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Is Project Lithium / Nexcell a scam battery?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by BrianStranded, Feb 9, 2024.

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  1. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    I like their rebuild offerings.

    There are other sellers here who I have serious questions about. The issue is unsuspecting members not seeing the feedback.
     
  2. V Sport Wagon

    V Sport Wagon Member

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    Actually not from Overlanding anymore. That ship has sailed.
     
  3. V Sport Wagon

    V Sport Wagon Member

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    Show us in detail how Nexcell Lithium Batteries are or ever have been of poor construction that will lead to a reliability or safety concern? Do you own one and have experience like I do or are you just parroting disgruntled DIY's quotes due their own shortcomings during their install process?

    Even back to version 1, there was nothing wrong with their design that would affect safety or reliability. Jack has since modified them to make them BETTER and more efficient which is the standard process of any designer improving his product. To offer people FREE upgrades to his newest engineered version along the way...TWICE....is more than you can ever ask for.

    Most "failures" or concerns are due to unforeseen circumstances and neglected vehicles with tons of miles (or not enough miles) and owners unaware of what else needs to be cleaned, fixed, and maintained during a new battery install. Like internally corroded battery ECU's on Gen 2's or those HV Battery fan connector plugs in the back right corner that due to moisture get corrosion on them causing the P3000 code and kicking into limp mode. There's so many more liabilities to this process that unfortunately Jack is learning the expensive and hard way all the while being honest, genuine and reputable with people switching out full packs for FREE to resolve issues. He's gone above and beyond and deserves more credit.
     
    #23 V Sport Wagon, Feb 10, 2024
    Last edited: Feb 10, 2024
  4. AzusaPrius

    AzusaPrius Senior Member

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  5. V Sport Wagon

    V Sport Wagon Member

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    Look a little further down in the description....this is wording designed to let people know it's not available and won't ever be. "Just gotta look".
     
    #25 V Sport Wagon, Feb 10, 2024
    Last edited: Feb 10, 2024
  6. AzusaPrius

    AzusaPrius Senior Member

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    @V Sport Wagon

    Ok so take another look and show us where it says that.

    I will be waiting...
     
  7. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    I'd have been happy with the sticks or the tube type setup Why can't anybody get that right like those round cells that Tesla keeps making and using whatever I'm sure that the Prius system had to have some kind of battery management setup inside of it I can't imagine Toyota would do any such a thing whether that would be in the battery itself and the battery computer further down the line whatever something is there I'm sure now if it gets ripped out because you put another complete non Toyota battery in there and now you don't have this battery computer or ECU because of whatever reason that's another story that's kind of re-engineering a lot of people like to do that wonderful Will it last as long as original I don't know but apparently so far not so much so we'll see what happens I'd love to get some of those modules like the dude showed for the insight those blue and silver things racked up in such a way to make our voltage and make it happen I don't care if the case change the shape a little bit and gets a little taller for instance I could care less I think most people would be the same way unless they're going to make the battery covering the back glass or something that tall. But then again you're working on something that's 15 years old plus and at some point they'll be none of them left except mine and a few others then there's no market nobody to sell to so it's kind of tricky I mean raising a Prius and revalving the shocks and fitting coilovers to pick the car up that's kind of a small problem compared to re-engineering an HV battery lifting cars revalving shocks and all that has been going on for 100 years should be no problem The vibe and The matrix are of similar chassis so getting the car up and into the woods shouldn't be a huge problem skid plates and all that well you know that's a personal thing I don't really use any of that My cars aren't off-roading for competition they might be running up and down fence lines every so often so I don't need all that protection for mud slinging and acting a fool in the woods.
     
  8. AzusaPrius

    AzusaPrius Senior Member

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    @Tombukt2

    You always have a lot to say and I am sure I am not the first to tell you this but it would help if you spaced out what you are saying.

    Like this after a period.

    Are you using a speak and text?
     
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  9. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    Your beyond Off subject. Subject was the scam battery pack not Toyota’s pack.
     
  10. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    Can you expand on this please? How brake pads will kill an HV battery?
     
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  11. AzusaPrius

    AzusaPrius Senior Member

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    @Grit

    For once I will side on PriusCampers side.

    He was talking about the bms in the prius being able to handle the lithium battery.

    I would say it handles it just fine but finer tuning of the lithium battery is happening right now and it will further control things better.
     
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  12. vvillovv

    vvillovv Senior Member

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    mudder made a comment about the battery over at insightcentral.net that he thought the nexcell LiFeP04 batteries used for Project Lithium (jacks second projects name ) / NexPower (Jacks Company name ), don't have a battery management system. mudder also posted that he plans to develop and competing project for Prius when he finishes his Linsight projects
    linsight.org
    According to a deep dive into of one of the Nexcell battery modules by one of Jacks approved installers Hybrid Solutions Diagnostics, each module has it's own passive balancing to keep the cell pairs all in balance..
    The only way to know if it's a scam is to get data from people you trust and come to your own conclusions.

