Lithium don’t need the care of lead based batteries( ie always need to be charged after use, etc ) and they will last 2-3 or more times longer than lead based batteries along with having the ability to have more capacity used. If you plan on keeping the vehicle for more than 5 years the lithium upgrade is the way to go hands down. $0.02
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What is involved with converting to the Lithium batt’s? Can someone with very little Gem knowledge get it done?
yes. The hardest part is building the shelf for it to sit on
Like this.
LOL!!! yea, that looks pretty simple…thanks guys
Not all Lithium battery swaps require fabrication of battery mounting structures. Some are drop in but you’ll pay extra for someone else doing all the work of wiring up the battery monitoring system(BMS=Battery Management System), and configuring for drop-in replacement.
Some have fit in the area under the rear seat and some have fit in the front where the 2… oh 2015 e4… I don’t know for sure what the battery configuration is for the 2015. If it’s 4 12V under rear seat AND 2 12V under front hood then drop-ins have been done.
Thank you Doug, I think the lithium conversion is above my level, mounting structure or not. At this point all I know is how to charge this thing, and apparently I just botched that up as well…my batt’s are completely shot. I appreciate all the input though…
Lead based batteries are a PIA since not only does your charger need to be set correctly to fully charge and not boil your batteries, you just recharge after every use. Pb/Lead batteries must be kept fully charged and you can not discharge them too deeply or that too will harm them. And if you have liquid acid there’s another PIA as you have to check your battery acid level monthly and if it gets low, below the plates, your batteries are shot also.
Once a lithium setup is installed, the battery BMS system protects the batteries from over charge and over discharge AND you charge them as you see fit. ie you can drive it for a few days if you have enough charge capacity and then charge it as needed, rinse and repeat. But it isn’t like swapping out a set of AAA batteries in a MP3 player and would take using a wrench, knowing + from - etc. Not everyone’s cup of tea. But you might find an auto shop who’d do it for labor costs…
Ok great, thanks again for the input