Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Three Wheeler & Super 3 Lithium Battery

If I wanted to replace the standard Lead battery by a Lithium battery, would I have to make any adjustments at the alternator / regulator?

After all, Lithium batteries need different voltage levels than Lead batteries.

I have LiFePO4 batteries in 3 different cars, including my M3W. No changes made to the charging systems in any of the cars. No issues at all. I do put the batteries on an LiFePO4 charger every few months, mostly to make myself feel better.

Any Lithium-based battery for car use will have some electronics within it to do power management. They are typically designed to behave to the car as if it was a lead acid battery ie 12-14v out, ~14v in for charging, discharge protection etc (although the latter seemed to be missing on the Li-based battery that failed on the Grindelweld trip this year - it apparently discharged to zero and became unchargable - mine emptied after the IoM trip and regulator issue a year ago but recovered fine)...

A big question that is difficult to answer from spec sheets is "how good are the Li-based cells" and "how good is the electrics surrounding them". Like Steve's, my battery is LiFePO4 based (as used in power tools) which is safer than the "Li-ion" LiCoO2 based cells used in mobile phones etc.

Same for me since fige years no problem

Apparently the M3W is less picky than my BMW E90:
In our first winter it would warn me every other day that the battery was next to dead - but the car would start immediately nevertheless.
After several trips to the BMW dealer we found out that the previous owner had replaced the standard battery (lead-acid?) by a different type (lead-gel?), but forgot to adjust the settings in the control menu.
The battery worked fine for at least 5 more years.

Does anyone know what Lithium Batteries are available in the UK or France for my M3W currently in storage in France (2012 but with H-D regulator/rectifier). The recommended battery in the alternative parts list, the Magnetti Marelli 53034 15 AH/550 CCA no longer seems to be available either in the UK or France. I can buy one from an Italian seller but postage costs to France are quite high. If I can get one in the UK, I can take it with me when I drive out to France at the end of April. I would only want to buy a LiPo battery not a Li-ion from the fire risk POV and from a recognised maker, not Mr. No Name from Guangdong.

Wilson

The one I have is still available in the UK. It's a JMT YTX30-FP and there is a description of it and a scary price at M&P and more friendly prices on eBay

Am very much in agreement that LiPo (or more completely LiFePo4) is the way to go for safety.

Note that the term "Li-ion" (or Lithium ion) is a fairly generic term sometimes used to refer to LiFePO4 specification batteries, such as the one linked in RedThree's post. They call it "Lithium ion" then further down in the information state is uses LiFePO4 tech. It's always worthwhile to read the fine print before making the decision.

Try Magneti Marelli MM-LT5 as the most recent comparable 53034 type battery, a little taller but 720 CCA. Several other makes available as well, none "cheap" though. My 53034 battery did last well, almost 8 years.

Has anyone got the manufacturer's operating temperature specification for Magneti Marelli LiPoFe car batteries. I am concerned that in my M3W used during the summer in the very hot south of France, with ambient temperatures of up to 44-45ºC last summer, the under-bonnet temperature may exceed the operating range of the batteries and result in a greatly reduced life span. I know lithium batteries are temperature sensitive. The hybrid battery on my Porsche Panamera has all sorts of coolant pumps and fans, which carry on running for anything up to 5 to 10 minutes after a run in hot ambient conditions, presumably to keep the battery within its preferred temperature operating range and extend its life (Porsche warranty it for for 8 years/100,000 miles). Given the high cost of the LiPo battery, I don't want to lay out for this if it is going to die after say just three years. I know that the dry sump oil tank, just in front of the battery, reaches up to 115ºC after a long run on a very hot day, as I have an oil temperature gauge, so I would guess the battery might get up to close to 100ºC.

Wilson