Lithium Battery and VW Warranty ?

J

Jester

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Grand California 680
I am considering having a lithium battery installed and worried about how VW would view it.

Also would I need to install a lithium starter battery or increase any other hardware.
Should I also add an additional leisure battery whilst I'm at it as they weigh less than the AGM

Any thoughts welcome.
 
I am considering having a lithium battery installed and worried about how VW would view it.

Also would I need to install a lithium starter battery or increase any other hardware.
Should I also add an additional leisure battery whilst I'm at it as they weigh less than the AGM

Any thoughts welcome.
VW would be perfectly within their right to refuse any warranty claim for any fault relating to anything connected to or powered by the Lithium battery , unless it was provided and installed by VW.
 
There is an easy solution to upgrade the leisure battery under the bonnet, a UK company called Eco tree have a 110ah lithium battery with a built in bms that takes an agm charge profile (Built into the bms) I believe that battery was specifically made as a drop in replacement for other VW‘s

The terminals are the right way around and dimensions are perfect.
I understand after speaking within them, there is a self heating version coming to market in the next couple months, if you can wait, that’s the better option for cold weather.

if you don’t need an inverter this in my opinion is the simplest way to double your power for off grid and is the cheapest way, this was my first choice if I had no inverter requirements.

Regarding warranty, after speaking to VW, you will void your warranty to anything connected to a non genuine specked part.

Regarding a lithium start battery, that’s not needed.

They are very easy to speak to and very helpful.

 
VW would be perfectly within their right to refuse any warranty claim for any fault relating to anything connected to or powered by the Lithium battery , unless it was provided and installed by VW.
Thanks WG understood. sure they wouldn't install anyway.
 
There is an easy solution to upgrade the leisure battery under the bonnet, a UK company called Eco tree have a 110ah lithium battery with a built in bms that takes an agm charge profile (Built into the bms) I believe that battery was specifically made as a drop in replacement for other VW‘s

The terminals are the right way around and dimensions are perfect.
I understand after speaking within them, there is a self heating version coming to market in the next couple months, if you can wait, that’s the better option for cold weather.

if you don’t need an inverter this in my opinion is the simplest way to double your power for off grid and is the cheapest way, this was my first choice if I had no inverter requirements.

Regarding warranty, after speaking to VW, you will void your warranty to anything connected to a non genuine specked part.

Regarding a lithium start battery, that’s not needed.

They are very easy to speak to and very helpful.

Thanks for your in depth explanation, seems to good to be true, will it need to be re coded when installed.

Thanks re starter.

Will give them a call.

Thanks,
 
When I started my quest to improve the electrical system my dealer told me that they would not be allowed to fit an aftermarket battery and wouldn’t, they also said that coding is a myth. They said it would throw up a few errors on the screen, but after about 2 or 3 min switch the engine off and start again, and the faults would go, they said it figures itself out after a few min.

As an experiment to prove this, you can try what I did, Disconnect the starter battery under the seat for a couple min, reconnect it and start it, you will see a bunch of errors appear, and after a few min of running, turn off and start the car again. All gone. Any time there is a change in the system, it throws a fit and figures itself out after going through a bunch of internal checks.

I had a similar error after connecting the DC Converter to the starter battery to charge the lithium in the back. It sensed the additional demand for 30ah and threw a tantrum, after a few min everything figured itself out.

Note this is just my experience, none scientific testing. (Noting ventured nothing gained)
 
Dutch company claims AMG to Lithium conversion keeping VW warranty. The conversion is approved by VW.
There is an article about them in campervans magazine 5/2023 too (German).
you save 22kg and lose 5000 euro, you get 200Ah instead of 80Ah in an ocean T6.1 and you need to drive your cali to Hamburg Germany..for installation;
 
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There is an easy solution to upgrade the leisure battery under the bonnet, a UK company called Eco tree have a 110ah lithium battery with a built in bms that takes an agm charge profile (Built into the bms) I believe that battery was specifically made as a drop in replacement for other VW‘s

The terminals are the right way around and dimensions are perfect.
I understand after speaking within them, there is a self heating version coming to market in the next couple months, if you can wait, that’s the better option for cold weather.

if you don’t need an inverter this in my opinion is the simplest way to double your power for off grid and is the cheapest way, this was my first choice if I had no inverter requirements.

Regarding warranty, after speaking to VW, you will void your warranty to anything connected to a non genuine specked part.

Regarding a lithium start battery, that’s not needed.

They are very easy to speak to and very helpful.

Hi! Did you try this battery???
 
I enquired with a number of lithium battery suppliers, including EcoTree and they all replied recommending NOT to fit in place of the existing leisure battery location in the engine bay due to extreme temperatures. I've ended with a Bluetti PPS instead as didn't fancy the expence of the company in Germany whose installation maintains the warranty.
 
I enquired with a number of lithium battery suppliers, including EcoTree and they all replied recommending NOT to fit in place of the existing leisure battery location in the engine bay due to extreme temperatures. I've ended with a Bluetti PPS instead as didn't fancy the expence of the company in Germany whose installation maintains the warranty.
Thanks for your reply, I ended up doing nothing in the end.
 
We used Car Electric in Hamburg to upgrade to lithium and have an invertor switch fitted to be able to use the sockets off grid - using this company did not affect our warranty as they are recognised by VW.
Absolute game changer for us as we only do off-grid :)
 
We used Car Electric in Hamburg to upgrade to lithium and have an invertor switch fitted to be able to use the sockets off grid - using this company did not affect our warranty as they are recognised by VW.
Absolute game changer for us as we only do off-grid :)
It is a great solution, but very expensive! Congrats on getting it done.
 
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Has anyone fitted a Clayton Power system in their GC? If yes, how is it working for you?
 

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