By James Chevrette
Working on electric vehicles (EVs) requires a number of safety precautions, said Kris Bulla, during a packed EV seminar held at the recent CMA Expo in Canada.
Electric vehicles have higher voltages and amperages, which means a new level of safety to prevent injury to the installer and damage to the car.
Here are five takeaways from the seminar:
- Use a 1000-volt Multimeter
When you are probing wires in these types of vehicles, your everyday voltmeter might not be enough and could be damaged by these vehicles.
- Use Lineman Leather Gloves & Insulated Gloves
This goes hand-in-hand with the 1000-voltmeter. At these voltages and amperages, if you touched or shorted out the battery post, for example, there could be considerable damage to the vehicle or injury to the installer.
- Kneeling or Standing in Water
This relates more to general safety, but standing in water is not considered a best practice when working on a 1000-volt plus system. This mostly applies to kneeling on your shop floor. Most work shoes/boots have rubber soles, but what if you’re kneeling in standing water? It is possible the installer could ‘complete the circuit.’
- Enter the Vehicle into Service Mode
For example, service mode can be entered in Tesla vehicles via the tablet in the center of the dashboard. Service mode disables the high voltage battery. Service mode is NOT to be confused with Emergency disconnects used by first responders.
- Subscribe to or Purchase Service Manuals
It is more important than ever to find information on where to connect 12-volt products or enter Service mode etc. BEFORE the staff member jumps into the vehicle. A subscription to a wiring service could prevent injury and damage and save your store thousands of dollars
These tips are just a brief overview from the seminar. They led me to consider if a store started specializing in EVs/hybrids and showcased the tools/precautions taken to offer the best service to the customer, could this separate them from the competition?
Maybe it’s time for shop owners/managers to attend an EV seminar at the next KnowledgeFest, MasterTech or local distributor show. Here is a link to the MECP certification information page for EV/Hybrids.
*These tips are my observations from the CMA seminar and should not be taken as expert advice. Please consult an industry professional before working on an EV.
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