Ford warns body shops about subjecting any of its electrified vehicle batteries to excessive heat in its recent collision industry newsletter. The information may have ramifications for and require changes to some repairers’ paint SOPs.
The prohibition and potential need to remove the battery applies to everything electrified: traditional hybrids, plug-in hybrids and fully electric vehicles. So don’t assume that it’s business as usual in the paint department unless you encounter fully electric models like the Mustang Mach-E or the upcoming 2022 F-150 Lightning.
According to Ford, high temperatures can hurt the high-voltage batteries and high-voltage traction batteries found in electrified vehicles. “The temperature in some body shop paint booths can exceed 60°C, therefore, during refinishing operations, the paint booth temperature must be set at or below 60°C with a bake time of 45 minutes or less. Temperatures in excess of 60°C or bake durations longer than 45 minutes will require the high-voltage battery and the high-voltage traction battery to be removed from the vehicle prior to placing it in the paint booth.”
Shops also have to remove the vehicle’s charge port light ring if refinishing temperatures HVTB, although it is unclear if the 45-minute deadline would also apply to the port ring.
Finally, Ford added that shops must remove the high-voltage battery “before any welding is performed near it” and reminded repairers to be careful around high-voltage systems. “Electric vehicles damaged by a crash may have compromised high-voltage safety systems and present a potential high-voltage electrical shock hazard. Exercise caution and wear appropriate personal protective equipment, including high-voltage safety gloves and boots. Remove all metallic jewellery, including watches and rings. Isolate the HV system as directed by the Ford Emergency Response Guide for the vehicle.”
This article courtesy of John Huetter of Repairer Driven Education (RDE). Check out their website at; http://www.repairerdrivennews.com/ for this and many other informative and educational articles on the collision repair industry.