Safety guidelines for electric vehicle repairs

By Rich Diegle

Industry experts speculate that auto manufacturers will soon be adopting 800-volt electrical systems in their electric vehicles (EVs). The latest research shows that 800-volt electrical systems can lead to smaller, lighter and more environmentally-friendly motors. Vehicles using these powertrains also could be charged faster and travel further on a single charge. Porsche is one of the companies who has already embraced this technology. That automaker has installed an 800-volt system in their fully electric Taycan, which was launched last year.

Getting seriously injured when working with high-voltage automotive electrical systems is a legitimate concern. Current EV and Hybrid vehicles have electrical systems that average 450-650 volts. One can only imagine the dangers of working with almost twice that amount of voltage.

But rest assured, if you follow OEM safety information, get the right training, and wear high quality protective equipment, you can considerably reduce or even eliminate the risks.

In this article, we will cover two manufacturer-specific safety tips and guidelines aimed at keeping you safe.

De-energizing a Ford hybrid high-voltage system without a scan tool

Here is a great example of how to safely de-energize and re-energize a high-voltage system manually without using the factory scan tool on a 2020 Ford Explorer, 2WD, V6-3.3L hybrid.

First, a warning …

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