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So you are looking to upgrade the battery in your LEAF? You've come to the right place for information. Take some time to familiarize with the content. Please also note that battery upgrades might not be legal in your country (Norway has strict upgrade rules for example), so it might be worthwhile to familiarize yourself with your local legislation.
Important
The info here applies to OEM Nissan battery packs. The software/guides do NOT support changing cells inside the battery pack (commonly known as Chinese CATL upgrade / bruteforce cellswap). If you have the latter, look elsewhere, the info here is not for you.
There are three major version changes between the LEAF models.
2011-2012 ZE0 (white interior, electrical handbrake) 2013-2017 AZE0 (dark interior, foot operated handbrake) 2018- ZE1 (new exterior style with 40/62kWh batterypacks) There's also the 24kWh e-NV200, which is technically identical to the AZE0.
The battery packs (24/30/40kWh) are all the same physical size. The 62kWh pack is taller and requires spacers, more on that later. Here are the battery weights. Please note that you might need to re-certify your vehicle for the additional weight. 24kWh = 277kg (601pounds) 30kWh = 294kg (648pounds) 40kWh = 303kg (668pounds) 62kWh = 410kg (903pounds)
Most likely you are going to upgrade an older LEAF. There are a few things to keep in mind, first one being, are you doing a swap or an upgrade?
A direct swap is replacing the same size battery with an identical one for the same version of your vehicle. A battery upgrade is installing a newer generation battery. Take a look at these 4 examples to learn the differences.
A 2011 ZE0 LEAF gets its 24kWh pack replaced by another 24kWh pack from a 2012 ZE0 LEAF. This is a direct swap.
A 2011 ZE0 LEAF gets its 24kWh pack replaced by a 24kWh pack from a 2015 AZE0 LEAF. This is a battery upgrade.
A 2013 AZE0 LEAF gets its 24kWh pack replaced by another 24kWh pack from a 2015 AZE0 LEAF. This is a direct swap.
A 2015 AZE0 LEAF gets its 24kWh pack replaced by a 40kWh pack from a 2018 ZE1 LEAF. This is a battery upgrade.
Now that we have swap/upgrade terms explained, let's tackle the easiest one first, the direct swap. After a direct swap has been performed, the only thing preventing you from driving the vehicle is a check EV warning light along with turtle mode. The fault code P3102 will be triggered. To clear this code and remove turtle mode, simply read DTCs and perform a P3102 clear with the latest Leafspy Pro version (0.46.172 for Android)(1.7.44.15 for iOS [Requires TestFlight]). That's it, enjoy the newfound range! :D
Here is a video that shows step by step on how to pair with Leafspy Pro https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSSjde_oAT0
The battery upgrade is the procedure more commonly performed. This requires either one or two things.
If you are upgrading your 2011-2012 ZE0 LEAF, you will require a B24 22-36pin adapter. You will also need a CAN-bridge.
If you are upgrading your 2013+ AZE0/ZE1/e-NV200 vehicle, you will only require a CAN-bridge since the battery is mechanically plug'n'play.
A CAN-bridge (also known as CAN-gateway/translator) is translating the newer style battery communication into an older format the older vehicle can understand. It is absolutely mandatory for safe operation and charging of the vehicle.
This guide focuses on the 2-port since it is the easiest to source at the moment. It also goes by the name "MB CAN Filter 18 in 1". Note that it has to be the BLUE PCB version. Here is the purchase link:
| Bridge version | Purchase link |
|---|---|
| 2-port budget | AliExpress "MB CAN Filter 18 in 1 |
As soon as the CAN-bridge is mounted, it will assume a battery upgrade has taken place (that is what the battery-upgrade software does 😅 ), and it will start to modify CAN messages quite aggressively, and send more messages on the bus. Incase you did not perform an actual upgrade, you will experience many fault codes until you physically install the battery you intend to upgrade to. The car will drive and charge, but you might run into unintended behavior. Due to all this, it is recommended to only fit the can-bridge directly when you upgrade, or in the days beforehand.
This section only applies if you have a 2011-2012 ZE0 LEAF. Nissan originally used a 22-pin connector on the battery for these vehicles, and starting from 2013+ they switched to using a 36-pin connector. The amount of pins are the same, it is only the physical connector that changed. If you are upgrading your ZE0 to the newer style, you have a few options on how to get the 36-pin plug.
- The cheapest option: Is to take it from the same salvage car that you took the battery from. You can cut a short section of the harness and splice it in with your old car. Example wiring diagram available here: https://github.com/dalathegreat/Nissan- ... umentation
- The easiest option: Is to order a premade 22-36-connector from a company (Muxsan, EVs Enhanced for example)
- The DIY option: Is to order the Yazaki connector and re-pin your harness. Yazaki part number 7287-1065-30 for the 36-connector and the pins are 7116441708 . Purchase link for all (Aliexpress: https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/1005004180391674.html ) There is even a pre-crimped and populated 36-pin battery side connector available here: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005815234149.html
The 2013+ batteries have an external high voltage heater port. On the ZE0 LEAF, this port wont be used. The port can be plugged with silicone, and for instance a 3d-printed blockoff: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6534111 (Credit to machining program at William M. Davies vocational school. Lincoln, RI USA)
If you are upgrading to the 62kWh pack from the 2019 e+ LEAF, you will require some additional hardware. The 62kWh pack is taller and has a slightly different mounting flange, so you will need spacers in order to bolt it down. This is not legal in some countries, since you are lowering ground clearance slightly (40mm).
See this SketchUp drawing for how this spacer bars look like:
The little bar is put into the big one and provides means to bolt the battery to the spacer bar. The two remaining holes are used to bolt the bar to the vehicle using the original mounting points. One 80mm bolt is going all the way from the battery through the bar to the chassis. The other hole is using an original bolt mounting just the bar to the chassis.
Other than spacers, the rear springs need to be changed out to either the e+ rear springs, or custom made springs can also be sourced via Muxsan. The splash shield undertray also needs to be changed to the e+ version. Part numbers listed below
The part numbers are: 55020-5SJ1B for ePlus rear springs, 2 needed. 748N3-5SN0A Splash shield 3 748N2-5SN0A Splash shield 2 74811-5SN0A Splash shield 1 740D1-5SN0A Rear mount LH side (you can also weld and extend the current one) 740D0-5SN0A Rear mount RH side (you can also weld and extend the current one) 40mm adapter rails (fab own or go with premade)
The e-NV200 van can only be upgraded from 24kWh to 40kWh, using a battery pack from another e-NV200. This is because the batteries have another physical shape compared to the LEAF, along with active cooling. So this rules out 30kWh and 62kWh upgrades. When upgrading a 24kWh e-NV200 to 40kWh, Leafspy can be used to pair in the replacement pack. Afterwards, an optional but highly recommended CAN-bridge can be fitted to fix instrumentation and quickcharge issues. For instance the Dala variant is open source software: https://github.com/dalathegreat/Nissan- ... ry-Upgrade
Nissan itself is offering warranty replacements(and out of pocket) for LEAFs. Here is what is possible via Nissan dealerships 2011-2012 24kWh LEAFs can get 24kWh new replacement packs (new packs with old type connector and BMS) 2013-2016 24kWh LEAFs can get 24kWh new replacement packs 2016-2017 30kWh LEAFs can get 40kWh packs when getting a warranty pack! 2018- No data yet
The repository contains a 3d-printable case that you can print, incase you want something more protective than the included shrinkwrap. Massive thanks to Cyril Douteau for making it! Download .zip file here