What to do with spare ER batteries - Buy the matching truck?

[tearitupsports]

It will work with any charger, but for the OEM BMS to balance the cells it has to be periodically charged with the OEM on board AC charger exclusively.

That would be easy to do. The Sigenergy is just a CCS1 or NACS connection. It can be removed and you could use the mobile charger or a wall charger every once and a while for AC. It would be a much more elegant solution than the pro power inverter (which can only be used as an off-grid generator input on these types of systems).

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[milleniumfalcon]

Well this is very interesting.

@ZSC100, I originally started with the goal of upgrading my truck from SR to ER battery. I hoped it might be as simple as swapping one for the other, but when I looked at it more it seemed there were greater differences than just the battery capacity - inverter/charger, maybe wiring, maybe cooling capacity. I hadn't seen anything encouraging about upgrading from SR to ER until your post. Is this something you've done? I don't think I'll be the only one looking to do this over time.

I'd be thrilled to swap the SR for ER battery if it could be done safely even if it didn't charge faster.

 

[astrand1]

Thanks for the advice.

I'll look at the home battery options, though I'm worried it will be more of a project than I want to take on right now.

@tearitupsports No, I don't have the charging port. It's just the batteries and some loose connections.

Re: Battery origin, I think we can say they fell off the back of a truck. What I was told is that the police broke up a chop shop, found some batteries, and the batteries went to auction. Someone bought them at auction, tried to figure out how to use them, couldn't find an easy use, tried to sell them on FB Marketplace, then gave them away on FB Marketplace when they wanted the shop space back and thought it was time to move the batteries on. The story seems plausible to me, because I can't see someone with stolen batteries giving them away rather than destroying the evidence. It's a risky move for little personal benefit.

Nice! Wonder how hard programming wise it would be to drop the SR pack out of your truck and put in the ER pack. of course the issue is you have no history on those packs. How many miles etc.

 

[roddiaz1]

Don't the battery packs have to be de-charged/uncharged (whatever the correct term is) before they are handled and worked on? I doubt the chop shop had the time or patience to do so. Be careful.

 

[ZSC100]

Don't the battery packs have to be de-charged/uncharged (whatever the correct term is) before they are handled and worked on? I doubt the chop shop had the time or patience to do so. Be careful.

Absolutely not. Have you ever had to discharge batteries to use/handle/touch? Batteries series'd together to a high enough voltage to shock you have dangerous potential no matter what the State of Charge. And none of that is exposed in any dangerous way if the battery is not opened up.

 

[NW Ontario Ford Lightning]

If you put the battery "on a shelf for five years" it will be scrap by then - batteries slowly discharge over time, and if the voltage drops too low, there is no recovery.
Batteries degrade with AGE as well as charge cycles - even if you 'exercise' the pack on a shelf, it will still degrade with time.
Agree with others - the battery you have in your lightning will outlast the truck; ie you will never need a back up. By the time the truck might need a repalcement battery, the tech will have changed and far superior chemistry will be available.

Swapping out the SR to use the ER - I don't know, would be 'nice' if possible. I would like to know more about that. The difference is additional 31kWh of storage - at today's prices (in my experience) that is worth $200 CAN x 31 = $6200 for the extra capacity. However, I looked at a salvaged Lightning ER battery in the aftermarket in Edmonton, it was selling for $6500 CAN plus shipping and tax. I didn't buy it.

The better use in my mind is to add energy storage to a Solar-battery system. These systems are generally 48-56 volt Lithium-Iron-Phosphate based, so the "easy" way to add a 380v DC pack as a back up is to use an inverter's DC PV input that is 500v DC rated. The battery doesn't "push' current, the inverter "pulls" just what it needs. So a typical inverter would pull 6-8kW per hour from the re-used lightning pack. To recharge it back up again (as others have pointed out) is best done with the truck's original charging system, and you need to monitor voltage to ensure you don't over (or under) charge that pack {very bad things happen to any battery that is overcharged above the cut-off voltage, or drained down below the minimum voltage}. Not really the average DIY's stuff.

