive vs passive thermal management
05:11 - Why so many LEAFs need battery replacement
06:21 - Nissan LEAF battery upgrade options
07:20 - The Cottage industry in LEAF battery replacements
09:12 - Going Open Source
10:20 - Why Dala's opening up the information
10:59 - Support Dala
11:27 - Acknowledging the risks
13:13 - Why this is such a big deal
15:13 - Thanks, and Goodbye!
17:00 - (Not) A Classic Mac Segment
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Support Dala on Patreon at / dala
Subscribe to Dala's KZbin channel at : / @dalasevrepair
See Dala's Github at github.com/dalathegreat
----
Script: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield, Kate Walton-Elliott
Presenter: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield
Editor, Colorist: Michael Horton
Art and Animation: Erin Carlie
Producer: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield
© Transport Evolved LLC, 2023
-----
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[@graememudie7921]

This should be a requirement of all EV manufacturers. Upgrade battery capabilities must be made compulsory.

[@phillyphil1513]

agreed, everyone's LOST THE PLOT that the only way to "Fight Climate Change" with an EV is technically to keep it on the road and in use for as long as possible, otherwise it can't "pay off" the sizable CARBON DEBT the vehicle incurs at the time of it's manufacture. both generations of Leafs would be great vehicles for this, but of course as i've stated previously, Capitalism and the Free Market System is WHOLLY INCOMPATIBLE with the idea of "Saving The Planet".

[@davidelliott5843]

Upgrade of engines is not compulsory so why should traction batteries. However, at least we own them. The way electric cars are going we will never have the right to swap or upgrade batteries.

[@C1rnobyl]

@@davidelliott5843 If the vehicles software prevents you from upgrading the battery, you do not own it. To own something means being able to upgrade it as you see fit without the manufacturers permission, cracking encryption, or using devices meant to trick the software in other ways. It's also a conversation that comes with Right to Repair.

[@charlieh2081]

@@davidelliott5843 You can upgrade ICEs though. Aftermarket turbo, forged pistons, engine remapping, more robust head gasket, exhaust, radiator even a whole engine swap. ICE's can be taken apart and put back together. If you want it to be like it is already you should be able to swap battery packs.

[@vernonhampton6973]

@@davidelliott5843 "Upgrade of engines is not compulsory..." - Google 'Japanese Engine Replacement Law' When the day comes that my Camry engine dies, I'm pretty sure I won't have Toyota breathing down my neck telling me I cannot buy another engine from them, another of the dozens of engine manufacturers, a salvage yard, or from a competent mechanic who's capable of rebuilding it...while not having to worry about software blocks...

[@DalasEVRepair]

Thank you so much Nikki for featuring the LEAF upgrade efforts 🙏 CCS next! 😎

[@transportevolved]

No problem!!

[@buzz4633]

Thank YOU!

[@nissanleafbattery]

I'd like to see the CCS mods. When will that be available?

[@kylereese4822]

There is a channel that uses Chevy Bolt battery packs in Leaf`s the same channel has a tesla with a 125kw battery pack... Also there`s another channel that uses new 18650 custom battery cell packs in Leaf`s.....

[@lukereeves4448]

So glad to see this happening! Amazing work Dala!

[@peterkn2]

I do believe the most likely way to keep our oldest EVs on the road will be third party battery packs. The vehicle manufacturers likely won't find it as profitable to update their battery packs, similar to how our cellphones are nowadays. Hopefully, manufacturers will always make their battery packs removable, unlike our modern cellphones.

[@kensmith5694]

It may require that there be a law to force it. Without that, manufacturers have an incentive to make the car so it can't be repaired beyond a certain date.

[@salibaba]

There is a company in Australia that have developed their own aftermarket active cooled packs for the leaf.

[@jacobcarlson4010]

@@salibaba: Correction, they’re in New Zealand. You were close, I’ll give you that.

[@auhsz9140]

@@jacobcarlson4010 what’s the name?

[@salibaba]

@@jacobcarlson4010 apologies, a henous mistake if ever there was one. 🤦‍♂️

[@rp9674]

We need more of this to keep reusing before recycling. We need more battery replacement options for more makes before they end up in recycling.

