Which setting are you considering... DIY, routine servicing, major component failure, swapping batteries, end of life... ?Mick F wrote: ↑9 Dec 2021, 3:52pmTry getting a job as a "jobbing mechanic" working on an EV.Hence the danger.The batteries are ~450V charged at the moment, so whilst it's "low" voltage in electrical legislation terms they do, as you say, pack a punch - my battery will put out 100kW, which is ~220A, for quite some time.A car's 12v battery is chicken feed.Most people invest in a good pair of insulating gloves when they work on the high voltage side of an EV (as distinct from the low voltage, 12V, side).
450v isn't high voltage, it's the current regulation that is the danger. I suspect that a traction battery will chuck out 500 or 600 amps without blinking an eyelid.
Insulating gloves is a good idea, but you need an insulated floor and insulated shoes too. You cannot risk anything.
There are about 300,000 battery-only EVs, 300,000 PHEVs and 700,000 HEVs in the UK at the moment. There aren't many that are very old yet but most of the tasks that will ever be done will have been done by now.
How many electrical adverse incidents have there been in any of those settings?
Jonathan
https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/electric-ca ... -electric/