How Wildly Swollen Batteries Have Derailed My Plans To Resurrect The Cheapest Car In The World

Changlibatteryswell Top
ADVERTISEMENT

If I seem a little, I don’t know, incomplete to you, I think I know why. It’s because my Changli, the cheapest new car in the world, has been out of commission for a number of months. Well, it seems to have been a lot of months, because time is cruel and so very fast and winter was long and look, I just kept putting it off. I do that with so many things in my life, I realize. It’s not good. The sheer number of unfinished cars and projects sometimes makes me feel overwhelmed, like I’m sliding into an oil-soaked black hole of regret. But that’s not productive! I must crawl out, via action! And the first action means finally taking care of the battery situation of the Changli. I attempted to start that yesterday, but was stymied by a problem I probably should have expected, but didn’t. A problem that sounds almost medical, because it involves swelling.

My $930 2020 Changli Freeman ($1200 with batteries) had been an incredibly reliable little ridiculous EV for me since I got it, and I used it lots and lots. Then, last May, I encountered the problem that put it out of commission, which seemed to be due to wear in one or more of the five lead-acid 12V batteries that give the Changli its lifeforce.

When I tried to start the Changli, the in-dash voltmeter showed the expected amount, 63V, but the motor just pulsed rapidly when trying to run, sort of like how modern cars will click and pulse their dash lights when trying to start with a weak 12V battery. You can see it here:

At the time, I checked the batteries with a voltmeter and did find that at least two of them were a bit low. The batteries read 12.8, 11.7, 8, 10.6, and 15.5 volts, at least based on what I’d written on them months ago, when I checked. One of those is weirdly high, one weirdly low. All together, it comes to 58.6, just a bit below what the expected capacity would be, though I’d think it could still get things moving, but I could be wrong. I’m sure even the crude electrical management system here has some sort of checks on the voltage coming in.

Clearly, there’s something up with these batteries. I want to take them out so I can evaluate them individually, perhaps see if they’re worth trying to salvage, but more likely I’ll be replacing them entirely, hopefully with something more interesting and better than lead acid batteries, like a lithium battery pack or maybe a salvaged NiCad battery from a hybrid car like a Prius. That’s if I can’t order a small fusion reactor off Alibaba, of course.

To do any of this, I have to first remove the batteries, of course. And that’s where I hit my snag. After disconnecting the wires, I found I was unable to remove any of the batteries, which should be pretty obvious if you look at their condition:

Swolebatts

Have these guys been hitting the gym when I haven’t been looking? Because they are swole. Oh man, every battery in here is severely bulging, to the point where they’ve deformed one another’s cases and have managed to lock themselves together into one immobile mass of plastic and nasty chemicals.

Here it is, in moving pictures:

Compare this to a photo of the battery box from October 2021:

Oct2021 Batts

It’s not a full shot, but it’s the best I had here; look at the two batteries on the side there. See that little styrofoam panel in between them? It’s gone now! What happened to it? Was it just crushed between the swelling batteries? Did some chemical process dissolve it? Did it escape?

Styrofoam

So, what causes lead acid batteries like these to bloat and swell, anyway? It seems the most common culprit is overcharging. The chemical process inside the battery creates hydrogen and oxygen, and if that is being produced in quantities that prevent adequate venting or go beyond the battery’s ability to re-absorb the chemicals (if it is in fact a recombinant battery), then pressure builds up enough to deform the plastic battery housing as it expands, like a heavy, joyless balloon.

The cell plates inside the battery could be swelling as well; without tearing the batteries open, I’m not really certain, but it barely matters because they’re all very clearly swollen as hell.

I’ve only ever used the Changli-supplied charger to charge the batteries, so I’d hope that would be putting out the proper voltage to charge them up without overcharging. Generally, I plugged the Changli back in after use, and left it plugged in. I’ve checked golf cart sites to see what the preferred procedure was for lead-acid battery-powered carts, and there’s some controversy, it seems. According to the Golf Cart Maven, whose name suggests confidence, even the major manufacturers of golf carts differ on this:

  • Club Car recommends that electric golf car chargers be left plugged in to the golf car during prolonged storage.

  • E-Z-GO recommends that electric golf car chargers remain unplugged from the golf car during prolonged storage.

  • Yamaha recommends completely removing the golf car batteries and storing them externally from the golf car.

So, did I cause this by leaving it plugged in? Maybe? I suppose if my charger is dumb – which it very likely is – it didn’t sense when the batteries were fully charged and just kept on going, which may have led to an overcharging situation and, as a result, these bulging batteries?

But at the same time, everything says you should charge a lead-acid EV back up after each use.

Maybe the only real answer here is that lead-acid batteries kinda suck.

