Hybrid and Electric Vehicles
How to work safely on hybrid and electric vehicles and diagnose them, followed through an apprentice's high-voltage training at Ridgeline Auto Service in Denver: NFPA 70E, PPE and de-energizing with live-dead-live verification, series, parallel and power-split hybrids, battery cells, packs and management, motors, inverters and DC-DC converters, regenerative braking, Level 1, Level 2 and DC fast charging with J1772, CCS1 and SAE J3400, no-ready, interlock and isolation diagnosis with insulation testing, and a capstone on a reduced-range EV and a hybrid isolation fault.
AUTO-410 12 lessons · 3 h 58 min ▶ Video lessons coming soon
Offered by HSM University · Automotive Service
This is the American version of this course. See the Canadian version.
What you'll learn
- Identify mild, full and plug-in hybrids, battery electric and fuel cell vehicles, their main high-voltage components, and the energy, power and cost questions that guide a shop or fleet
- Apply NFPA 70E, OSHA's electrical rules and the vehicle maker's procedures to high-voltage work: approach boundaries, class 0 gloves, insulated tools, rated meters, a marked work area, a safety observer and the response to damaged batteries
- De-energize a high-voltage system by the maker's procedure, lock it out, allow for capacitor discharge, verify the absence of voltage live-dead-live, and return the system to service
- Explain series, parallel and power-split hybrids, the P0 to P4 motor positions and the operating modes, and use the Willis equation and scan data to judge a hybrid's behavior
- Describe battery chemistries, cell formats and pack arrangements, calculate pack voltage, capacity, energy and C-rates, and explain state of charge, aging and state of health
- Explain how the battery management system sets power limits, balances cells, controls contactors and precharge, monitors isolation and manages battery temperature, and diagnose a cooling fault
- Explain how permanent-magnet and induction motors make torque, their torque and power curves, rotor position sensing and cooling, and identify drive unit noises by frequency
- Explain the traction inverter, boost converter, DC-DC converter and onboard charger, calculate bus currents and loads, and diagnose power electronics cooling faults
- Calculate the energy recovered by regenerative braking, explain what limits it and how it is blended with friction braking, and advise drivers on one-pedal driving and drive modes
- Explain Level 1, Level 2 and DC fast charging, the J1772, CCS1 and SAE J3400 connectors and the control pilot, estimate charging times and costs, plan depot charging and diagnose a vehicle that will not charge
- Diagnose no-ready conditions, interlock and isolation faults with the scan tool, insulation tests and winding tests on a de-energized system, within the limits of what a shop repairs
- Diagnose a reduced-range electric vehicle and a hybrid isolation fault from complaint to verified repair, and document high-voltage work completely
Course content
12 lessons · 3 h 58 min total · final exam
- 1 Electrified vehicles: hybrids, plug-ins and battery electrics 20 min · quiz
- 2 High-voltage safety and PPE 20 min · quiz
- 3 De-energizing and verifying zero energy 19 min · quiz
- 4 Hybrid architectures: series, parallel and power-split 20 min · quiz
- 5 Battery cells, modules and packs 18 min · quiz
- 6 Battery management, balancing and thermal management 19 min · quiz
- 7 Electric motors: permanent-magnet and induction 19 min · quiz
- 8 Inverters, converters and the 12 V DC-DC 20 min · quiz
- 9 Regenerative braking and drive modes 19 min · quiz
- 10 Charging: Level 1, Level 2 and DC fast charging 20 min · quiz
- 11 Diagnosing hybrid and EV faults 22 min · quiz
- 12 Capstone: diagnosing a reduced-range EV and a hybrid warning light 22 min · quiz
- E Final exam 20 questions
Requirements
Recommended background. You can start any course at any time.
Description
How to work safely on hybrid and electric vehicles and diagnose them, followed through an apprentice's high-voltage training at Ridgeline Auto Service in Denver: NFPA 70E, PPE and de-energizing with live-dead-live verification, series, parallel and power-split hybrids, battery cells, packs and management, motors, inverters and DC-DC converters, regenerative braking, Level 1, Level 2 and DC fast charging with J1772, CCS1 and SAE J3400, no-ready, interlock and isolation diagnosis with insulation testing, and a capstone on a reduced-range EV and a hybrid isolation fault.