Service Disconnects who why where ?

[zippy500]

What are people using/not using for service disconnects in their DIY projects. I understand the reason for them.

Are people using them in there DIY projects, if you had two battery boxes would it be ideal to fit one to each battery box or just one up front?

Is a Rotary Isolate switch sufficient to use ?

Also where do you source them from (cheaply RS wants £300 plus ) I see on eBay its just the plug part available. The socket part I suppose is attached to the sold battery box?

Can you just rely on contactors for the disconnect ?

[arber333]

What are people using/not using for service disconnects in their DIY projects. I understand the reason for them.

Are people using them in there DIY projects, if you had two battery boxes would it be ideal to fit one to each battery box or just one up front?

Is a Rotary Isolate switch sufficient to use ?

Also where do you source them from (cheaply RS wants £300 plus ) I see on eBay its just the plug part available. The socket part I suppose is attached to the sold battery box?

Can you just rely on contactors for the disconnect ?

The point of Service disconnect is not to brake or make contacts under power like contactors. It is used for servicing. If you need to service HV battery then for your own safety you should brake the pack somewhere in the middle so that if you drop a spanner you would not gat a 360Vdc across it...

I have long used only contactors and fuse for safety of battery pack. It works good except i would recommend you put 2 fuse each in its own battery box so as to prevent runaway if cables would touch the chassis for example in an accident.

But a while back i got annoyed by difficult handling of the fuse which i had to remove whenever i wanted to service my HV pack. Awkward M8 bolts... There would even be sparks flying when i would put fuse back since i keep DCDC connected across the main contactor (it has its own fuse).

So i picked up one Kona service disconnect from Marty here and i dont regret mounting it in the middle of the pack on the +HV. The thing is a bit bulky but it is worth it for servicing...

I se Leaf service disconnect in Mazda MX3 and i like it as well.

[Zieg]

I'm planning to re-use the service disconnect that came with my Pacifica batteries. It includes a 350A fuse so that seems like an added bonus. Not tooooo terribly expensive either. If you can find the plug used, the socket is only $60CAD new. The plug with fuse is a little more than twice that. As an added bonus, the back of the socket has two M6 terminals so it's easy to connect to your own wiring.

I believe these are the part numbers:

https://www.digikey.ca/en/products/deta ... -1/5399690

https://www.digikey.ca/en/products/deta ... -1/5399278 (Can also be had in different fuse sizes if desired)

[SciroccoEV]

Not all OEM battery packs have a manual disconnect, the BMW hybrid packs don't for example. As long as you have contactors on both poles and some means of checking that those contactors have in fact opened that's OK. Stuck contactor detection is somethong you should really have anyway.

[zippy500]

Stuck contactor detection is something you should really have anyway.

Thanks for the replies

Does anyone know what type of device this is ?

[canadasconvert]

I am looking for a quick way to disconnect HV wiring from the battery to the main contactor box. I have been told NOT to use an Anderson Connectors due to the high currents involved under normal operation. I was looking at 600V welding cable connectors capable of handling up to 400 Amps. Any comments/suggestions?

[muehlpower]

https://shop.fellten.com/shop/category/ ... nectors-65

[rstevens81]

One thing to note that boxterev pointed out is the amount of times your going to open up the battery box (especially if you have a hvjb in it) will be alot so an easy method to break the hv circuit is a must! This doesn't necessarily mean an expensive fuse thing it can be as simple as some AliExpress hv conectors and an unplugable wire e.g.
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mMiji6s