The reason these packs sell for 'cheap' on the salvage market is due to the complexity of re-using them. That and as was said earlier - you don't really know the history and SOH of a pack sitting on a pallet. So people don't want to sink too much money into the unknowns, too much risk.

If I had a scrap battery pack that was "free" - I would play around with setting it between the rails of a trailer and see if I could power a low Hp motor on a trailer axel... for the summer months, then move it into my whole-home solar system for the winter months,..but that is me.

 

[Scorpio3d]

I believe the Power wall 3 uses LFP and is air cooled. I would assume you would need to install/hook up a cooling system for the Ford battery which is liquid cooled in the vehicle.
Certainly doable just saying…

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

If I had a scrap battery pack that was "free" - I would play around with setting it between the rails of a trailer and see if I could power a low Hp motor on a trailer axel... for the summer months, then move it into my whole-home solar system for the winter months,..but that is me.

One of my after-retirement projects will be to build a ~100 kWh camping trailer. It won’t have a motor on the trailer since I don’t trust my programming skills enough to make that safe no matter what goes wrong. But it will have a DCFC on it so I can dump that charge into the truck when I need it. And It’ll have the ability to charge at either DCFC or L2.

 

[NW Ontario Ford Lightning]

I believe the Power wall 3 uses LFP and is air cooled. I would assume you would need to install/hook up a cooling system for the Ford battery which is liquid cooled in the vehicle.
Certainly doable just saying…

In Texas, and other warm places if you don't put the battery inside a conditioned garage or dedicated battery room, then yes you need to consider temperatures for the battery pack.
In my area I mostly worry about the other extream - cold but for the same reasons - keeping the battery happy.
A 131kWh used as back up power for a whole home has the advantage of being very low current flow, and thus will not heat up like driving down the hwy does. Imagine using 30kWh per day from the battery - x 4 days, and compare that with using the entire battery in 3 hours driving down the hwy. The thermal considerations are very different.

 

[NW Ontario Ford Lightning]

One of my after-retirement projects will be to build a ~100 kWh camping trailer. It won’t have a motor on the trailer since I don’t trust my programming skills enough to make that safe no matter what goes wrong. But it will have a DCFC on it so I can dump that charge into the truck when I need it. And It’ll have the ability to charge at either DCFC or L2.

Interesting idea: Trailer battery can DCFC the truck.
So, to do this, you need the truck to accept the Trailer DC source - get past the 'handshake' step and at these high current flow rates, the trailer battery will need cooling system...
I wonder what it takes to get the truck to accept the DC source and actually charge? I mean what information does a DCFC station and the truck normally share that allows the FC part to activate - anyone know?

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

Interesting idea: Trailer battery can DCFC the truck.
So, to do this, you need the truck to accept the Trailer DC source - get past the 'handshake' step and at these high current flow rates, the trailer battery will need cooling system...
I wonder what it takes to get the truck to accept the DC source and actually charge? I mean what information does a DCFC station and the truck normally share that allows the FC part to activate - anyone know?

I'd just buy an off-the-shelf solution.

https://www.ampernext.com/products/first-30kw-dc-dc-solar-ev-charger/

 

[NW Ontario Ford Lightning]

Interesting - but direct from solar has some limitations that DC battery to DC battery doesn't suffer - ie sunlight requirements.
My question still stands unanswered - what does it take ,communication wise, between a DC charging source and the Truck input, to complete the 'hand-shake' and allow DC energy to flow?

 

[chl]

I currently have a 2022 Lightning Pro with the SR (standard range) battery. I'm very happy with the vehicle but have found the SR battery slightly limiting.

I've been given two extra (loose, detached from truck) ER (extended range) batteries. I am trying to decide what to do (if anything) with these spare batteries. They could be cannibalized for modules in another lightning battery, cannibalized for stationary use with a solar array, or installed as a full pack in an ER truck.

I am considering buying a used ER truck, ideally at a discount due to high mileage, on the theory that I have a replacement battery on the shelf waiting. I don't know if this is a good idea. Ideally I'd find a truck that needs a replacement battery immediately and is priced correspondingly, but most are still under warranty so this seems unlikely.

