Long before electric cars were news, I was selling traction batteries and designing chargers: charging curves, recovery charges and pulse desulphation. The chemistry has changed, but the questions are the same: how much energy is really left in there, and why has it degraded.
In an electric vehicle case nearly everything turns on two things: the real state of the battery, which is measured rather than opined on, and the charging installation, which has rules of its own.
Cases I take
- Battery degradation and real state of health against what the manufacturer's warranty covers.
- Range far below what was advertised at the point of sale.
- Faults and incidents at charging points, public or domestic, and who answers for them.
- Fires and thermal runaway in the traction system, in the vehicle or while charging.
- Badly executed charging installations: protection devices, cable sizing and earthing.
- Sales of used electric vehicles with a damaged battery.
What I need from you
- A battery state-of-health report and readings from the battery management system.
- Charging history and electricity billing for the charging point.
- Manual, battery warranty terms and the purchase documentation.
- Service centre reports and repair orders.
- Electrical installation certificate, installer's declaration and wiring diagram.
- Photographs, video and the fire service report where there has been a fire.
What the law says
- Statutory guarantee of conformity and the manufacturer's commercial warranty on the battery.
- Spanish low-voltage electrical regulations (RD 842/2002), ITC-BT-52: charging infrastructure.
- UNE-EN 61851: charging modes and vehicle-to-charger communication.
- UNECE Regulation R100: electrical safety of electrically propelled vehicles.
- Art. 1101 of the Civil Code: damages for breach.
What you get
- Battery state of health measured, not estimated, and its degradation against what is to be expected.
- Technical cause of the fault or the fire, with the sequence of what happened.
- The charging installation checked against the regulations.
- Allocation of responsibility: manufacturer, seller, installer or charging operator.
- Financial valuation of the loss and of the cost of repair or replacement.
- Ratification and defence of the report in the courtroom.
Electric Vehicles and Charging Points
Frequently asked questions
How is the real state of the battery measured?
From the battery management system's own readings and, where needed, a controlled charge and discharge test. What the car's screen shows is an estimate; the reliable figure is inside, and it is compared against the degradation to be expected at that age and mileage.
Does the warranty cover lost range?
Almost every manufacturer warrants the battery down to a minimum percentage of capacity for a set number of years or kilometres. The argument is usually whether that threshold has been reached and how it was measured. That is where the report comes in.
Who is liable for a fire while charging?
It depends where it started: the vehicle, the cable, the charging point or the installation feeding it. That is settled by examining the remains, the charging records and the fire service report, and from there follows who the claim goes to.
Free feasibility study and a fixed written quote. I reply within 24-48 working hours.