b"Powering Up Safety Basics: EV REPAIRBy Dirk Fuchs CEO & Founder of the Automotive Certi\x1fed Training Academy LLCIf you havent already, the likelihood of your shopimportant to understand that anytime you workThey're great for working with chemicals and performing a repair on an Electric Vehicle (EV)on an EV to completely unplug from the chargingother things, but you do not want to trust your has never been stronger with approximately 115port.When the charger cable is connected, thelife to those when working on a high-voltage new EV models expected to hit the road over thehigh voltage contacts will be closed and this issystem.next 12 months. More critical for the servicedangerous to anyone working on the vehicle. I repairers are the already existing Hybrid Vehiclecan appreciate the desire to have a fully chargedInstead, you need Class 0 gloves, sometimes what are equipped with High Voltage systemsbatterythat is good for the customer, but whenreferred to as lineman glovesthese are the and an electric Motor in the Bellhousing of thewe're working on an EV, we're working on a highgloves you need whenever you are working with Transmission. voltage system. The \x1drst rule is to unplug thisan active EV. In the event of a high voltage cable!Remembering this basic rule to begin yourexposure risk, they provide an additional safety In fact, scores of shops are already in the throesassessment is imperative to your safety yet easilyredundancy for you. In the event of some of this electrifying shift, converting space andforgotten.unknown fault or compromiseits your last line training technical sta\x1f to take advantage of thisof defense. exciting era of Service repair. Pre-Scan VerificationPre-scanning the EV will allow you to verify the To prepare for this transformative time, I cannotabsence of any faults in the vehicle and gain over-emphasize the critical importance of keycon\x1ddence in the overall electrical integrity of safety considerations that must be in placethe high-voltage system. Scanning an EV needs before any such repair can be performed onto be comprehensive diagnostic with checking these high-voltage vehicles.This begins withState of Health of the Battery.(Please review this some safety basics, including Personal Protectivestatement). Looking up Live Data and verifying Equipment (PPE).for example Cell Balancing is extremely important to understand is if the Vehicle or EV Safety Tool Box Battery is in any danger to go in a thermal Lets start with the best tool in your processionrunaway. Proper diagnostic tools giving you possession: Observation, Knowledge andaccess to this data is needed to work on EVs. Do Assessment!you have an image of what you are stating above in the red? Leather protectors, are to be worn over top of EVs share many similarities and operationallinemans gloves, and should not be used for any principles, but they are not all the same. TakeLock Away the Key other type of work so they dont end up with time to become familiar with the overall vehicle,Again this may sound like a no-brainer, but Ipicking up any metal splinters or other harmful from understanding the location of all the HVsuggest physically moving an EV vehicles key/keydebris. They are there to be worn to protect the systems and their parts, to cables and how thesefob to an external areaeven a lock box -to avoidlinemans gloves from getting punctured or elements are routed. Assess if any of these itemsthe possibility of triggering a live, high-voltagedamaged whenever you're doing work.are damaged.system. I cant overstate that the inspection processHigh Voltage Safety Gearstarts when the customer drives the vehicle in orLook, I recognize that PPE can feel cumbersome the \x1eat bed drops it o\x1f in the lot outside. Therewhen youre wearing it, but it truly is your best are aspects of BEV/HEV repairs that are di\x1ferentdefense.Additionally, some may out\x1dt from conventional petroleum-fueled vehicles,themselves with PPE, but not wear this critical thus you should be aware of everything from thesafety gear the correct way.Please wear the PPE, HV batterys state of health to its cooling systemand wear it properlyIt is designed to save your and HV systems, in addition to all the usuallife!mechanical and body inspection points.To that end, welding gloves are not appropriate Unplug The Charging Port PPE!Nitrile glovesthose green, black and blue While it may sound like common sense, its veryonesare NOT high voltage safety gloves. 9 12"