[@waltbroedner4754]

Recycling is a fantasy, unless you believe in the miles of floating plastic in the ocean cycling from ocean to ocean.

[@BenMitro]

Dala is a hero.

[@casey360360]

I bought s 2015 Leaf with a new traction battery, ive had it a week and ive already started planning battery and inverter upgrades. It helps that ive been buildong c-max packs for aftermarket equipment for several years and own all the fun special tools like osciliscopes, hydraulic crimping machine, TIG welder, ect. Actually, i have a 12' x 8' enclosed trailer stocked with tools for this stuff.

[@Mattstech12]

Yep, Dala is awesome! It's definitely not an easy decision to take a _lot_ of work and make it open source when he could be making some money off it. But this is definitely great news for Leaf owners of current and future time.

[@BringMayFlowers]

Just because you make something open source doesn't mean you can't still sell it, you're just no longer selling the design but the implementation. Red Hat became so profitable that IBM bought them and their product is a Linux-based OS and support for it.

[@Mattstech12]

@@BringMayFlowersTrue, but pricing of open-source hardware does tend to be cheaper than most full commercial implementations, in my experience. But yes, hopefully he does get some good sales from it. :)

[@BringMayFlowers]

@@Mattstech12 God how I wish that were universally true. I would be able to afford a Raptor Blackbird so easily.

[@timothykeith1367]

He can chose to use the free publicity to pursue paying projects

[@joshuaknight1748]

I had a 30 put in my 2011 Leaf by Cleevely during lockdown. So far, so good. The CAN bridge came from Muxsan. Dala has always responded to my emails and is super helpful. He’s also boosted his leaf power up to 200kW.

[@slavric]

I have Leaf 2016, 30kWh, 250.000km and the battery has about 60% SOH. That would be fine, if it would be useful in winter. So I asked our official Nissan dealer for replacement. He politely told me to scrap the car and buy a new one, since the battery cost is in range of 30.000€. Yes, not a typo. So, if this is green, then I'm a hippo. Dala is such a nice guy, his work will help many, maybe even me. Thank you for this informational video.

[@jerk5828]

I own a 15 and the battery only charges to 70 miles. Although it has 135,00@ miles on it

[@dominicwild3189]

See my comment at the top, $35,000 in 2019, Nissan HQ then said $9,985 + 5.8hrs but Nissan Australia will not give me a present cost, not interested.

[@eamonstack4139]

Most Leaf owners cannot do swaps themselves. Our social enterprise (nonprofit) offer this service to Leaf owners, in Ireland. The owners purchase the used battery pack themselves and we install using LeafSpy battery matching and Muxsan CAN-bridge. Next: an amazing Dala project offers "plug and play" integration of the old Leaf pack in a solar installations. Brilliant.

[@jbz7736]

That's amazing. I live in the US and am low income. and my parents can trace their family back there. do you know if there is any way that I could buy a car there in Ireland and have it worked on there ? it might be easier than here in the states.

[@kekrikekkuli3359]

​@@jbz7736Might be the opposite. They have more regulations than US and left side traffic when driver side is right side of the car. Additionally it will cost a lot to get car from ireland to US.

[@jamesbarstow4454]

Recently saw a page about a company in New Zealand which has a blade type battery which fits into the original tray and also has a BMS with heating and cooling.

[@juancarrera5524]

Woot! Dala’s channel is super cool! This seems like a fun thing to do. I hope this goes well for him. I look forward to his whole pack usage as stationary storage.

[@dominicwild3189]

He is a genius, but unfortunately his 63kWh batt at 6,900 Euros had a short to the container, so he had to replace one module.

[@anthonyc8499]

I'd love to see another visit to the LEAF shop in PDX and the work they're doing on refurbishing old LEAFs for new owners. Especially when it comes to 2011-2012 cars with the flawed onboard chargers.

[@benjaminnead8557]

Excellent video, Nikki. I've been following Dala's KZbin channel for awhile. He's also put out a few videos on Mitsubishi i-MiEV (Citroen CZero & Peugeot iOn in Europe) repairs and upgrades, which hits home for me keeping those running, as my example celebrates its 11th birthday this summer. Let's keep these older EVs functional and viable options for used car buyers on a budget for as long as we can.

