SAE J3277/1_202501

This recommended practice (RP) establishes nondestructive in-line production test methods for evaluating the water leak tightness of propulsion battery packs. It aims to achieve results equivalent to the IEC 60529 standard’s IPX7 level using the Selected Equivalent Channel (EC) method defined in SAE J3277. This RP provides guidance for system setup, tooling design, validation, and leak test procedures. It acknowledges the limitations of certain battery pack designs and recommends appropriate air or tracer gas leak tightness technologies. Specifically, this RP covers nondestructive end-of-line leak testing for: Battery pack assembly: Ensuring protection against water ingress into the battery pack. Coolant system: Verifying the integrity of the coolant system and preventing coolant leaks into the battery pack. As the market adoption of electrified vehicles (EVs) like plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accelerates, ensuring their battery pack watertightness becomes increasingly critical. These Rechargeable Energy Storage Systems, RESS (battery packs), are often positioned in areas vulnerable to water exposure, be it rainfall/snowmelt or low levels of standing water. Naturally, EV users expect a high degree of confidence that such exposure won’t lead to harmful water ingress. While the prevalent functional test for water intrusion, as IEC 60529’s IPX7 level, offers regulatory compliance, its destructive nature renders it unsuitable for regular production testing. Therefore, alternative methods are needed to assess EV battery packs’ water intrusion resistance during nondestructive in-line or lab evaluations. The proposed practices align with the Equivalent Channel (EC) selection methodology defined in SAE J3277, enabling their application for nondestructive water intrusion testing of battery packs in both production and lab settings.