Battery re-celling?

Electrically assisted bikes, trikes, etc. that are legal in the UK
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danfoto
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Location: East Sussex

Battery re-celling?

Post by danfoto »

Or whatever you call the process of replacing the actual cells in an ebike battery.

The battery of lady wife's Batavus Harlem Ego has had a hard life and seems to be tiring of it, so we're beginning to think about replacement costs. Problem is, we're not well off. In fact we're officially classed as in relative poverty as well as in fuel poverty, so my thoughts are turning to replacing the cells in the existing battery casing. Judging by what I've seen on Youtube etc., I have the necessary skills and tools.

But ... has anyone on here actually done it and lived to tell the tale? Is it really "just" a matter of working out how to get into the battery case, identifying the cells, getting good replacements via AliBaba or whatever, connecting it all up, persuading it back into the casing and crossing fingers?

If you've successfully done the deed, do please share your thoughts :)
rjb
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Re: Battery re-celling?

Post by rjb »

Open up your battery case for a look. I opened mine as I had to unplug the battery cells inside to reset the battery management system. Inside I found the battery was covered in a heat shrink. Removing this revealed the cells were all spot welded onto a single large circuit board. Beyond my skillset to recell it if I had too despite being handy with a soldering iron. No plugs to disconnect the cells either.
There are people who will recell batteries but I haven't had to use them. Someone will give better advice soon.
Search you tube to see if your battery has been repaired. :wink:
At the last count:- Peugeot 531 pro, Dawes Discovery Tandem, Dawes Kingpin X3, Raleigh 20 stowaway, 1965 Moulton deluxe, Falcon K2 MTB dropped bar tourer, Rudge Bi frame folder, Longstaff trike conversion on a Giant XTC 840 :D
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danfoto
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Re: Battery re-celling?

Post by danfoto »

rjb wrote: 28 Jan 2023, 6:45pm ... the cells were all spot welded onto a single large circuit board ...
Thank you rjb. That's exactly the sort of information I was hoping for. Hmmmm. I hadn't considered that some bits might be spot-welded ...
hemo
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Re: Battery re-celling?

Post by hemo »

Is your batavus bike a bosh bike ?
If so then the battery BMS is CANbus and you will brick the BMS and render it useless. Bosh don't repair/ recell batteries , there ethos master plan is simply to make the end user replace at considerable cost.
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danfoto
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Re: Battery re-celling?

Post by danfoto »

hemo wrote: 29 Jan 2023, 12:09am Is your batavus bike a bosh bike ? ...
No. Yamaha.
hemo
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Re: Battery re-celling?

Post by hemo »

Go on to pedelecs forum , one will get an answer to whether it is possible to recell or not.
The main issue is whether one will brick the bms or not .

Again it is a case of no after market repair by Yamaha, one guy damaged the discharge connection of the battery (battery was out of warranty ) band yamaha dealer simply said bin it as yamaha have a no repair policy. The battery was perfect other wise so rather then spend £800 on replacement battery the guy had a BT engineer mate and between them they sourced and wired up a new different discharge for less then a tenner ot enforce a usable repair that has lasted far longer then the original design. His bike has now gone on to do over 14k miles still with the original battery.
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asinus
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Re: Battery re-celling?

Post by asinus »

I have experience of this, twice. My 1999 Raleigh Select had its cells replaced by the Electric Bike Sales in Cambridge in 2012, and still has a range of 20+ miles 2300 miles, 70+ charges and 11 years later. More recently we got my wife's e-trike battery recelled through a concern called Electric Bike Battery Repairs - who actually engaged County Battery, who I think are based in Nottinghamshire to do it. I sent EBBR some pictures, as it didn't fit any of their standard patterns, and they arranged things (after payment), including transport by UPS - sending batteries is fraught. I found them by an online search.
The service was quick - a few days - but we had to return the battery twice under warranty after it packed up, probably due to speed humps on lousy Lancashire roads - so now my wife is careful to avoid the worst routes. Now done over 200 miles, but at a cost of nearly £500 for a 36V,11 Ah system (I think).

Hope this helps.
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