[@kennethsimbapuppyeyes6857]

Wow thanks for sharing. Have a 2023 and totally could do this kind of work just knowledge is power thanks my frewn

[@MarkLLawrence]

I would love to upgrade my 2012 Leaf with a newer battery and for good measure, replace the CHAdeMO charge port with NACS.

[@grantlouw3182]

Truly great that this guy has open sourced his solution.

[@caulkins69]

Sure, but why couldn't Nissan have done it? There should be no such thing as closed-source anything. Openness should be a requirement of doing business.

[@melissamybubbles6139]

I'm glad Dala is doing what he's doing. Personally, I'd be way too afraid to mess with electricity, but some people would be competent to do this kind of work.

[@Krydolph]

Even if you don't want to mess with it, the chances for someone around you being willing to do it is a lot greater, either someone you know, or a shop that will do cheaper than was the case before.

[@larryscarr3897]

Start small get a cheep rc car..then an ebike.. same thing just scaled up.. you will be programming speed controllers, and building battery packs before you know it.

[@thejinn99]

That is really cool. Open source? I love all things open source, that is just too awesome. Honestly, and I say this with my bias as a gamer, but if you have something that is open source or easily modded, you'll have a community of enthusiasts who can keep something alive.

[@aatheus]

Really great to hear that this is now a thing! Well done Dala. Will have to check them out

[@Livshaka]

I’m so psyched about this! Thank you Dala for going open source and making this happen!

[@whitlockbr]

Imagine putting a 10th generation solid state battery in a leaf!! that would be epic! it would get the range of a Model 3 at least!

[@ram64man]

Ah but it would have to be actively cooled,

[@theproffessional9]

​@@ram64manSome solid state batteries actually don't need active cooling (within reason) like the ones that work in space or some in testing.

[@patreekotime4578]

Or at least imagine a future battery technology that isnt as sensitive to temperature changes. It seems reasonable to assume that some research dollars will go towards finding a battery solution that doesnt care so much about temperature. Especially on the affordable end of the EV space, reducing the cooling requirements for a pack would reduce manufacturing cost and assembly complexity quite a bit. Although regardless of the battery, anything that wasnt specifically built to be put into a LEAF will require some pretty exotic software and hardware in terms of the battery management system.... which is one of the most complicated and safety-critical systems in the vehicle.

[@jessebrook1688]

There are some battery chemistries that have a wider range of acceptable temperatures, like sodium-ion, and some that need their own heating, like oxygen ion.

[@carloslizarralde6703]

love the idea for kids 1st car

[@phredqwatson]

Nikki, Champion of EVs for the common folk! Thanks for your vigilance on this.

[@partasuhari]

Dala is doing a great job and has earned my patreon support. Good news for the Leaf community

[@user-ox4vu2fi8z]

I drive a Ford Focus Electric from 2014. I would love nothing more than to find a similar solution for this great car.

[@randombytes3998]

When I clicked, I thought Nissan had open-sourced their info. Now that would have been news.

[@trueriver1950]

I agree that would have been a major attitude shift from an industry player. But open sourced software that is based on reverse engineered code has made Linux get where it is today in computing: and OK it's only on a few percent of home and office machines but it has totally grabbed the IT infrastructure and web servers and so on Hopefully this is the thin end of a very long wedge that can only do us all good

[@dascandy]

Vendors that have locked-in users opening up the vendor-lock-in without being absolutely forced by large countries? Nah. Heck, even when 500M+ country unions push them they'll still try not to. This is what hackers do.

[@AlanTov]

Nice video. Whenever I see an old Leaf it brings a smile to my face. And anyone who went with one before EV’s took off deserves full credit.

[@Milhouse77BS]

1:25 “didn’t last as well as other EVs” is understatement for 2012 Leafs😊

[@robinbennett5994]

That line should have been "didn't last as well as *modern* EVs".

