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EV Safety Precautions for Collision Repair Facilities

When body shop technicians ask Dirk Fuchs about the risks involved while working on electric vehicles (EVs), I-CAR’s director of technical program and services says the danger is “very real.”

To help prepare and educate shops and their teams to repair EVs, Fuchs recently shared information about safety considerations during a webinar hosted by the Automotive Service Association (ASA), including how to assess the safety elements of a high-voltage vehicle the moment it arrives in a facility’s parking lot and key safety points in the repair process.

EV Safety: Where to Begin

Depending on the vehicle manufacturer, hybrid and battery EVs typically range from 200-920 volts. Fuchs talked about the risk of getting shocked with EVs due to the electrical power in the high-voltage system and the current, which runs the flow of electricity through a contactor.

“The current kills you, not the volt,” he explained. “Therefore, you need to know what kind of current there is.”

The following graph outlines the risk of current relative to the human body.

In the area AC1, no effects are felt, even if applied for long periods. A pain sensation begins with AC2; however, it is usually without a dangerous current running through the body.

Fuchs said the human body has a resistance of 1000 Ohm (the unit of electrical resistance).

“When a person encounters 400Volt in a high-voltage system, their body will be exposed to 400mA,” he explained. With this exposure, the body enters the dangerous area—AC3—which leads to muscle cramping.

“The danger, in this case, is that the body will not let go,” he said. “After 500ms, we enter the next area—AC4.” In this area, ventricular fibrillation, cardiac and respi-