Electrostatic discharge issues in electric vehicles

Electrostatic discharge (ESD) is an important issue in any motor vehicle. Anecdotal reports abound of cars with spark ignition hazards because of fuel tank designs, and even toll collectors reluctant to collect money by hand from certain late-model cars. As electric vehicles move from the laboratory and test track to the production floor and showroom, ESD concerns take on a new context and become more critical. In this paper, the attributes of electric vehicles that give rise to concerns about ESD are introduced. When the concerns are taken into account, certain basic design constraints become evident. A candidate design is analyzed for its ESD properties. Some common design practices, especially the practice of isolating the battery bus, can create reliability problems because of ESD.