My theory is that the batteries are the high-value part likely to need replacing first. Aluminum body should be good for a long time, motors good for a long time, suspension and steering repairs relatively inexpensive. Wiring/charging problems unknown but hopefully not too expensive to repair if required. Please let me know if you disagree.

What are we expecting to see for lifespan mileage of these batteries? I'm currently driving around 40k km per year and am guessing a utilized battery would be ready for replacement around the 250k km mark. That's an un-informed guess (250k km lifespan) I've been using when thinking about storing a spare battery for several years on a shelf. What do you think about the expected battery lifespan? Mostly Level 2 AC charging at home. I'm thinking I could take an ER lightning to >500k km on two batteries (one original, one replacement) without major repairs (assuming no accidents).

Maybe I'm being pessimistic about the battery lifespan, and we're all going to get 400k km on our batteries without serious range degradation - I'm not particularly informed on this topic and made up the 250k km estimate.

What do we think the battery market is going to look like in five years? In ten years? There's little point planning around OEM batteries if we think after-market batteries are going to be plentiful/cheap/better. My working assumption is that I'd drive the truck a fair bit and be ready to swap batteries in <5 years, and that at this point the technology won't have changed enough for the free spare OEM battery not to be attractive. This assumes I buy a relatively high-mileage truck and the battery lifespan isn't exceptional.

What do we think will happen to a battery stored on a shelf for 5 years? Any ideas for how to maintain battery health over this period? I'm realizing I may need/want to keep the battery from freezing.

Questions that are maybe more appropriate for the dealership:
Does anyone know if it's possible to test battery health detached from the vehicle? I can call the dealership. No point planning around batteries that are in poor health.

Does anyone know about battery compatibility between model years? One of the batteries has a 2023 stamp with 143.4kWh marked.


Thanks for any advice you're able to share.

I think battery tech is changing fast, moved to LFP and will be moving beyond to sodium ion or who knows what else is in the pipeline.

In theory you could keep the batteries stored at 40%-50% capacity for several weeks or months, maybe years(?) and only experience the 1%-2% capacity loss per year that is unavoidable. But you'd want a climate controlled environment, and a way to check them now and then, maybe some kind of charger to bring them back above 40% if needed?

But even if you did that, then what? Who is going to need them after that? In 5 year EV battery tech is likely to have changed quite a bit. Maybe there will be a need for replacement batteries or modules in some aging Ford Lightning by 2030 (when the 8 year warranty expires) or sooner for high mileage vehicles (over 100k miles 161k km).

If you aren't going to use them for home power as others have suggested, I would say see if there are DIYers who want to do that and sell them the batteries. May be some here on the forum?

Swapping an SR for an ER also requires adding a second charger which the ER's come with from the factory. I have read several posts by people wanting to do that, but so far I have not seen that it has been done.

Now there are some battery swapping companies out there - it is popular in China and there is at least one operating in the US in CA (called AMPLE). So if a Ford Lightning battery is out out of warranty and needs replacing (70% capacity or less is not acceptable), rather than replacing the battery with an OEM (if even available then) one might be able to switch to an AMPLE modular battery system.

For an SR battery with est 240 mile range, 70% is still 168 miles, which for my needs is still adequate.

As for comments about the Leaf, people who don't own one would be surprised how many older ones are still on the road!

My 2012 Leaf came with a 24kWh battery and when new (Dec 2011) I could get 100 miles out of it by driving conservatively.

Now it is almost 14 years old. I only use it for short local trips, keep in in a garage, and have never fast charged it. I keep it at no more that 80% charge most of the time. As a result it is a low mileage vehicle and has a battery capacity of about 85% the original.

Soon after I got the Leaf I no longer needed to commute for work, so it has under 10k miles on it. Since I got the Lightning, the Leaf gets less use.

My 2023 Ford Lightning Pro SR is 21 months old and has about 2800 miles on it. I don't know how typical or atypical that is, but an SR battery is fine for my needs.