[@dougowt]

Dala is a legend! This will make it fairly easy, with a modicum of understanding and a large chunk of high voltage respect, to keep earlier Leafs going for many years to come. The rest of the car seems to last well, so a battery solution like this will increase the appeal of the early Leaf. I remember someone saying they were developing a better cooling solution for the Leaf/eNV200. I'm going to have to find who it was again! If anyone is interested in the technical side of EV fiddling, Dala's channel is very interesting. Re the sad demise of your Traveller, it reminded me of a time when I was working in Exeter and one of my colleagues said her radio was playing up in her Golf and could I have a look. I removed the stereo and as the loom came into sight, the live feed had just been twisted together! No insulation either!! She had paid a garage £60 for fitting too! I had to make it safe and brought the proper connectors, tools etc into work the next day, to wire it properly. Some people should simply not operate screwdrivers or heavy machinery like kettles! If you are practically minded though, Dala has how to videos on installing replacement Leaf batteries and his software workaround.

[@Br0rB]

Our Leaf will be eight year in October, and it has held up amazingly well so far. No mechanical issues, and it runs great. We also have an older diesel Mercedes B class, and that started pretty much falling apart before it was as old as our Leaf in now. The Leaf battery still reports full capacity, both in the car, and in the reports from the service center. That's pretty impressive for a nearly eight year old EV with 75.000km, and driven every day in at times pretty rough Norwegian conditions.

[@trueriver1950]

Kudos to you for your support of another You-Tuber who some might think of as a competitor channel. But no: not competition but co-operation. That also is part of the Open Source ethos.

[@johnsnell1929]

Oh yeah, one more thing... its great to see Dala doing this - I hope it inspires some others to do likewise... specifically, I would LOVE for Nissan to finally feel enough of a guilty conscience that they start offering Leaf battery packs openly for sale, and also the OEM cells, so the shade-tree pack-rebuilders can get fresh new cells instead of scrounging for wrecked Leafs! I could get REALLY hopeful and wish they would open up their internal design and communication protocols for the Leaf pack's communications, so we are not so dependent on all this reverse engineering, but that is probably just too much apoplexy for their patent attorneys.

[@rogermckenzie2711]

I'll be sub'ing to Dala, we need more people like him. I upgraded my EV battery but since it's a moped there were no issues with software etc., more than doubled the original capacity though. All solar charged too, from my home made power wall.

[@JustWasted3HoursHere]

One feature that the Leaf has that I've not seen on any other EV to this day is, the "state of health" indicator right there on the dashboard. Not just the state of charge, but the actual health status of the battery. I'd love to see this on other EVs. Sure, this info can be found using apps like "torque pro" with a special OBDII dongle, but it'd be nice to have that info right there on the dash, or at least available buried in a "system" menu or something.

[@robinbennett5994]

Yes, it means the SOH is visible when a dealer lists the car, even if they don't know what it is.

[@JustWasted3HoursHere]

@@robinbennett5994 I wonder if Nissan's newer EV, the Ariya, has this feature.

[@identiticrisis]

The SOH figure may be misleading if the battery cannot be charged. Always best to check the cell voltages as well, so really a plug in dongle is essential when looking to buy a second hand EV or battery.

[@JustWasted3HoursHere]

@@identiticrisis Of course, but it's still nice to have as a baseline for further investigation.

[@siasek]

What good is an indicator that would show something interesting in 8 years at the earliest? :D Leaf and its first battery, that was history where it was needed. It would be completely useless today.

[@rboytechman]

Thanks for this very informative video for those of us still wanting to join in the used electric vehicle market. I keep wanting to add an around-town Leaf. I’m now more interested than ever! Again, thank you.

[@stevewausa]

An early model LEAF with a current gen 60kWh battery will out-range a new LEAF as they had more aluminum components that were replaced with heavier steel parts later on.

[@BubbaBearsFriend]

Definitely Open sourcing the install procedure and canbus interface is a huge benefit to the Leaf community. Huge props to Dala!! But it's not magically going to make "known good" Leaf battery packs available in Sri Lanka.

[@dominicwild3189]

Even in remote Western Australia we can now buy a refurbished Leaf batt from AUG Energy in Shenzhen and get it installed.