So, now I need to figure out how to extract these wedged-in, stuck batteries. I’m neither tall enough nor strong enough to pick up the whole car, turn it upside down, and smack it until the batteries are free, but if I’m lucky a passing Sasquatch might be willing to help me try that. Barring that, I really don’t want to puncture the plastic cases, because then acids and gases and other unpleasantness can escape and cause all kinds of havoc.

That said, I’m not exactly sure how I can avoid it, at least for one battery? If I crowbar a battery unstuck, there’s a good chance I’ll be cracking that plastic, but once I get one out, the others should have more room, and I can likely extract the rest without harm.

Once out, I want to research some replacement options. Lithium-ion would be the dream, but they’re not cheap. Here’s a 60V lithium ion pack, but at $800, that’s almost as much as the whole car was. More affordable are these NiCad battery modules from a Prius; they’re $35 each, and each makes about 7 volts, so can I connect nine of these in series for a 63V battery pack? That should work, right?

But first, I need to get the damn things out. I suppose the next post about this will either be written with the intoxication of victory, or from a hospital bed after I manage to cause an explosion that merges human and Changli, making me the shittiest cyborg ever imagined. Wish me luck.

 

Relatedbar

About the Author

Mercedes Streeter

View All My Posts

123 thoughts on “How Wildly Swollen Batteries Have Derailed My Plans To Resurrect The Cheapest Car In The World”

  1. You can often find some deals on here, but like a strip club bathroom vending machine, you never know what they’re gonna have: batteryhookup.com

  2. The battery box appears to be a more-or-less integral part of the vehicle, so you probably would not be able to remove it in one piece. However…

    It also appears to be spot-welded at intervals around the top, so you might be able to pick a corner and use a cutting wheel to break the spot welds on one or two of the vertical edges. This may give you enough slack/flex at the top edge to get a battery out. Or…

    If you can place an (insulated) iron beam across the top of the box, you might be able to use a large two-jaw gear puller to work the middle battery out. This would be an easier option once you had undone a corner or two as above, but you would need to pad the puller jaws extensively regardless.

  3. I deal with lead acid batteries like this quite regularly in uninterruptible power supplies. My approach to getting them out is to use a flat pry bar, and hammer it down between two batteries. They usually come apart pretty easily and then you can take each battery out one at a time. If necessary, you may be able to pick up a claw at an auto parts store or a Batteries Plus location that will grip the battery and allow you to pull it straight up and out.

  6. Can you feed a flat strap (like a ratchet strap) underneath the battery in the middle and pull? Maybe a 2×4 across 2 saw horses outside either door and use that, plus a strap, to lift it out?

  7. First off, get some damn rubber gloves on! And wear a full face shield. If you get a face full of battery acid, then when that sasquatch walks by, he (or she) is gonna take one look at you and run in horror!

    Next, get one of those flat pry bars with a 90 deg end, work it under one side of the middle battery and wiggle/pull/yank/wank until you can get a golf ball or something similar under it. Then repeat for the other side. Once the middle one is out, you’ll have much easier access to the other four.

    Your welcome.

  8. In keeping with the low dollar theme of this vehicle, you should consider the fact that every totalled vehicle has a battery that is somewhere between new and retirement condition, on average in mid-life. These are available at your friendly used auto parts lot (wrecking yard). Some will keep a selection on shelves hooked up to trickle chargers and sell them at very good prices. I would recommend using a charger with a repair/restore setting to de-sulphurize the plates. A fully charged “12V” battery clocks in at 13.2V. 5 x 13.2 is 66 Volts. This goes down quickly to about 12.5-12.8. So 63-64 Volts. Would they fit? Get out the tape. It would probably cost as much for the cables and terminal fittings as the batteries.

    1. From what I hear, maintenance is sort of a hit or miss thing in China, so buying a new one when something breaks is a common thread.

      Looking at those batteries, they were probably designed and built to decompose like that. Jason should have heeded the expiration date.

  10. I haven’t read the article yet, but I saw in the comments someone suggesting LFP batts. Note that it is CRITICAL to know the current draw, else you could damage or actually inflame such batteries by overdrawing them. Lead-Acid batteries can put out massive current which LFPs cannot.

    1. Are you kidding? LFP and LiFePO can do massive currents! Designs obviously vary, but some are able to handle 15C or higher (discharging the full contents in 1/15th of an hour); let’s be extremely conservative and target 3C. If I recall, the Jason’s Changli’s motor is 1.2hp, which equals 0.9kwh. Lets assume horrible inverter losses and round that up to 1kwh draw at the battery. So, 1kwh at 3C, means a minimum 333wh battery. At a nominal 60v, that means a minimum 5.6Ah. That’s less than the average eBike! Any battery that gives him decent range will be more than able to handle the current draw.

