I cannot imagine that either the qualifications of a domestic electrician, or the standards for UK wiring will apply to much inside an electric vehicle - it will be much closer to an appliance repair with the added complication that most of it is not the power electrics (though the best end of a kV of batteries will focus the attentions)

I imagine that most 'wiring' jobs will be small electronics, using CAN bus diagnostics and so on, leading to (as they are now) reither the placement of consumables - brake pads, tyres, alarms and lock problems, perhaps some lubricants and cooling fluids and so on, or to complete module repacement (parking sonar,, lidar modules,cameras and so on will not be repaired at internal component level, but as plug in boxes) and repairs to damage - replacing bashed wheels, bent doors, steering tracking and all the things like that we see today.

It will change, but as with the advent of petrol over steam, and steam over horses, there will still be a role for cunning chaps who understand enough to pull the sharp metal away from the tyres and to get it going again.

Mike

PS

I'm less sure if there will be a safe future for all-electric banger racing however.

mapj1 said:

I cannot imagine that either the qualifications of a domestic electrician, or the standards for UK wiring will apply to much inside an electric vehicle - it will be much closer to an appliance repair with the added complication that most of it is not the power electrics (though the best end of a kV of batteries will focus the attentions)

Re BS7671 and EAW1989

I am NOT sure than many mechanics pay much attention to

LV supply arrangements be it TT or TNsomething.  However they will now need to become aware of it for safety.  They (garage owners) may even need to start putting in more Earth Rod/Spike or ConDuDisc for retro fits of garage.

MCB in CU/DB may need to be upgraded to RCBOs or possibly AFDDs

oPEN faults detectors will need to be fitted to the site if they have EVSE without the technology, Still awaiting a BS on PEN fault detection and its testing

I can see annual EICR becoming a thing of compliance for them

Gounding mats for work on small electric parts

Fire bins filled with sand in case of components or modules having a thermal run away.  Plus the training

I thought we were discussing the maintenance of EVs - which BS 7671 explicitly doesn't cover (110.2 (iii)). EAWR already apply to garages, as current IC vehicles contain electrical systems (12V spark and petrol?). Anything to do with the fixed installation (including EVSE) within the garage will likely remain the province of the electrical contractor as it is now - the challenges of EVSE are just the same as for any other installation.

   - Andy.

LV supply arrangements be it TT or TNsomething.  However they will now need to become aware of it for safety. 

Why ? - the tools they use will be battery power or double insulated as they are now.

Building wiring will not need change, except perhaps for adding an EV  charge point and maybe a check meter to show that things are charging as expected or not.

Mike.

A lot of garages power the tools by hydrolics and pneumatic,  compressors can interfere or make noise on the electrical circuits of the building.

A lot of garages power the tools by hydrolics and pneumatic,  compressors can interfere or make noise on the electrical circuits of the building.

But electrically noisy  things like compressors and welders etc are not a new problem specific to repairing EVs, nor it is something that the garage staff will be installing the wiring for without calling in a proper sparks, any more than any other light industrial business.

Mike.

Back to the original post, I like the highly optimistic idea that electric and autonomous vehicles (which seem to have somehow been combined, they are rather different issues) will have no breakdowns!

Personally I can't remember the last time any car I owned having an engine based breakdown (except for one terminal timing belt failure which was my own fault), and it's been a long time since I've had to take one to a garage for transmission wear - and even that was in a very elderly AWD. I have had issues (as I suspect many or all of us have had) with bodywork, brakes and (particularly) air conditioning, all of which are going to apply pretty much equally to any of these vehicle types. (And incidentally, rather than buy new cars and replacing them after three years, my wife and I buy three year old cars and keep them until they fall apart.)

I think a more useful question, particularly for the IET network, would be: how as an electronics / electrical industry do we support the development of appropriate retraining for garage staff to work on electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles?

Considering some of the above posts, I can see there probably is some crossover in the garage electrical  installation / car systems risk in ensuring that the EMC assurance processes for cars take account of the fact that they will be repaired in an electrically noisy environment - it's possible to imagine arc welding of a chassis having an interesting effect on autonomous vehicle systems. As said above, not really a new problem, we've had ECUs for a long long time now, but there may be some new implications. I would assume the automotive industry is very well aware of this. (But equally I wouldn't be surprised if individual projects might try to manage this by assuming that e.g. "all cars will be maintained in the manufacturer's facilities"! Hopefully that wouldn't get accepted at homologation as an appropriate argument?) 

Thanks,

Andy