[@steeglehman]

It has been harder for me to watch the channel for a bit. Lot if negativity in the world and though I would not wish this channel to change, I have been reducing my daily intake of the negativity. This episode was fantastic. Lots of facts and information about EV and just a joy to watch. Picked up my day. Thanks.

[@ClarenceDold]

There was a change in the channel a while ago, and this is the first episode I have watched in a long time. I used to watch every one.

[@stevenesheim]

We had a 2015 Leaf we bought used on 2017.. We loved it. When we traded it last year for our Bolt the battery was still at 80% SOH. When I figured out our total cost of ownership, it was less than what it would have cost us in gas to drive the ICE car it replaced to drive the same number of miles. The cheapest car I have ever owned.

[@idmhead0160]

How many miles did you have on it and how many bars did you lose? I have around 57,000 on my 2015 and have lost one bar so far. Curious to know what other people's experience is. I want to get a OBDII dongle for use with LEAFSpy but was afraid to short something out as some of the cheap ones have problems from what I've read in reviews.

[@williamclark6466]

This is fantastic news! Wow, Dala! Thanks for sharing this turn-of-history change in keeping Nissan Leafs usable for the long haul.

[@DaleWheeler]

Thanks for the heads up. And, thank you, Dala, for your invaluable aid to Leaf owners. I have been on the fence regarding purchasing a used Leaf with a not-so-great battery pack. This has me leaning a little more to the 'YES' direction. If I can locate a local mechanic willing to take on the job the adventure will begin.

[@ernestnoway]

Daala is incredible guy.. because of him we will have a huge shortage of Leab batteries... His use of Leaf battery to keep cars in use, and work on different inversters to accept diffeternt batteries as sourse of power for solar backup is amazing... he deserves much more following. Good that you introduced the guy

[@dama054]

Replaced my leafs battery with a 40kwh battery myself a year ago with the help of Dallas hardware am now looking at flashing a few can bridge's my self to help others out

[@deathcake9000]

where did you find the 40kw battery?

[@dama054]

@@deathcake9000 ev breakers in northern Ireland

[@Muppetkeeper]

Wow Dala, you’ve made your contribution to save the world!

[@KwokChunMan]

I saw this video's title, and I knew already Dala's EV repair was the reason for this video. He (Daniel) was my colleague some years ago, and it's been amazing watching him do what he does.

[@robertblood3722]

I live in Kent England and have a almost 4 year old 40 kWh Leaf that’s only got 18,000 miles on it. Looking into have a 60 kWh battery fitted by Cleverly near Gloucester. Seen them fitting them on KZbin and had a chat with them at FullyCharged a couple of months back at Farnborough England. Thanks for the programs Bob Blood .

[@jezthomas4402]

That’s interesting that Clevely themselves said they could do a battery swap as they officially said, about six or so months ago, that they’d stopped doing it as it wasn’t economically viable for them. I hope you’re right and they’ve changed their minds.

[@idmhead0160]

Surprised that you would already be wanting an upgraded battery. Have you lost an bars? What kind of range can you get? What kind of range do you need?

[@hoverbovver]

My 10 year old Leaf at 60k miles still has 10 bars on the display. Would love to upgrade it not so much due to the battery condition but as, at 24kWh, it never had much range anyway.

[@ellenroehl6022]

I had a 2012 Leaf briefly before I bought a model Y. 45 miles of range and I never ran out of charge as I only drive about 25 miles a day. Nice driving and zippier than you would expect. Great cheap solution if you don’t need a lot of range.

[@Javaman92]

You are so right! The only reason I am now driving an EV is because I found a LEAF locally that while banged up and with limited range, was something I could afford. I love it and being retired and having a ICE car for backup when I need to go farther away than the 20 miles I can go (50 mile max range) with the LEAF, it works for me 99% of the time. I've been thinking of saving up for a Bolt when the LEAF gets to where even I can't use it. I don't think anyone around here would do a battery swap even if the parts were available. At my age I don't think I would attempt it either. BUT I love that Dalas has opened his heart to the world.

