February 2020

of your life." Observations For the rest of the attendees, the course continued onto the following day, becoming more practical as it went. For Aftermarket however, it was time to bow out. As a highly interested observer, it was absolutely fascinating. The course really brought home just how different EVs and hybrids are, but also how present they are, and how long some of them have been on our roads. While the numbers are small, they continue to grow in popularity. Taking a course like this will be absolutely vital for any business that wants to plug into this particular income stream. This stuff is not dangerous, if you know what you are doing. If you do indeed know your stuff, then the opportunities are out there. Just don't grab anything orange, and remember to check that the car really is definitely turned off. FEBRUARY 2020 AFTERMARKET 53 www.aftermarketonline.net safety in the workshop. The risks to those who do not heed the warnings include electrocution, arc flash and arc blast which could injure staff directly and cause a fire in the workshop. There are also risks around magnetism, relating to the electric motor, and corrosion and spillage risks if a battery is damaged. Safe working practices, and safety equipment were covered here including gloves, other clothing, matting and special safety tools. Obviously, it is not all theoretical, so in the workshop, we got up close with a Toyota Prius, the granddaddy of all hybrids, and a Nissan Leaf. "How do you know it is on?" Mihai asked the class when we were looking at the Leaf. Noting the wall of blank faces, he turned the car on. Cue the tiny light on the dashboard. That turned on a few lights for the attendees in return, as they realised the importance of all the safety procedure. Breaking for lunch gave me the chance to ask Mihai if he thought garages are keeping up with all this, or if it all comes as a shock: "They all started out with a shock, because they did not have all the information. Whenever we were talking about electric and hybrid vehicles, all they knew was high- voltage, danger, death, burns, electrocution and so on. Once they come here and see that there are a lot of safety features, and that it is very safe to work on them, they become more relaxed. They then start thinking 'yes, I am going to start working on a lot of electric and hybrid vehicles." Increase We also asked the attendees how they saw the course. John Hickey was from Avanta Transport in Redditch. Explaining why he had opted to take the course, he said: “Electric vehicles – they are the future. It might seem a long way off, but one day these cars are going to be in the workshop. We have not had any in yet, but we figure it is on the horizon, and as they are on the increase. At some point we will end up with one at our garage. "We have got enough work without it, but it is nice to add another string to the bow. If you can work on an electric vehicle when the garage down the road can't, then it just puts you one step ahead. Future-proofing. We are getting the young kids in, trying to train them up as well, and carrying them into the future. They are going to need this more than I am." We asked John if he was enjoying the course so far: "It's good," he replied. The chap knows what he is on about doesn't he?" He certainly did. After lunch, we moved onto electricity, looking at what it is, how it is measured, got into Ohms Law, Watts Law, the rules of resistance and the use of multimeters, and the differnces between alternating current and direct current. This ultimately led to how EVs work, and looked at the high voltage components from the safety angle as well as their output, and how to read the results of a multimeter test. Zero does not mean absolute zero, you know. Mihai observed "If a Lithium-ion battery reads as zero, it still has 2.1 volts. If it has 10 cells, that is 210 volts. That would give you the shock Below: Technical Trainer Mihai Lazar leading the course