EV's and deep water?

[biggles330d]

What with all the rain recently plenty of roads around me are covered in standing water of some significant depth. While being sensible and avoiding the worst of them in the i3, including backtracking from one road where the water looked just a bit too deep to try, it did make me wonder what received wisdom is around EV's and flooded roads.

We're all well aware that sucking in water to an ICE engine is the most serious killer in conventional cars, but without this danger, how water tight are EV batteries, motors and electrics? Presumably they have to be pretty resistant to the wet stuff for everyday use, but beyond deliberate drowning, how much wading will your average Leaf / i3 / Tesla / Zoe etc content with and what's likely to blow first??

[sjg]

Brief dunkings/wading are OK, all the HV stuff is well sealed. Sitting in deep water for days/weeks is likely to cause problems.

This sums it up well and has some videos of deep water tests: https://www.greencarfuture.com/electric/driving-th...

The Zoe that in the Whaley Bridge flood pictures where water was to the tops of the wheels belongs to Nick Raimo's Mrs (he makes youtube videos about EVs) and apparently the car was driven out OK, has has carpets out to dry and connectors checked but all looking fine.

[RazerSauber]

I would imagine things like fuse boxes would be first to go. Although I have literally 0 idea of how well sealed the motors and associated connectors are. I have consulted a mechanic whom I work with who said he wouldn't go wading in them but there should be less points of failure than a normal engine. He advised most parts should be fitted with a CV boot style seal and be water resistant rather than water proof.

[biggles330d]

sjg said:

Brief dunkings/wading are OK, all the HV stuff is well sealed. Sitting in deep water for days/weeks is likely to cause problems.

This sums it up well and has some videos of deep water tests: https://www.greencarfuture.com/electric/driving-th...

The Zoe that in the Whaley Bridge flood pictures where water was to the tops of the wheels belongs to Nick Raimo's Mrs (he makes youtube videos about EVs) and apparently the car was driven out OK, has has carpets out to dry and connectors checked but all looking fine.

Useful videos. That Leaf looks like it would give my Discovery a good run for its money in serious water!

[Chris32345]

Batteries woud definitely have no issues they have to be totally sealed or else that burn to the ground
Lithium reacts well when exposed to oxygen

[Witchfinder]

The Jaguar I-Pace has a wading depth of 0.5m!

[sjg]

sjg said:

The Zoe that in the Whaley Bridge flood pictures where water was to the tops of the wheels belongs to Nick Raimo's Mrs (he makes youtube videos about EVs) and apparently the car was driven out OK, has has carpets out to dry and connectors checked but all looking fine.

Video out: https://youtu.be/ixXF72HFr5U

[Pooh]

I drove my Zoe through a flooded road yesterday, it was deep enough that the bow wave was occasionally visible at the front of the bonnet, it went through no problem at all but it is reassuring to see how well waterproofed they are.

[anonymous-user]

There is a big difference between driving through water, compared to being sat stationary in it! When driving, thebow wave and displacement of the body means the average water level is actually a lot lower than you might otherwise think. When sat stationary, and especially for some period of time, things like door seals will leak, and water will likely wick up into looms etc.

If that were my zoe, i'd be having a really good look at the seat belt pyrotechnic pre-tensioners for example, as they are low in the body and are considered safety critical items.......