[@simonmatthews7512]

Hooray for open sourcing wherever you find it! In other news nice to see comments return, hope that goes well for you 🙂

[@judebrown4103]

Apparently not so much...I just happened on a live stream where poor Nikki was distraught about more vicious hate communication. Bless her she basically vented, cut off and deleted. We must all be vigilant at this end and block and report anything horrid that gets through. Sadly though it's still Nikki or one of the team that suffer the brunt of all the murderous hate speech. Just awful, feel so sad they have to deal with such crap.

[@IrnBruNYC]

I just bought a 2019 LEAF SV. I love it and I want it to be my daily driver for many, many years. I expect some day I will want to spend several thousand to replace the battery rather than buying a new car. Dale is a good egg. Great video.

[@MrNagafen]

The worst part is that sourcing the batteries is almost impossible withput a contact network.

[@robinbennett5994]

Yes, the CAN bridge is only half the problem. Finding alternative (affordable) cells and a design to put it together is the next problem.

[@idmhead0160]

Yeah, and if the battery is out of a wrecked car, who knows if there are internal problems to it or it could end up catching fire.

[@autohmae]

As an open source ethosaisst and with a Nissan EV in the family, I very much support this.

[@leanid2380]

I'd love to see this kind of project for the old Spark EV or Fiat 500e. The latter is even popular enough for its styling to maybe warrant an open source battery swap.

[@Rhynri]

The Spark remains my favorite EV, it's such a hoot to drive and has tons of usable space inside, despite its diminutive dimensions. And 10 air bags including side curtains!

[@pomonabill220]

OPEN SOURCE!!! Yeah!!! I LAUGHED when you referred to "Just Rolled In" videos! I love to watch them and SMH with some of the cars that he shows! HOW the HECK do these things still run???? Sorry to hear about your Morris!!! LOVE the triangle sticker (rainbow)! Thanks for the info! I watch Dala also.

[@kriskale]

Thank you so much for making this video!

[@jezthomas4402]

Thanks for the update, what a top bloke! I’d love a simple way to improve the range on my ENV200 in NZ; no-one is doing this and bigger batteries aren’t available. So looks like the only option for me is buy a secondhand Vivaro-e or similar in Britain, and ship it over 🤑😪

[@paulhetherington6022]

Search for "EV Enhanced". I believe that they're a company based in NZ making new batteries for Leaf and the EV200

[@sidthebassist89]

I'm all for this. Been wrenching on my own cars since i starting driving, and managed to land me a career in industrial maintenance so this makes an older Leaf way more feasible for me.

[@salibaba]

Wow amazing news. As a current 40kWh owner I even hold out hope for a CCS kit, CCS relaunch (it would sell like crazy without the Chademo cloud hanging) and a better cooled version battery like on the ENV200. I wouldn’t even have Nissan redesign the running gear, maybe glean over the interior trim, but keep it the same form factor. It would be modular to keep even old banger leafs on the roads for decades, that’s gotta be more sustainable.

[@idrisddraig2]

Johannes Hübner and others have a work in progress CCS/Chademo adapter!

[@TestTest-eb8jr]

Dala is an absolutely incredible engineer!!!

[@fred_e]

I hope they do the eGolf next. VW has been absolutely draconian with information about their software

[@matthewbaynham6286]

Well Volkswagen sold about 100,000 e-Golfs and the LEAF sold about 6 times that. If there are less vehicles on the road then the DIY community will be slower and you'll just have to wait longer.

[@Supernaut2000]

A company in NZ is building a real TMS (liquid cooled) Leaf replacement battery!

[@tonystorcke]

A truly wonderful video. Bless you.

[@cyndicorinne]

I absolutely love this concept, and now know what brand I’d get.

[@olebloom1641]

Being into Linux open source is a huge part of my computing life. Great to see this!

[@trueriver1950]

Likewise. I think it was the "Open Source" that have the Y-T algorithm the idea that I'd be interested. It was right (on this occasion)

[@francisfrench4345]

I’ve viewed Dada’s channel a few times. Tech is a bit beyond me, but the mention of a CCS conversion brings a glimmer of hope for my Soul’s future. Especially with the adoption of Tesla plug standard here in North American.

