Radiated emissions testing of an experimental electric vehicle

This paper describes the implementation and difficulties encountered when measuring the radiated emissions of an experimental electric vehicle. The radiated tests were performed in accordance with the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Standard J551/5. This standard specifically addresses the testing of electric vehicles for broadband radiated emissions. The experimental electric vehicle platform uses an electric converted 1993 Dodge Dakota pickup truck. The vehicle is powered by a Motorola designed AC controller which converts the DC power from twenty-four 12 VDC deep cycle lead acid batteries to three phase AC power. This vehicle is utilized as a semiconductor evaluation test vehicle with a particular emphasis on evaluating the performance of microprocessors in a harsh automotive environment. EMC tests were conducted which included radiated magnetic field and radiated electric field emissions from 9 kHz to 30 MHz. Additional tests were performed on the SAE J1850 multiplex communication bus to measure the induced voltage transients. The test results presented in this paper are for an experimental electric vehicle which has minimal EMC design features and are not to be construed as representative of commercially available electric vehicles.