As with anything new or unfamiliar, there will always be some trepidation. But let me say I find the reactions to the voltage and power used in hybrids and EVs to be quite entertaining. I have worked with high power electronics for several decades now and we routinely deal with equipment we design and build everyday that is orders of magnitude more concerning than that which is in a vehicle. We do not have hooks to drag people away from our equipment
Our DC bus is typically 800VDC feeding the HV multipliers and capable of many hundreds of amps. Contrary to the predictions of roasting on the system like a piece of bacon, when you are shocked by DC, your muscles contract once and most often propelled from the offending circuit. It is AC that will cause you to hang on as your muscles repeated expand and contract in response to the alternating field.
I have been bit several times over the years by mains supply in excess of 480V. While it is possible to be severely injured by such exposure, it requires very specific conditions and so the probability is low. I am still walking around and in possession of all my appendages
Big thing with mechanics is we tend to poke around with prybars and screw drivers looking for answers, poke in the wrong place and you get zapped… Ignition wires and distributors come to mind and getting zapped, but luckily it can basically only make you hit your elbow or head on something trying to get away… I will say my MSD 6AL and 50K coil has lit my world up more than once… lol
Add a High voltage, (Prius at least used to run 600 Volts), and high amps and it can/will zap you like a bug…
Big difference in being trained from day one to be careful around high voltage, and adding high voltage years/decades later to the thing you have been working on, especially after you had been doing the same job not having to worry/think about it…
Luckily no one I know or anyone in the company was ever zapped and I am sure over all there has been a very low number of mechanics in the business that has been zapped from HV…Probably cause lots of shops stay away from them…lol
I appreciate your perspective. Like anything in life that has a hazard potential, you have to learn to respect it and learn how to deal with it. Is it possible to kill yourself doing something foolish? Certainly. But you probably should not be poking around with crowbars near the high voltage connectors while also touching the DC return. See all those brightly colored connector covers and warning labels? Just be careful and educate yourself on the proper handling of high voltage systems. Or back away from the car
Imagine if it was the other way around and electric motors were first developed. Then they came along with the ICE and the mechanics would be like- this thing is super dangerous! I could get my clothes or hair caught in that rotating fan and be sucked into the engine and killed!
In the past there have been recommendations to hybrid vehicle owners to perform DYI high voltage battery repairs while never mentioning basic safety precautions like the location of the HV battery service plug to disconnect the battery from the rest of the vehicle.
Meanwhile, an oddball wrote about a feature buried within the seatbelt retractor spool which no one will be able to locate, and the moderator is called out to ban that person for giving dangerous advice.
These are the things that make this forum entertaining.
Some folks here don’t like women in bathing suits either and have their way. I read an interesting article this morning about the problems gen Z are having in the work place, knowing and adapting to the rules and customs. Like appropriate dress, personal computer use etc. having to hire classes to teach them the basics. Not to bring a parent along to an interview and so on. Just Shocked at what is required. Years ago I had a lady show up with a book on how to interview and left it out for all to see. Might be a long road ahead.
A job interview tops my list as the most unnatural and forced form of human interaction.
#1. The “job interview” is not about the job, it’s about you the candidate
#2. The interviewer (or the company if it’s a larger one) already knows the answers to the questions they will ask you, such as “tell me about yourself” or “why do you want this job”.
If your answers don’t at least come close to what’s on their notepad or device, it’s “thanks for coming in today” and that letter in the mail.
I don’t remember what vehicle it was, maybe the Escape Hybrid when it 1st came out, anyway, the brakes would run random brake checks while not in use and apply (full?) braking force, so if you didn’t pull the relay (or whatever) and were changing pads on it when it decided to run the system check/test and your fingers got caught between the pads or between the pad and rotor it would send you to the ER… There was several different things on several different vehicles like that, that you had to know about before you started working on it… When I got hybrid certified, we had to have the service manager and a master tech be certified in the shop before we do do anything much other than simple tire stuff and oil changes, and even the oil changes you had to have the fob x feet away so the car would not start on it’s own… You also had to make sure not to rotate the wheels if the were driven due to the possibility of being zapped… So I just told everyone to leave the vehicle “running” while on the rack doing the caster/camber rolling compensation on the alignment rack… I pretty much just referred hybrids to the dealer if not the simple stuff… Just way too many ifs not being a dealer, the precautions were just too many to keep up with, and better to be safe than sorry…
So even today, I don’t recommend DIY repairs on hybrids, if you want to study up on all the warnings and stuff, go for it… Just be warned, them Orange wire looms don’t always give you a 2nd chance at getting it right…
We had a guy with a small tv repair shop that closed about 20 years ago, I am not sure hoe busy he was near the end. Very sad that we throw everything away now.
We will eventually get to the point if a car needs a repair such as a wheel bearing or maybe a mid level repair we will just junk it and buy a new one.
Our peak was in the 1970s, its been a race to the bottom since then.
When you can buy a 58" smart TV for $214.00, why in the world would you pay a $100+ service fee plus repairs for an older TV, heck with everything being HD now a days, a non HD TV picture just looks like crap and you can’t read much of the print when being shown…
Stupid AI Bot crap, just google 58" smart tv and scroll to Walmart… lol
Depends on the HD TV. The newer cheap HD TV’s are not any better than my 15yo LED Samsung. But an OLED or QLED are. 55" OLED costs about $2,000. QLED is under $500 and is a better picture. But some of those real cheap (so-called) HD TVs are really crap.
That was probably purposeful. An attempt to hint at her displeasure and inclination to leave. A cry for help
I have had people say things that make me wonder, do you realize that will have the exact opposite reaction you had hoped for? In mentoring younger folks I tell them- if you ever get to feeling too comfortable remember, everyone is on a list. Your job is to avoid rising to the top of that list of your own doing…
Intimating or saying you’re willing to leave catapults you to the top…
+1
Prepping for any interview is a wise thing to do. Always do some research on the company with whom you’re being interviewed if you want to be able to respond intelligently to questions that might be asked.
I used to help some of my counselees prep for a college admissions interview, and that seemed to help–a lot. If nothing else, it helped to bolster their self-confidence.
I repair my computers, build my bicycle’s wheels, etc. I realize that if I calculated the value of my time at minimum wage it’d be cheaper to replace. An expert works more quickly, but probably charges a greater multiple of minimum wage than divisor of time spent. Bicycle wheels are built by machine now.
First, they’d speak with 2-3 of my engineers to get a feel of their technical skills and personality fits. Being technical qualified is only part of it. Being able to work with others is HUGE the other major factor. If my engineers liked him/her then they’d send him/her to me. If not - they’d then the interview process is over. Over the years I’ve become pretty good at detecting bullsht. Don’t EVER try to bullsht your way through an interview. Be HONEST. If you don’t know the answer to a question then say so. Not knowing the answer is valid. I’m more interested in seeing how you’d find the answer.
This is very good advice. I had one interviewee tell me they didn’t like working on government projects. 30% of the companies was with Homeland Security. And 40% of our business was with other foreign governments.
In addition to being crazy cheap on an inflation-adjusted basis, modern flat screens are extremely reliable. Of the several I’ve owned over the last 20 years, only one very cheap one failed.
In contrast, the Samsung DLP HDTV required several repairs over its life:
Yup!
I used to advise counselees to familiarize themselves with the college, prior to the interview. Some did, some didn’t.
When I phoned one admissions office after my counselee received a rejection, I asked for some info. I was told that, when the student was asked if he had any questions, his reply was, “How much is the tuition cost?”. The Admissions people were NOT impressed.