    Yes, it a young company if only observing Jacks' New Company Name, but DrPrius was Jacks first project, Project Lithium was his second project and NexPower was born from the research and development done from his first two projects.

    youtu.be/xrQxFZUl7kY

    I believe Jack has upgraded to a new version of the modules he uses since this video was made a year ago.

    edit: I now see that @jacktheripper posted one page 1 post # 3
    I apologize for the mistakes I've made above, as I now stand corrected on a couple points I've included in this post.
    @PriusCamper It seems i didn't add much info that your post on pg 1 about the video hadn't already described. If I'd seen your post before I posted mine, I wouldn't have posted in this thread at all, and kinda now wishing I hadn't posted to this thread after seeing pg 3 :(.....
     
    #32 vvillovv, Feb 10, 2024
    Last edited: Feb 10, 2024
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  13. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    He started this project 8 years ago and has been selling for less than 3 years... Each iteration further refines and evolves the design.

    Currently the most advanced battery pack design is the Tesla Cybertruck that can pump air in to pressurize the pack to prevent water seepage if you're driving through water, along with other climate controls like preheating based on when you're going to drive the cars. As in battery cells just slapped in a car without signal monitoring for each cell and climate optimization are ancient technology that's in the rear view mirror...

    There's also new battery chemistries coming out that are even safer than LiFePo4. And all of these advancements are eventually going to be included in all vehicle batteries, but these advancements take time, especially if you're a small business startup.

    The biggest challenge with Toyota upgrades is they've effectively locked out DIY efforts to modify their vehicles so the pack had to be designed around how the existing BMS functions or you get warning lights and hybrid system shuts down.

    The reason you see Honda and Subaru as popular cars at the race tracks is because the community has reversed engineered the CAN-BUS signals and you can put piggback back chips on the ECU and run all kinds of hacks on a laptop as you race. Toyota just throws warning lights and shuts everything down if you do that.

    The Honda Hybrid pack from http://www.linsight.org that I'm currently installing for a friend for example takes full advantage of this with an entirely new BMS that costs $1250 and it has firmware that's constantly updated, which is way more affordable than updating hardware. This means you can safely use high energy density Lithium-Ion, which unlike LifePo4 can quickly set your whole car on fire if the BMS doesn't do its job. It also has plugin charging...

    Also, people with Gen1 Honda insight have upgraded the motor-generator with a far more powerful one and they can do that without warning lights and hybrid system shutdown.
     
  14. V Sport Wagon

    V Sport Wagon Member

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    It's in the description under the "Details" tab, are you blind or simply don't know how to scroll? I know because I helped come up with the verbiage for it and I control it.
     
    #34 V Sport Wagon, Feb 10, 2024
    Last edited: Feb 10, 2024
  15. V Sport Wagon

    V Sport Wagon Member

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    Are you familiar with the term "Regeneration"? (or in this case, the lack of with bad (low) brake pads).
     
  16. Brian1954

    Brian1954 Active Member

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    How can bad (low) brake pads affect regeneration braking? The brake pads are not used during regeneration braking.
     
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  17. AzusaPrius

    AzusaPrius Senior Member

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    @V Sport Wagon

    Nowhere in that verbiage does it come off as "This product is discontinued"

    All the verbiage says is that it is not in stock but able to order.

    You can even add it to the shopping cart and place the order.

    Once that order is placed it will be filled when it is available.

    Sometimes it means more to read than just looking at something. View attachment 251164 View attachment 251165 Screenshot_2024-02-10-13-24-17.jpeg
     
  18. V Sport Wagon

    V Sport Wagon Member

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    You will have to pay for more info on that. There have been several videos, one from Jack himself on Youtube discussing this topic. I'm confident you will find the answers you seek down a few rabbit holes.
     
  19. V Sport Wagon

    V Sport Wagon Member

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    It's specifically written like this for a reason. "RightOnTime" likes to keep stuff visible online even though it's not available and in this case, never will be again due to the manufacturer's negligence and broken moral compass. (But Prius Offroad's version is). Your argument here is a moot point. Anything else I can clarify regarding Hybridpit's website and policies for you?
     
    #39 V Sport Wagon, Feb 10, 2024
    Last edited: Feb 10, 2024
  20. AzusaPrius

    AzusaPrius Senior Member

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    These images always get locked sometimes. Screenshot_2024-02-10-13-24-26.jpeg Screenshot_2024-02-10-13-23-47.jpeg
     
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