[@roodick85]

Dala even has a way to use a whole battery pack for a house power battery backup lol. Dala is the man!

[@Muppetkeeper]

You are looking very well today.

[@kentreed7601]

What is the website to the open source?? Do they have low cost to get the 62kw battery and other materials?

[@ajohnwiersema]

I have always liked the leaf ( but then I also liked my smart four2!). A way to get an EV within my budget would be spectacular 😊

[@robertackerlind2]

Wow yay Dala. This is so needed. Upgrading older vehicles to make them usable longer is great.

[@ericapelz260]

All hail Dala the Great!

[@girthquake1413]

When I learned about the hotrodding community around the Leaf motor/inverter and Dala's backhacking of CANbus systems, I idly wondered if the Leaf was going to become something like the Ford Model A and T; this dead-simple vehicle that has this MASSIVE cottage industry of power and use upgrades because the creators made it so cheap it would be easily understood. Even swapping to a gas engine is still fine, because those people are most likely recycling a good chassis and reusing it. I wonder if Dala will also be working on entire custom packs for the leaf as well; if it had modern thermal management it could DC charge, and Nissan won't be making the Leaf cells forever. Being able to covert a Leaf to using packs from GM or Tesla or anyone else could make them virtually immortal as entirely unique creations, assuming it can fit in the space.

[@daltonx6177]

Great idea by why do you question the possibility of DC charging a Leaf? Thet can already DC charge, don't you know? And there is a cooling system for the inverter when it's charging, see ?

[@vcardenas1954]

Thanks so much for your advice

[@danwat1234]

I wish you the best Nikki!!!

[@cyberoptic5757]

Thank you for the chapter links

[@radiotec76]

Hi Nikki, this is Rick from the declining oil capitol of the world and rising renewables and EV capitol of the world, Houston, Texas. The open sourcing of battery upgrades on the Nissan Leaf is music to my ears. My 2015 Leaf has the lizard battery but has still lost 3 of its life bars. So far so good though. The thought of a 62 KW pack in my car sounds awesome. The possibility of converting the CHAdeMO connector to CCS is incredible news but for now I'll take the 62 KW pack. I can hardly wait for a V2G interface between my Leaf and my home incase we get another freeze or we get power loss during a heatwave. Thanks for another awesome and fascinating video!

[@idmhead0160]

I have a 2015 as well. I lost one bar around 50,000 miles. I'm at around 57,000 now. How many miles do you have on yours? Have you been using fast charging?

[@radiotec76]

@@idmhead0160 I have just over 83,000 miles on my Leaf but I use level three rarely. I live in Houston, Texas and my garage gets very hot, combine this with the freezes and it’s usually after a freeze that the battery pack loses a bar.

[@idmhead0160]

@@radiotec76 Thanks for the info. That's worse than I hoped. Hopefully, I can stave off losing any more bars for awhile. I'm in the Chicago area and don't really use it in the winter. It's kept in a heated garage. So, I'm hoping I will have better luck than you. would like to make it until at least 100,000 before a lose another bar.

[@radiotec76]

@@idmhead0160, you’ll probably fare better than me then.

[@DanT10]

I would love to try to upgrade the battery on my leaf. I am also looking at (dreaming of) the EVsEnhanced battery which reportedly is actively cooled. But not available yet and looks to be very expensive.

[@whocares264]

Always great information many thanks .

[@jbz7736]

Hello. Good Videos. You mentioned in some of your videos that there is a market for salvage yard batteries, I think you said in the UK ? do you have any information about how to search for those ? I have tried to look for one for years in the US, and cannot find one except at auctions, and those are expensive and you can't buy them anyways sometimes. So I looked on craigslist for the UK and did not see hardly any cars or parts. Does the UK use some other ads much more than the internet ? If you had any information that would be greatly appreciated. I would pay someone for that kind of service. Thanks.

[@user-hf7jp2lt5x]

Great news about the battery upgrades. Sorry to hear of the loss of the Moggy Minor.

