Mark: Good morning, good day, good evening. Wherever you are in the world, it's Mark Bossert. I'm here with Bernie Pawlik, Pawlik Automotive in Vancouver, Vancouver's best auto service experience, and we're talking cars. How you doing, Bernie?
Bernie: Doing very well.
Mark: So today's guest is a, I didn't see the date. What's the age of this vehicle?
Bernie: 2019 Hyundai Kona.
Mark: Kona EV. What was going on with this vehicle?
Bernie: This vehicle was towed to our shop and it wouldn't start.
Mark: Wait a minute, it's electric. What do you mean it wouldn't start?
Bernie: Well, when you push the button to start it, you know, to get the vehicle into the driving mode, everything would turn on, there's a warning on the dash and the EV drive system would not engage.
Mark: So how did you go about diagnosing what was going on?
Bernie: Well, first thing was to hook a scan tool up and scan the vehicle for codes. And there was in fact a code related to the EV drive system. I don't actually have it in front of me, so I can't tell you what it was, but it related to the EV drive system. So we did a little research on that and then proceeded to do a visual inspection under the hood.
Mark: What did you find?
Bernie: What did we find? Do you wanna show pictures?
Mark: Yeah, let's jump in. There's our guest, 2019 Kona EV. Generally pretty reliable vehicles?
Bernie: I’d say it's really reliable. As a matter of fact, this podcast doesn't prove anything less than the vehicle is still very reliable.
Mark: Okay. Do we wanna go back maybe here?
Bernie: So yeah, so what we found was basically some chewed up wires. So rodents are the fault of this particular issue.
You can see on the bottom there's a green item, that is a leaf is among some of the items we found. There's a cover over top of the inverter. And when we remove that, you can see definite evidence of rodent habitation.
Leaves of different variety. Pretty fresh leaves actually. And some old leaves. So a nest being formed, and of course, a rodent living under the hood. This is not the first podcast we've done over the years of chewed up wires.
And there's a little connector and it's hard to imagine what significance it has to the EV system. But that connector, there's four wires and they were originally a loop. You can see a red colour at the top left wire, and two white sort of what's left of the installation, two white wires diagonally across. And then the bottom diagonally across from the red was also a red wire as well. So these wires form a loop. And when you pull this plug out, there's actually just two pins inside the connector, but that forms a loop. Not certain why it's there, but it's part of the circuit.
So we of course, looked at the wiring diagrams, found the circuit, how it was hooked up, and the repair was to basically take the connector apart, put new wires in and loop them back like they were. And the vehicle started and all good.
Mark: Happy customer.
Bernie: Happy customer. Well, you know, wallet was slightly emptier sadly, but the good news is it wasn't anything more complicated because EVs can get to be very expensive to repair. But fortunately just some rodent damage.
Mark: So, one thing that I don't know if a lot of people understand is that EVs have a traction battery. The big battery that sits underneath the car. And also a 12 volt battery, is that right?
Bernie: Yeah, they do. 12 volt electrical system, just like any other car that powers all your lights and accessories and that 12 volt electrical system also enables the traction system to turn on and engage. So having a good 12 volt battery is very important in an EV as it is in any other car.
Mark: So they have to have a way to turn off and on, essentially to sense or realize someone's in the car. It can't be on all the time, in other words.
Bernie: Exactly. Yeah, exactly.
Mark: Because anyone could get in and drive away.
Bernie: They could.
Mark: So another successful repair of an EV. A little bit of a weird issue, but something that can happen in the world of EVs that aren't in just sitting in your garage.
Bernie: Nope. They have lots of wires, just like every other car. They have more wires in many respects. And fortunately this wasn't any sort of major EV cable because there are some very expensive specialty cables on EV vehicles, which you wouldn't want rodents to chew on. It's funny how a little 14 gauge wire will take the system down.
Mark: So if you're looking for service for your EV in Vancouver, BC Canada, the people to see are Pawlik Automotive. You can reach them online at pawlikautomotive.com. You can book your appointment right there. They'll get ready for your appointment, or you can call them at (604) 327-7112 To book the appointment. You have to book ahead. They're always busy. Pawlik Automotive in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Thanks so much for watching and listening. Thanks Bernie.
Bernie: Thank you, Mark. Thanks for watching.