      1. So your saying, just ignore it? Every single LFP batt I’ve ever seen has a current draw limit. Now, I’m no expert, and it sounds like you are, but don’t electric motors draw lots of current when they get going (admittedly depending on lots of factors)? Isn’t that why they often have large caps? Why can’t I just drop on a 9AH LiFePo in to replace the Lead Acid in my UPS? Sure, you can buy high current LFPs, but they usually cost a LOT more and from what I’ve seen, still have much lower current draw limits than Lead Acid.

        So, I repeat my not kidding assertion. It is necessary to know the current draw before making a direct swap. The motor may be only 1.2hp, but until you know the momentary current draw, you’re just guessing and gambling with the BMS’s.

        1. Generally speaking, the current limit on the LFP batteries is more related to the BMS than the cells themselves. When it’s exceeded, the BMS just cuts off discharge rather than the cells doing anything dramatic. 100A is pretty typical for a 12V drop-in with built-in BMS, and putting 5 of those in series to get the voltage needed would give you right around 8HP. That’s a pretty reasonable margin even if the BMS doesn’t tolerate a brief over-current.

  11. I just kept putting it off. I do that with so many things in my life, I realize. It’s not good. The sheer number of unfinished cars and projects sometimes makes me feel overwhelmed, like I’m sliding into an oil-soaked black hole of regret

    Did anyone else read that passage and immediately scroll back up to make sure David Tracy hadn’t written this article?

      1. I remember that being said too. Sadly Im too lazy to go find the actual article and link it, but yeah, I recall that being said when the Changli started having batt issues.

  16. Hey Jason, I run a small time youtube channel and reached out to a few battery suppliers to sponsor my offgrid mountain solar system build, and I found one company that’s been awesome to work with. I think there’s a high probability they would ship you a set of batteries for zero dollars if you spent time talking about the company in your upcoming articles. I have the ear of the marketing person there, not sure how to contact you directly.

    cheers!

    3. I was going to respond about the current capacity of those, but as long as the motor doesn’t have a huge starting surge it might not be that crazy. 15 of them in 3P5S configuration would probably do, and be $950+shipping. It’d be a lot of wiring and layout work, though.

  18. I am sure you can make some soft of A frame and yank the battery in the center up and out with a winch. I bet the styrofoam has been melted by the outgas from the batteries. After you manage to take the batteries out, mix up some baking soda + water and wash the enclosure down.

    1. I’d have a bunch of baking soda ready when I started trying to pry the things out. First sign of trouble sprinkle away. Then wash everything out when they are all removed.

      1. I saw that video, not surprised they didn’t mention Torch. It seems like a decent company but they kind of act like they’re in a vacuum as far as acknowledging other car people, especially outside YouTube.

        I do not accept that you just have to pay import fees over the purchase price of the vehicle no matter what they say. I’d find someone experienced at trafficking, the cartel would do it cheaper and quicker. Wrap the damn thing in Mylar, put buoys on it, shove it overboard and tow it in. You might have to do a quick corpse check before driving off though.

        1. Don’t ship it to Los Angeles… I had a real actual car shipped from Japan to Newark, and the entire shipping and customs and taxes and Japanese auction fees and so on combined came to $3,800.

    1. Also cheaper than NMC chemistry batteries. BUT Jason will likely need to change the charging circuit, different chemistry batteries have different charging / discharging curve, just because it say 12V on the battery doesn’t mean it will be compatible charging wise.

      1. Something tells me the “charging circuit”, or lack thereof, is our man Jason’s problem in the first place. Clearly needs to be redone regardless.

    2. Having just researched EVs that ignited after being flooded during Hurricane Ian, “much less flamey” really isn’t all that reassuring!~)

      1. Not that many EVs even during Hurricane Ian in the US use LFP battery.. The base Tesla model 3 is probably the only one. It is changing now, basically all the CATL factories car makers are now wanting to build are LiFP, so in the US, it will be a while especially due to IRA.

  22. I love the dependability of NiMH batteries, but honestly they are a pain to charge properly compared to Li-ion. Have you considered LFP / LiFePO4 batteries? Cheaper and more forgiving of abuse than standard lithium ion batteries.

    1. I think because most Li battery designs have a battery management controller or sorts attached to it (except for small toys). Most NiMH chargers are timer based with no sensor / feedback.

  23. The Changli is undergoing the same exact changes that my kids’ Chinese-made (redundant) plastic playhouse have seen. It’s dirty, faded, and the battery for the doorbell swelled a little and spewed a bunch of potassium hydroxide.

  24. Depending on design, you may discover the top center panel only needs light suggestions to pop off and find the original fill caps underneath. Much better than trying to hack through the side of one.

    Any chance Optima has something new they’d like to test in a Changli?

Leave a Reply