[@Yanquetino]

I loved my 2012 LEAF. I just wish the Nissan hadn't dropped the ball. The were out front, and still could be, but… refused to improve their EV with thermal management, CCS, and more range.

[@Dangerous_Brian]

Cheaper to buy a second hand car with a better battery - especially in today's market! A thumbs up from me.

[@majbthrd]

I'm a bit bummed, as I let the clickbait get my hopes up only to have them dashed. It is great that Dala has open-sourced the firmware, but it doesn't move the needle with regards upgrade costs. As the fleet continues to age, the quality of those remaining used packs continues to degrade. The supply of used packs will just continue to dwindle, and scarcity only drives up costs. The absence of aftermarket packs is the unsolved problem. Alas, litigation cost (at least in the USA) will likely deter would-be vendors. (I could go into a side rant about insurance auctions letting batteries discharge for months in wrecked vehicles long before they can even be purchased... degrading remaining packs even more.)

[@olitonottero7620]

Super helpful thanks

[@xsilentxhawkx2383]

Knowing I can drop the battery on my own and that there is a community supporting the leaf is convincing me to buy a used one this week!

[@nissanleafbattery]

Great Video! Thanks for sharing.

[@shanefiddle]

AWESOMENESS! I hope the Bolt EV goes this way too eventually. And Ian.

[@CoolAce1-dv1pn]

I'm so glad my made in Japan petrol Nissan at 25 years old still performs like new. The prices of new cars today plus replacing EV batteries down the road is astronomical. I'm all for EV's and hope to buy one some day but I'm not going to buy a car when I know the battery will have to be replaced at some point.

[@amishguy54]

was sooo broken to hear of your old travelers demise one of my fav cars of all time .wish some one made a elct conversion for bmc cars ,rest of the show was great cheers

[@user-se3zk9ry2d]

I just love idling in my Eevee listening to my favorite podcast

[@Br0rB]

We have a 2015 Leaf, and it has been great so far. With roughly 75.000km driven so far, the battery reports from out service center still show 100%. We mostly charge at home, but quick charge on longer trips a few times a year. It's good to know battery replacements will likely be cheaper and easier in the future, because I really like the car, and it's still in great shape inside and out - even with driving on salty Norwegian winter roads 4-5 months each year.

[@idmhead0160]

That's a little less than where I lost one bar. Would be curious to know if that happens to you. I think I lost the first one at about 50,000 miles.

[@danwat1234]

There is a community trying to crack the software code of the Chevy Volt as well and will open source it! Brian Batista and Monroe Lee King are hard at work. My 2013 with 310K miles has significant degradation, hold mode at 9 miles remaining keeps full power when flooring.

[@EliotHochberg]

Got really excited when I thought this was official from Nissan that they had given approval to this kind of work. So it brings a question, how does Nissan feel about any of this? I only ask because tesla gets into people’s business so much.

[@keithparker2502]

Seeing you talking about Nisan batteries, how did you get on with your scooter battery upgrade. Thanks.

[@daverobert7927]

Niki another great vlog.. please please please do not make trivial of electrical safety. look forward to your next vlog.

[@kenhogg858]

Thank you for the info

[@gfbprojects1071]

Even in antipodean Australia we now have people changing out Leaf batteries and replacing them with better batteries with proper temperature management. A little bit expensive at $18 K Aust $$ but that is for a 50 kwh battery which has been remanufactured. Exciting times indeed.

[@127069]

A law to make manufacturers back up their ev batteries properly would make more difference than tax incentives

[@jonthecomposer]

Open sourcing is always a great thing. Unless your focus is money rather than quality, may as well assimilate the best solutions instead of just the paid-for ones. And in this case, the initial interest in making the information feely available will help to save the car itself and be a platform for others to create battery replacement businesses as well. So in the end, it will make money-sense regardless.

[@upcloseimage]

Great video! Thanks!

[@philtuffers6847]

This is such good news, Thank God clever people like Dala are planted enough to use his genious and share it fairly. Thank you for finding him and bringing him to my attention. There is hope, small and fragmented but if more people get the message of hope and fairness via your channel maybe we will wake up next week to a better, fairer, more tolerant World. Well you can but hope.