# Do you drive your EV in the rain?



## BradQuick (May 10, 2008)

If so, have you done anything special to keep the rain out of the motor and controller?

My electric Del Sol is just about to hit the road and I'm wondering if I should do anything to waterproof it.

THanks.

- Brad


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## Zemmo (Sep 13, 2007)

I drive mine in the rain. I haven't had any problems. My controller is in the middle of the car where the gas take use to be but it has a cover under the center channel to prevent water spray. The motor is open in the back, I would like to put a belly pan to cover that up but it has been fine in the rain. My desulfator on the other hand didn't fair well in the rain. I fried one already, I need to seal them up better. The previous owner of my car said he had driven in some really bad rain and gone through some big puddles before with no problems. The only problem I have driving in the rain is my sun roof leaks.


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## electric85 (Apr 10, 2008)

Zemmo, i'm building a fiero and i have been wonering about waterproofing too. i plan on putting a belly pan on the car to help with the areo, but also as a rain sheild. the controller is going in the trunk so it will be fine, but what about washing the car...i love my cars to sparkle and shine so when i'm putting on the suds, what happens with the vents on the back deck of the fiero, i'm guessing it will be bad for all the components to get wet...pot box, motor, DC/DC converter, even the cell ballancers i'll be putting on my cells, i will eventually be going with volt-blocher ballancers and TS cells


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## dimitri (May 16, 2008)

For what its worth, I have driven my EV in heavy rain several times, gone thru some major puddles too. No issues.

I read in the past that motors can work even when submerged in water, since resistance of the motor coils is less than resistance of water, the current is going thru its normal path and not across water ( I never tested this theory, YMMV  )

I also recall reading that dirt which can come from water splashing from puddles is much more dangerous than water itself. I do not drive my EV on any dirt or gravel road, only asphalt and concrete. If I had to drive on dirt I would take extra care in protecting the motor.

I have not tried to go to automatic car wash yet, but suspect it should not cause much damage under the hood, although each EV is unique and some people may place electronic components such that it can get wet and damaged, so its hard to judge in general.

just my $0.02


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## Drew (Jul 26, 2009)

why not just build a labyrinthine box of some type? If you have a box around your motor with a cap which has a bottom edge sitting significantly below the top of the inner section it should in theory be completely water proof.


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## Woodsmith (Jun 5, 2008)

I will be wather proofing mine as much as I can.

Living in the rainy city makes that quite high priority.


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## kittydog42 (Sep 18, 2007)

I think that the things to worry about the most would be things that were not designed for EV use. Certain DC/DC converters (Iota, for example) are really just 120VAC battery chargers being used out of application, and are not built for the task. I usually cover these with plexiglass to keep rain out when the hood is up, otherwise I hope for the best. Open circuit boards such as that in the DC Raptor controller or Zivan charger (by open I mean not sealed) should be protected as well. Most of the stuff under the hood is not going to see much water anyway if it is high in the engine bay. As was said earlier, the motors are basically submergible, so water should not hurt them. The belly pan is still a good idea to keep as much debris out of the motor as possible.


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## Zemmo (Sep 13, 2007)

As they have said in this post, not all equipment is ready for all environmental use. I have seen several people build a water proof box around sensitive equipment. But part of the design of the EV is repairing for possible water, shock, impact, etc. So anything that is sensitive should be in some way protected. The only problem I had is with my desulfator, I just have them in a PVC case but those aren't water proof, just water resistant.

For washing a car, I always hand wash my cars. I don't go through automatic car washes. I think a manual wash always looks better. But I do have the spray nozzle on my garden hose for a good stream.


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## PatricioIN (Jun 13, 2008)

rain, snow, dark of night... no worries. I did install a thin polypropylene (sp?) sheet that runs from behind nose cover down under my motor compartment back to the floor panels to keep out most water and debris. I run through car washes all the time and will occasionally do the underbody wash as well - no problems so far.


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## racunniff (Jan 14, 2009)

PatricioIN said:


> rain, snow, dark of night... no worries. I did install a thin polypropylene (sp?) sheet that runs from behind nose cover down under my motor compartment back to the floor panels to keep out most water and debris. I run through car washes all the time and will occasionally do the underbody wash as well - no problems so far.


Ditto - I put a splash guard in to keep the worst of the water from hitting the controller and DC-DC converter. The motor is pretty much waterproof. I'm still debating putting some plastic mesh between the controller and the front grill to diminish the possibility of water coming in that way. I want to make sure I leave lots of airflow for cooling...

http://electrojeep.blogspot.com/2008/11/controller-mounted.html


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