High-Voltage Disconnecting/Initialization Procedure
I-CAR and subject matter experts from vehicle makers, collision repairers, insurers, and tool and equipment makers held a meeting in May, to develop, update, and publish an I-CAR best practice for a High-Voltage (HV) Disconnecting/Initialization Procedure.
APPROACH HIGH-VOLTAGE VEHICLES WITH EXTREME CAUTION!
This published I-CAR Best Practice is an inter-industry developed and vetted guideline to be used in addition to the OEM procedures. This process does not take the place of any OEM procedures, OEM requirements, or contribute to any OEM specifications of skills, tooling, training, or equipment that enables a repair facility to work on high-voltage vehicles.
Only qualified high-voltage technicians with proper PPE are permitted to work on the high-voltage system. Repair facilities should always reference the documented OEM procedures for the make, model, and year of the vehicle before starting work to ensure a safe and proper repair.
This procedure is modeled after the European regulation ECE-R-100 to ensure that a vehicle is safe, as there is a higher level of potential injury if there is collision damage to the HV system.
The documents within the best practice include the:
- I-CAR Best Practice - HV Disconnecting/Initialization Procedure which is used to safely disable and test the vehicle.
- I-CAR Best Practice - HV Safety Protocol which is a form that is used to document the inspections and tests.
- I-CAR Best Practice - HV Disconnecting Procedure Status Cards which are printable and used to identify the current status of the HV vehicle.