I have been on a Nissan Leaf forum since I first got the Leaf, and the forum is still active.

On there I read about at least one Chinese company (Vivne) that makes replacement/upgrade plug and play batteries for the older Leafs with a capacity of 68kWh. If I went that route, I'd have for all practical purposes, a new EV with almost as much range as a 2026 Leaf.

The 2026 Leaf has an EPA est range of 303 miles on a 75kWh battery, more than 3 times the battery in my Leaf.

Many many Leafs in still on the road in Norway and Japan. The typical battery lifespan for 2012 Leaf's was 8-10 years or 100,000-150,000 miles

As of September 2025, the Nissan Leaf has sold 81,229 units in Norway since its launch, making it the second-best-selling EV in the country after the Tesla Model Y. The Leaf was Norway's best-selling EV for many years and was instrumental in the country's early mass adoption of electric vehicles.

That said, the Leaf is not a pickup truck, and I have always found a pickup very useful - I have owned one most of the time since 1974, the last one before the Lightning was a 2001 Ford Ranger XLT - now my grandson uses it for commuting to college.

 

[MikeH]

I currently have a 2022 Lightning Pro with the SR (standard range) battery. I'm very happy with the vehicle but have found the SR battery slightly limiting.

I've been given two extra (loose, detached from truck) ER (extended range) batteries. I am trying to decide what to do (if anything) with these spare batteries. They could be cannibalized for modules in another lightning battery, cannibalized for stationary use with a solar array, or installed as a full pack in an ER truck.

I am considering buying a used ER truck, ideally at a discount due to high mileage, on the theory that I have a replacement battery on the shelf waiting. I don't know if this is a good idea. Ideally I'd find a truck that needs a replacement battery immediately and is priced correspondingly, but most are still under warranty so this seems unlikely.

My theory is that the batteries are the high-value part likely to need replacing first. Aluminum body should be good for a long time, motors good for a long time, suspension and steering repairs relatively inexpensive. Wiring/charging problems unknown but hopefully not too expensive to repair if required. Please let me know if you disagree.

What are we expecting to see for lifespan mileage of these batteries? I'm currently driving around 40k km per year and am guessing a utilized battery would be ready for replacement around the 250k km mark. That's an un-informed guess (250k km lifespan) I've been using when thinking about storing a spare battery for several years on a shelf. What do you think about the expected battery lifespan? Mostly Level 2 AC charging at home. I'm thinking I could take an ER lightning to >500k km on two batteries (one original, one replacement) without major repairs (assuming no accidents).

Maybe I'm being pessimistic about the battery lifespan, and we're all going to get 400k km on our batteries without serious range degradation - I'm not particularly informed on this topic and made up the 250k km estimate.

What do we think the battery market is going to look like in five years? In ten years? There's little point planning around OEM batteries if we think after-market batteries are going to be plentiful/cheap/better. My working assumption is that I'd drive the truck a fair bit and be ready to swap batteries in <5 years, and that at this point the technology won't have changed enough for the free spare OEM battery not to be attractive. This assumes I buy a relatively high-mileage truck and the battery lifespan isn't exceptional.

What do we think will happen to a battery stored on a shelf for 5 years? Any ideas for how to maintain battery health over this period? I'm realizing I may need/want to keep the battery from freezing.

Questions that are maybe more appropriate for the dealership:
Does anyone know if it's possible to test battery health detached from the vehicle? I can call the dealership. No point planning around batteries that are in poor health.

Does anyone know about battery compatibility between model years? One of the batteries has a 2023 stamp with 143.4kWh marked.


Thanks for any advice you're able to share.

You have been GIVEN (?) two batteries. I bought an ER battery to use in my conversion truck (it was a 6 cyl diesel). Since you are local to me we should keep in touch. I am currently fitting the modules into the truck and wiring them up but I have not figured out how to read the CANbus signals to balance the modules.

Mike

 

[RLXXI]

If they were mine I would dissect them down to single cells if possible, buy a few bms and build some extra home solar storage.

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