SR to ER battery swap DIY project

[regentscholar]

With the Ford and SK partnership terminated, I'm wondering how long fresh packs will be available for repairs... I'd easily pay $10k for upgrading my SR to ER with a lightly used ER pack. I wanted an ER Pro but Ford wasn't selling those to non-fleet customers.

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[Parsnip]

With the Ford and SK partnership terminated, I'm wondering how long fresh packs will be available for repairs... I'd easily pay $10k for upgrading my SR to ER with a lightly used ER pack. I wanted an ER Pro but Ford wasn't selling those to non-fleet customers.

I wonder if in a few years, as prices on batteries continue to fall and the trucks finally come out of warranty (I guess 2030ish), if aftermarket companies might come up with smaller, higher power density batteries to be added to the Lightning.

 

[MountainAlive]

I wonder if in a few years, as prices on batteries continue to fall and the trucks finally come out of warranty (I guess 2030ish), if aftermarket companies might come up with smaller, higher power density batteries to be added to the Lightning.

This is my theory on why Ford might be keeping the Lightning assembly line fairly intact for an EREV version, which in theory simply adds an engine into the frunk (or under under the bed, TBD). That way, if in 2-3 years solid state or some other significantly cheaper battery tech (sodium batteries for example) comes online, they can quickly pivot again to making a BEV Lightning at much lower cost.

 

[NW Ontario Ford Lightning]

L-NMC 9.5.5 cells supplied by SK-On used in the Lightning are rated at 240Wh/kg
Sodium cells by CATL's Naxtra brand are only 175Wh/kg (other brands are even lower at 140Wh/kg)
37% heavier for the same energy content.
The voltage curve for Sodium cells is very wide (4.1v down to 1.5v) while the L-NMC typically operate in a narrow 4.0v down to 3.0v range which is better for electronics motors etc.

I have LFP, L-NMC and Sodium cells I use in various battery-solar set ups. I am on my 4th-year with the sodium cells, and their main advantage is temperature range. The main disadvantage is weight, and wide voltage curve that I can't fully use with current inverters above 12-volt.
Sodium may be best for grid-scale back up and peak supply from renewables. Weight is not a big deal for a big battery tied to the grid.
Sodium is abundant and these cells could be far cheaper to produce than Lithium one day.

 

[Shmoe]

With the Ford and SK partnership terminated, I'm wondering how long fresh packs will be available for repairs... I'd easily pay $10k for upgrading my SR to ER with a lightly used ER pack. I wanted an ER Pro but Ford wasn't selling those to non-fleet customers.

Either ford will amass inventory, or they will source the packs from somewhere else. But they're on the hook for warranties.

 

[RocketGhost]

I wonder if in a few years, as prices on batteries continue to fall and the trucks finally come out of warranty (I guess 2030ish), if aftermarket companies might come up with smaller, higher power density batteries to be added to the Lightning.

I doubt it. There's just no money to be made. It would be a huge development and manufacturing cost and the trucks may need modifications to the battery management controls and architecture. It would be far more expensive than just getting replacement modules from Ford.

 

[biers]

Add me to the list of successful battery upgrades.

Picked up a used ER pack off eBay and had it installed at a local independent EV shop in Portland, OR - WattWorks. This was his second swap and it truly is plug and play. It was done by Alex, the gentleman on the podcast posted in the other thread about this upgrade.

With Car Scanner, I was able to confirm the extra horsepower is available - floored it and saw it showing 376 kW.

Took it to an Ionna DC charger just now and saw it hit 185 kW at 32% SOC. The highest I’ve seen it go before at a Tesla supercharger was 172 kW.

The final benefit - which I don’t have any real way of testing, is that with my max tow package I should now be able to comfortably tow up to 10,000 pounds.

Now I just need to figure out what to do with my old battery.

 

[flabrent]

Now I just need to figure out what to do with my old battery.

You could put it on eBay. Someone out there might be able to use it for something other than a Lightning like storing solar energy.

 

[carys98]

Add me to the list of successful battery upgrades.

Picked up a used ER pack off eBay and had it installed at a local independent EV shop in Portland, OR - WattWorks. This was his second swap and it truly is plug and play. It was done by Alex, the gentleman on the podcast posted in the other thread about this upgrade.

With Car Scanner, I was able to confirm the extra horsepower is available - floored it and saw it showing 376 kW.

Took it to an Ionna DC charger just now and saw it hit 185 kW at 32% SOC. The highest I’ve seen it go before at a Tesla supercharger was 172 kW.

The final benefit - which I don’t have any real way of testing, is that with my max tow package I should now be able to comfortably tow up to 10,000 pounds.

Now I just need to figure out what to do with my old battery.

Need to update your profile.

 

[PJnc284]

Need to update your profile.

When you doing the switch on yours?

 

[carys98]

When you doing the switch on yours?

Just checked eBay. Unfortunately I don’t have a spare $8k at the moment.

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