Germany: Difference between revisions

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(Created page with "Germany has a special approval process for one-off cars. It is described in "Merkblatt VdTÜV 764" that you can buy here: https://www.vdtuev.de/shop/merkblaetter . More info h...")
 
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Recently a forum member had his car approved.
Recently a forum member had his car approved.
== Requirement Summary ==
* You must indicate that the car is ready to drive
* The motor mustn't operate while the car is charging
* The chassis must be grounded while charging
* Forward and reverse selection must be clearly indicated (a given when using a stick shift)
* The car must be powerful enough do drive an 18% incline at 60 km/h for 1km
* It must be indicated when your battery runs low
* Warm air must exit the passenger vents
* The brake boost vacuum pump must create sufficient vacuum - will be tested
* Regen must integrate with ESP/ABS - i.e. cut regen when ABS steps into action
* Regen without brake lights must not be stronger than -1.3 m/s²
* Power steering must remain operable
* Even if the main traction battery is depleted the 12V system must stay operational - e.g. hazard lights
* HV cables must have orange color. Either it is orange in the first place or inside an orange tube
* HV must be galvanically isolated from the chassis
* High voltage parts must be covered the they cannot be touched. HV warning stickers must be on any part that has high voltage inside. Cables, connectors etc. must be fit for use in a car.
* At least one battery pole must be interrupted by a relay when the car is turned off. The battery must be fused
* The chassis mustn't be stiffened by your modifications
* The battery must be sufficiently tightened as to not endanger passengers on an accident
* EMC must be ensured - more details below
* You must create an "emergency map" that displays the location of the battery, HV cables and instructions how to turn off the vehicle
== Practise ==
The most difficult part is to find an inspection engineer that doesn't over-estimate the task of inspecting a converted vehicle. Quite a few engineers will rather tell you that you need this and that super-expensive expert opinion in order to get the car road worthy in place of admitting that they are not up to the job.
Once you found an engineer the depth of inspection seems to vary. Some do high speed runs and noise tests, some just do a mechanical inspection. It is very beneficial to have professional documentation of your build, including data sheets and diagrams.
== EMI/EMC ==
The most feared part of the road worthiness test is proving that your vehicle is electromagnetically compliant, i.e. operating the inverter will not disturb any other electronic equipment in proximity of the car. Rather remarkably, if your donor car was manufactured before October 2002 you only need to prove "Funkentstörung". With cars younger than that you need to go all in with ECE-10 which also includes the proof that your car isn't disturbed by EMI from outside.
'''But''': since today we no longer use home-built inverters and industrial motors but use complete drive trains from existing electric vehicles, we circumvent the entire EMC topic! The components are already certified to be ECE-10 compliant. Job done. Just make an extensive list of OEM part numbers. The more original parts used (e.g. wiring looms, contactors) the more impressive your list becomes.
== After inspection ==
Once the engineer has given his blessing you go to "Zulassungsstelle" and hand in the paper work. They will send it to some central office who do even more paper work. With that done you are eligible for
* Tax cut for 10 years
* Reduced road tax (I think 29€/year)
* E-Kennzeichen (free parking and other goodies)

Revision as of 21:54, 1 April 2020

Germany has a special approval process for one-off cars. It is described in "Merkblatt VdTÜV 764" that you can buy here: https://www.vdtuev.de/shop/merkblaetter . More info here: https://www.vdtuev.de/in-vorbereitung/energie-und-umwelt/energie_umwelt/alternative_antriebe/freie-fahrt-fuer-elektrofahrzeuge

Recently a forum member had his car approved.

Requirement Summary

  • You must indicate that the car is ready to drive
  • The motor mustn't operate while the car is charging
  • The chassis must be grounded while charging
  • Forward and reverse selection must be clearly indicated (a given when using a stick shift)
  • The car must be powerful enough do drive an 18% incline at 60 km/h for 1km
  • It must be indicated when your battery runs low
  • Warm air must exit the passenger vents
  • The brake boost vacuum pump must create sufficient vacuum - will be tested
  • Regen must integrate with ESP/ABS - i.e. cut regen when ABS steps into action
  • Regen without brake lights must not be stronger than -1.3 m/s²
  • Power steering must remain operable
  • Even if the main traction battery is depleted the 12V system must stay operational - e.g. hazard lights
  • HV cables must have orange color. Either it is orange in the first place or inside an orange tube
  • HV must be galvanically isolated from the chassis
  • High voltage parts must be covered the they cannot be touched. HV warning stickers must be on any part that has high voltage inside. Cables, connectors etc. must be fit for use in a car.
  • At least one battery pole must be interrupted by a relay when the car is turned off. The battery must be fused
  • The chassis mustn't be stiffened by your modifications
  • The battery must be sufficiently tightened as to not endanger passengers on an accident
  • EMC must be ensured - more details below
  • You must create an "emergency map" that displays the location of the battery, HV cables and instructions how to turn off the vehicle

Practise

The most difficult part is to find an inspection engineer that doesn't over-estimate the task of inspecting a converted vehicle. Quite a few engineers will rather tell you that you need this and that super-expensive expert opinion in order to get the car road worthy in place of admitting that they are not up to the job.

Once you found an engineer the depth of inspection seems to vary. Some do high speed runs and noise tests, some just do a mechanical inspection. It is very beneficial to have professional documentation of your build, including data sheets and diagrams.

EMI/EMC

The most feared part of the road worthiness test is proving that your vehicle is electromagnetically compliant, i.e. operating the inverter will not disturb any other electronic equipment in proximity of the car. Rather remarkably, if your donor car was manufactured before October 2002 you only need to prove "Funkentstörung". With cars younger than that you need to go all in with ECE-10 which also includes the proof that your car isn't disturbed by EMI from outside.

But: since today we no longer use home-built inverters and industrial motors but use complete drive trains from existing electric vehicles, we circumvent the entire EMC topic! The components are already certified to be ECE-10 compliant. Job done. Just make an extensive list of OEM part numbers. The more original parts used (e.g. wiring looms, contactors) the more impressive your list becomes.

After inspection

Once the engineer has given his blessing you go to "Zulassungsstelle" and hand in the paper work. They will send it to some central office who do even more paper work. With that done you are eligible for

  • Tax cut for 10 years
  • Reduced road tax (I think 29€/year)
  • E-Kennzeichen (free parking and other goodies)