Electrical Safety Concerns of XM3500 & EV's

The X3500 uses an external charger, correct? So, the charging receptacle (a standard computer equipment receptacle?) only receives the DC output from the charger. Therfefore, the third ground prong isn't needed for anything.

Note: You should not ride your scooter while plugged into the charger.

(Part of this post was removed by then moderator at the request of the poster. )

I do have a hybrid (Ford Escape) and there are definitely warnings on the electrical system hazards for the high voltage.

Even a 9-volt battery can kill. Please respect electricity it only takes 1/2 an amp to kill a person. Yes .5 amps crossing your heart can kill.

The real answer to your question is your vehicle does not require or have a ground like a house. Because it is sitting on no-conductive tires you can not easily be shocked when handling the wires unless you take both the (+) and (-) wires at the same time. If you ground the frame of the vehicle, like a car or truck, then you have a greater possibility of being shocked when working with the (+) side of the batteries and a greater possibility of having a short from (+) to (-) on the vehicle. It is best to not ground the frame due to the amount of voltage. Cars and trucks use the frame as another wire, not ground, even though everyone calls it ground it is not a ground. A ground is connected to the earth and gives the electricity a path to flow to direct it away from people in general. Connecting the (-) side of the battery to a frame is only considered a ground within the vehicle. If you are standing outside the vehicle and touching the frame then you become the grounding point.

Grandpa Chas S.

Well, I have to disagree with your reply, grandpa. ;)

I'd like to see a 9-volt battery that can kill.

And I believe that grounding is a relative term. I think you're thinking of grounding like a Faraday's cage.

There is a large warning sticker on the Vectrix which is (I believe) 125v or so

Hey Fox,

How's life, good I hope. As for your disagreement, you have that right and maybe what I said was not 100% accurate because it does require a special set of circumstance for a 9-volt battery to kill but the facts say it can. One silly example is US sailor being trained as an electrician who killed himself by sticking the probes of an Ohmmeter through his skin. The Ohmmeter was powered by a 9-volt battery. So, under normal conditions I would agree that a 9-volt does not kill, but it has the potential to do so. Wet or sweaty hands can help lower the normal resistance of the human body causing more current to flow through the body increasing the potential for injury or death.

The point I was trying to get across is batteries can kill.

Grandpa Chas S.

Grandpa and All - I apologize for my misleading statement. If you feel this information is not good, please remove my post as I can not edit it (otherwise I would). However, UL guidelines state a different philosophy as far as electrical hazards, warnings, and safety protocols than what you are stating...

Here is a good overview and worth reading. I am not condoning nor claiming any expert knowledge on this and only posting this for your information. It appears IMHO an electric scooter falls into the class A1 catagory since it is restricted access to the consumer.

P.S. It appears my previous post is wrong by these guidleines. For the currents we are dealing with a DC voltage limit of 30V is used by this guideline as "acceptable" and AC voltages of 14.1V when there is no current limiting. I also agree with grandpa that any thing electrical should be respected and treated with caution.

Granpda Chas - please remove my previous comment/post as it is not correct.

www.ewh.ieee.org/soc/emcs/pstc/Symposiums/2003/w13d-lorusso.pdf

My view is that, in practical terms, for DC voltages less than 70 volts or so, it is safe to work on wires and connections on an DC-powered EVs as long as these two rules are followed:

1. Do not have hands or other body parts positioned so they can close the circuit between the positive and negative poles of the pack or across a grouping of more than a few of the cells. In particular avoid closing a circuit where the heart lies in the path of the electrical flux (i.e left and right hands) and,

2. If a situation No. 1 above could happen, avoid any possibility of energized parts puncturing their skin.

Considering that both these rules have to be violated in order to get any kind of shock. it is pretty hard to get in trouble.

This is a lot easier than AC, where contact with anything energized while connected to the earth (even feet on the floor) closes the circuit - so you have to avoid ever touching the energized wire or terminal at all. The higher voltage is of course a big consideration.

So for, say, a typical chore of removing and replacing a cell or block of cells, or a switch or relay, I really have trouble thinking of any specific electric shock safety precautions being required, or would be effective, beyond the two guidelines above.

The biggest hazard isn't shock, it is dropping a wrench - or much worse, an aerosol can - across the terminals and the resulting arcing, or in the case of the can explosion and fire.

I think PJD has the right idea and I agree with him, using care around anything with electricity is always a good idea. I have made a few mistakes myself. On one occasion I was received a burn going in my little figure and out my elbow which I was leaning on at the time. I am just glad the 750-volts went through my arm and not anywhere else.

As for the post by epd, I have removed sections of it at his request. I did not want to remove the entire post as it would mess-up the thread. I also removed his the quote from other post, mine.

Grandpa Chas S.

:) 8) :? :P ;) Thank you !!!!! LaTeR