Chevrolet Volt Electric Vehicle Gets a Bath
It’s the question many people ask about an electric vehicle: What happens if the battery gets wet? Chevrolet Volt battery engineers answered that recently by putting the Volt through a bath at the Milford Proving Ground.
“The reason we’ve done all this testing is to verify and ensure the customer is protected from any potential water intrusion into the battery which could affect the electronics,” said Rob Drexler, a Volt battery development engineer.
Earlier this week, Chevrolet announced the Volt would come with a standard eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty.
The Volt has a range of about 340 miles and is powered with electricity at all times. For up to the first 40 miles, the Volt is powered solely by electricity stored in its 16-kWh lithium-ion battery, using no fuel and producing no emissions. When the Volt’s lithium-ion battery runs low, an engine/generator seamlessly operates to extend the driving range another 300 miles on a full tank of gas.
