Gone Fishin wrote:
On 06/12/2016 09:33, GB wrote:
Don't the batteries cost lots of thousands of pounds?

If its a Toyota/Lexus product there is a guy in Northampton
http://www.hybridbatterysolutions.co.uk who is making a name
for himseld

Hmm:

"SAFETY WARNING
It is important to understand that there is no cheap alternative. Changing
battery packs is a very dangerous & complicated procedure which should not
under any circumstances be carried out by those who are not electrically
qualified to High Voltage standards & have experience of vehicle diagnostics
€“ the Lexus packs can supply a lethal shock of 28.8 Kilowatts! €“ Equivalent
to 10 x 3 bar electric fires, €“ the current these packs supply is Direct
Current or DC which will tend to hold you there!"

- shocks measured in kilowatts?

The process is basically 'unscrew all the trim and unplug it':
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZygEiXw5uE

Anyway, I called up Toyota to find out the cost of a new battery - with
bringing in the old one the price is GBP931+VAT. Which isn't bad
considering it's good for 150K-250K miles. (I should have said, this is a
Prius hybrid - not fully electric)

There are some lower cost bodges that involve replacing individual cells and
rebalancing (which is what the above mechanic is doing - eminently
DIY-able), so I don't think it's fully necessary to have a new battery
- but basically a 1200 quid replacement is the worst case.

(The vehicle in question was a bit far away, so there would have been a risk
driving it home on a dead battery)

Theo