Alberta Lithium LiFePo4 LFP 20L-BS battery, install, compare to OEM, 1st impressions
22 F3S
Open the frunk, remove the 4 push pins (one at each corner), remove the trim piece that covers the latch by pulling up at each corner to pull out the pins from the rubber grommets, pull towards the front and set aside, lift up the basket and carefully position it towards the right side and prop in place (there are two electrical connectors on the right side that do not need to be removed), using a 10mm wrench disconnect the negative and positive leads from the battery, (you can use a #2 Phillips screwdriver) do not drop the two bolts, set the leads to the side, remove the rubber hold down strap in the front from the hold down bracket, and carefully rotate the battery forward after lifting up on the bracket. Remove the battery and the bracket will likely fall down. Use your phone or a mirror and flashlight to see where the bracket pins before installing the new battery.
Install the new battery in the bottom of the holder with it leaning forward against the plastic (60 degrees), hook the back tabs of the top bracket into the back, holding the top bracket in the raised position with your right hand rotate the battery to vertical, center it and drop the top bracket down on top of the battery, hook the rubber hold down strap to the bracket. Mine did not drop down all the way and I did not trim it to fit the new battery because it has a digital meter on top that displays voltage when you press the button (next to it) so that you can read the state of charge. This feature will be covered by the top bracket so useless in this application, but I didn't want the top bracket to accidentally contact the switch. This battery is slightly shorter than the OEM, so I cut 2 small pieces of styrofoam to fit (friction fit one on each side of the battery). Reinstall the neg and positive leads to the battery making sure they are snug and do not come loose. I did not use star washers on this or any of my other battery connections and haven't had any come loose. Hook up the charger if you want to fully charge the battery before you use it.
I purchased a 12V/24V 20 Amp LiFePO4 Smart Charger that can be used for Lithium, AGM/Lead, or LiFepo4 that I used to top off the battery and it charged to full very quickly (within minutes). This charger is much larger than is required but will work for multiple batteries in the future or some larger batteries.
13.2V 12Ah 700CCA LiFePO4 Starter Battery UTVs Boats, Warranty: 5 years full replacement – shipping included. Voltage@12.8volts, CCA@-20C=700 and capacity = 12Ah, 180 WH, made in China, wt=2.2Kg=4.8 lbs. The battery came at 13.2volts indicating that it was at 70% charge which would have had plenty of energy to start the Spyder even if I had not fully charged it.
This battery went from 13.2 volts to 13.0 volts at key on and dropped to 12.7 volts cranking for a split second. This battery spins the engine over at least 30% faster than the OEM and keeps the voltage while cranking near the fully charged resting voltage of the OEM. The engine starts within about two revolutions.
HTX24HL-FA Haijiu (made in China) is listed on site as 330 CCA but the actual battery shows 300 CCA and when load tested fully charged to 12.8 volts resting it showed 330CCA which is as high as it can get since it was replaced under warranty last November and has had maybe 5 starts on it. It is rated at 21 Ah and weighs 6.9 Kg/15.2 lbs. at least 1 Kg lighter than a Yuasa so I suspect that it is a re-labelled 20 series battery. Resting voltage was 12.8 volts, key on dropped to 12.1 volts and cranking dropped to 11.9 volts with a noticeably slower cranking speed.
First impressions of the LiFePo4:
The reseller is local (Calgary) so no shipping cost; 5 year full replacement including shipping. Purchase price was about 35% more than an VRLA Lead Acid. Made in China.
The cells in the battery are prismatic grade A cells, nominal voltage 3.2volts x 4=12.8 volts. The battery should not be discharged below 10 volts to prevent damage and can be charged up to 14.4 volts, it is fully charged above 13.6 volts according to the graph I will attempt to attach. On the initial start I noticed some voltage fluctuation between 15.2 volts and 14.4 volts where it appeared that the BMS was trying to maintain a maximum of 14.4 volts and the voltage regulator was trying to go to 15.2/15.3 volts. Hopefully the system will learn to play better after running for a longer period of time. The system voltage will likely run at 13.6 volts or above which means more energy for the ECM, fuel pump and the rest of the system. On a DC system a higher voltage usually runs cooler, but the voltage fluctuations may be hard on the voltage regulator/alternator??
The reseller said that the battery could be used in the winter on my 22 Renegade 900 R sled so if that is true it will be a dual-purpose battery for me. It may require a wakeup (turn on lights or bump starter to warm the battery) at the colder temperatures as long as it isn't damaged. I will update this thread next spring. The engine start is supposed to warm up the battery so that it is not damaged by charging at too low a temperature??
The OEM battery is rated at 21 Ah with 300 CCA, was supposed to be 24 Ah (350CCA), and the LiFePo4 is rated at 12 Ah with 700 CCA. There is a smaller battery with 8AH that has 420 CCA which may be a more comparable replacement. This LiFePo4 is rated for 6000 cycles which I should not use even in 10 years?
The BMS (battery management system) should shut off before it reaches 10 volts and regulate the charging voltage to 14.4 volts to prevent damage to the cells. Time will tell if it is a premium BMS or a "just get by type" of BMS since the better the BMS the more money it costs. If the battery is shut down on low voltage the charger is supposed to be able to wake it up so that it can be recharged.
The first photo is the OEM, the second photo shows the LFP 20L (specs and size difference), the third shows a top-down shot that shows the bracket and the digital meter on top of the LFP 20L, and the fourth shows the LFP 20 L in place and secured by the top bracket and the styrofoam side spacers.
At this point I am impressed but not completely sold until I have more of a performance history.
Alberta Lithium LiFePo4 LFP 20L-BS battery, install, compare to OEM, 1st impressions
Reply With Quote
