Reliability And Maintainability Of Electric Vehicles in 2024

Electric vehicle (EV) powertrains are much simpler compared to conventional combustion engines. These engines do not require regular services such as oil changes, spark plugs, fuel, and oil filter maintenance. Electric motors are generally characterized by reliability, longevity, and ease of maintenance. Although electric motors require less maintenance, they still need to be serviced according to the schedule suggested by the manufacturer.

The normal issue everyone focuses on is batteries, but when it comes to motors, there is a huge gap in the evaluation and skill level required to diagnose electric motors. “When I have had conversations with many automotive technicians and trainers over the years, most will quickly admit that they have minimal experience in knowing how to test, analyze, and diagnose EM systems.

Although technicians are well-versed in traditional automotive powertrain diagnostic methodologies, their experiences represent a less traveled path in the electric powertrain field.

Electric Car Engine Test

The used and second-owner electric vehicle market continues to raise concerns about how technicians can confidently analyze and diagnose electric powertrain systems. Drive and generator diagnostics (Electrical Machinery – EM) and State of Health (SOH) analysis have moved to the forefront of automotive diagnostics and analysis. Automotive technicians expressed a high level of interest in learning the latest analysis and diagnostic processes to help identify EM’s SOH.

As electric vehicles continue to advance in the market, first owners of older vehicles, secondary owners, and fleets are now asking the question “What is the condition of the drive motor and generator (stator and rotor) when determining a vehicle’s SOH?” “Field technicians want a way to diagnose when targeting an electrical powertrain failure. Specifically, an OEM’s onboard diagnostics may not provide the comprehensive analysis necessary to determine the health of an older EM and do not provide clarity to problems within the EM or its power inverter module (PIM) system.

Since the cost of an EM or PIM system can result in thousands of repair dollars, identifying and pinpointing the root cause of the problem is essential. The work time required to determine the root cause of the problem can be excessive, adding more cost to the actual repair. If systems are misdiagnosed, part and labor costs escalate dramatically.

Neither the aftermarket nor OEMs have included EM SOH as part of their formal service testing process, compared to a conventional gas engine (ICE or internal combustion engine).

If an automotive technician were inquired about the causes of conventional ICE engine misfires, RPM variations, lean/rich conditions, etc., it would be natural for him to perform specific/targeted tests. Some of these engine tests include cylinder balance, compression, cylinder leakage, vacuum waveforms, ignition system testing, etc. These tests are endemic and woven into the DNA of how automotive technicians test, analyze, and diagnose automobile transmission systems.

Compared to electric vehicle motors, automotive technicians themselves may be able to cite one or two types of tests but are not fully familiar with the additional test items used in EM analysis and their associated failure modes. Here lies the radical gap between the current level of EM analysis and diagnosis in the field of automotive service.

The Current Status Of Electric Vehicle Engine Maintenance And Troubleshooting

Automotive technicians are already overwhelmed with the huge number of courses they attend annually, just to stay up to date with traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) technologies. Since ICE technology makes up most of a technician’s daily interaction, it is difficult for him (and his employer) to justify devoting significant training hours to learning electric transmission systems. However, the automobile market has reached its peak.

The volume of EV products on the market that are approaching or coming out of their warranty period is starting to reach significant numbers. Total global electric vehicle sales were approximately 7.2 million as of 2019, an increase of 57% over the total sales of electric vehicles sold as of 2017.

Currently, technicians rely heavily on pattern failure (identification) of systems as a means of identifying the root cause of a conventional system failure (ICE). “Unfortunately, mechanical, electrical and magnetic powertrain EM techniques become repetitive so quickly that mode failure is reduced to a less effective diagnostic approach.

Without a strong technical foundation in EM technology, analysis and diagnosis will be an uphill battle for the technician. Learning EM analysis and diagnostic techniques requires significant training and experience, which is a challenge even for experienced diagnosticians unless analysis and testing equipment can refine electrical and magnetic data to make the analysis and diagnosis task easier.

Electric Vehicle Engine Maintenance And Troubleshooting

The ALL-TEST PRO 33 EV™ is the only instrument designed to test special permanent magnet motors and motors/generators used in electric and hybrid vehicles. With the innovative Hybrid Motor Magnet Tester, you can test vehicle motor magnetos from a single device that provides fast and accurate diagnostic results.

Mark’s justification for choosing the AT33EV: “The AT33EV scored in the top five (5) MGU test methodologies in an internal General Motors (GM) study conducted by my team in 2011 to determine the potential for diagnostic and testing capabilities of an MGU test tool.

It also scored top results in a study conducted by a third-party supplier to test GM’s electric motors when the study was repeated to ensure repeatability of test results and device performance. Therefore, the AT33EV is a high-performance test instrument for three-phase EM testing and SOH analysis.

One of the primary advantages of the AT33EV is its ability to test the electromagnetic rotor without the need for rotation. In short, EM can be tested quite statically. For the technician, this means that the test can be carried out with the high voltage system disabled and no on-road testing is required – all tests can be carried out in the service area.

MGU SOH test parameters include direct current (DC), resistance (milli-ohm), inductance, impedance, capacitance, phase angle, current frequency response, dissipation factor (pollution), and insulation resistance. The AT33EV quickly troubleshoots or verifies system drive connection and motor health.