DOs, DON'TS and NEVERs for Electric Vehicles

There are some things you should NEVER do with an electric car. There are other things a good person such as myself will tell you to DON'T do in an electric car. Finally there are other actions that you DO want to do in an electric car. The vehicle is electric, it's possible to cause an electric fire. It's possible to damage your own battery. You DON'T want to do that. Read on to learn about the Dos, DON'Ts and NEVERs for electric vehicles.

NEVER Abruptly unplug your vehicle from D/C Fast Charging without pressing stop on the app or physically pressing stop on the machine.

Never abruptly unplug your vehicle from D/C Fast Charging, this will cause a current arc, which is a precursor to an electrical fire.

If you abruptly unplug the plug while your vehicle is D/C Fast Charging, the charger will not know that you've unplugged it. The charger will continue to throw current (electricity) towards your vehicle. As you unplug it and current is still moving, this will form what is called a current arc. A current arc is a precursor to an electrical fire.

An electrical fire would not only damage your vehicle, but also damage the charger. This is very bad. You never want to do this.

NEVER charge your vehicle while the vehicle is still on.

NEVER charge your vehicle while the vehicle is still on. Just turn the vehicle of during charging.

95% of people don't do this. The vast majority of people will charge their vehicle while the vehicle is off. If you charge your vehicle while the vehicle is off, good for you, you are doing the right thing.

But, the 5% of people who are charging their vehicle while the vehicle is on need to stop.

Right now.

Why?

The same reason as previously because there is the potential to cause an electrical fire. An electrical fire can damage your vehicle and damage the charger.

Remember, charging your vehicle is not like charging your phone. You can't just charge it and use it at the same time. Let's say that your vehicle has a 65kWh battery capacity. That would be 65,000 Watt hours. Now imagine a 60 watt light bulb that you likely have in your house or apartment. 65,000Watt hours are the equivalent of running 1,081 of those sixty watt light bulbs for one hour. It's a lot of energy.

Also, your vehicle likely has an electrical potential of 400V. Some newer 2023 electric vehicles have a 800V electric motor. The cord to charge your phone has an electrical potential of 5V, by comparison. The electrical potential of your vehicle is 80X that of your phone. That's a lot of electrical potential.

Lastly, when you D/C Fast Charge, you likely get 36kW of power from the charger. That's actually on the low end of power, it would be more likely for you to get anywhere from 50kW to 100kW of power. It depends upon your vehicle. Anyway, 36kW of power is 36,000Watts. Or the equivalent power of 600 sixty watt light bulbs. That's a lot of power.

Charging your vehicle while it is on is like running 1,081 light bulbs at the same time as trying to charge them.
There is 400V of electrical potential, the equivalent of 80 phone charging cords. Leaving your vehicle on while charging woudl be like plugging in 80 phone charging cords. Lastly, 36kW of power is the same power as 600 sixty watt light bulbs. That's a lot of power. Leaving your vehicle on while charging would be like running 600 sixty watt light bulbs at the same time as trying to store energy. That's a lot of power.

Look, charging your vehicle is not like charging your phone and using it at the same time. Your vehicle has much more energy, power and electrical potential. Your vehicle has the energy of 1,081 sixty watt light bulbs, the electrical potential of 80 phone charging cords and the power of 600 sixty watt light bulbs. Your vehicle has too much power, energy and electrical potential for you to just mess around with it.

NEVER charge your vehicle while your vehicle is on. That can cause an electrical fire. Don't do that.

Also, if you see any other drivers at the charging station charging with their vehicle on, You need to tell them to turn their vehicle off. For everyone's sake. So they don't cause an electrical fire at the charging station. Even if they argue with you, you need to tell them to NOT charge with their vehicle on.

NEVER charge your vehicle if the charger, or your vehicle smells like acid.

NEVER charge your vehicle if you smell battery acid from the charger or your vehicle. If you smell battery acid while you are charging, immediately stop charging and unplug your vehicle.

If either the charger or your vehicle smells like battery acid, you need to immediately unplug stop charging and unplug your vehicle. Neither the charge nor your vehicle should ever smell like battery acid.

If you smell that sharp rancid smell of battery acid, just unplug your vehicle. The battery acid smell is a sign that something is either wrong with the charger or wrong with the battery in your vehicle. You need to immediately stop charging and unplug your vehicle. The battery in your vehicle is being damaged if you smell battery acid.

Look, the public charging stations are public. They get a lot of use, from people who know how to use the stations and from people who don't. Public charging stations do get broken by the public, either unintentionally or intentionally. There are thousands of charging stations, likely in your state, some of the stations do get broken.

Also, not all the charging stations are designed well. Each station is supposed to have safety features such as: current drop protection, isolation tests, and etc. Many of the stations have these safety features. But different charging companies will design their charging stations differently. Not all stations are designed or made well. Just like any electrical appliance you may buy, different manufacturers will develop products with different quality. Some products are quality, some aren't.

If you smell battery acid while you are charging, just unplug your vehicle and go to another station. It's not worth damaging your battery.

Don't charge your vehicle during a thunderstorm.

Don't charge your vehicle during a thunderstorm or if there is lightning in your area. Unplug your vehicle and charge once the storm has passed.

This sounds like an old tale, but it's true.

When a thunderstorm occurs there is extra electromagnetic energy in the air. The extra electromagnetic energy (electrons) floating in the air during a thunderstorm may disrupt the power at local businesses, the mall, or even your house.

You've probably noticed this before. When during a thunderstorm the power will intermittently flicker or go out entirely.

Look, if there is a thunderstorm or lightning in your area, just unplug your vehicle and don't charge at this time.

You don't want the extra electromagnetic energy that is floating in the air messing with your charge, or damaging your battery. It's not worth it. Just charge at a different time. Thunderstorms and lighting don't last forever, they are generally over within a few hours. Just charge your vehicle once the storm has passed.

Don't charge your vehicle above 80% when D/C Fast Charging.

Don't charge your vehicle above 80% when D/C Fast Charging. You will likely damage your battery.

Don't charge your vehicle above 80% battery capacity when D/C Fast Charging. D/C Fast Charging packs a lot of energy into the battery very quickly.

Every battery, whether it is your cell phone battery, an appliance with a battery or the battery in your electric vehicle has the potential to discharge if you overfill it with energy.

If the battery gets too full, above 100% the battery will throw out it's extra energy in an attempt to not be overfull.

When a battery discharges it damages the electrochemistry within the battery. Discharging hurts a battery.

Here is an anecdote, if you are someone who needs an anecdote. I met a woman, she would always D/C Fast Charge her vehicle up to 95%. She was unaware that you should not D/C Fast Charge your vehicle above 80%. Her vehicle had a reduced range. Her range was about 60% of what would be normal for her vehicle. She damaged the battery. Don't be like her.

As always, Happy Charging EVeryone! Be Safe!

D/C Fast charging uses direct current and a higher amount of power compared to A/C Charging. D/C Fast charging is done @ 25kW, 50kW, 150kW or 350kW. That's a lot of power that is pushing a lot of energy into your vehicle very quickly. Pushing so much energy so quickly into the battery when it is close to full can damage the battery.

You don't want to damage your electric vehicle battery. Just stop at 80% when D/C Fast Charging. There is a guideline on the charging machine taht indicates this, and your vehicle will also notify you of this. Just respect that.