Can an electric vehicle suddenly shut down when crossing railway tracks?

Jakarta (ANTARA) - An automotive expert from Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), Yannes Martinus Pasaribu, has revealed that electric vehicles possess high resilience against electromagnetic disturbances, making it highly unlikely for an electric vehicle to suddenly shut down when crossing railway tracks. “Technically, EVs have a very low potential to suddenly stall when crossing railway tracks, as the electromagnetic field generated by the rails is too weak to affect the vehicle’s electrical systems, whether for EVs or conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles,” he stated when contacted from Jakarta on Wednesday. He explained that modern electric vehicles are designed with electromagnetic interference shielding and must pass a series of compatibility tests before being marketed. These standards include various international regulations such as ISO 11451 and ISO 11452 to ensure the vehicle’s and its components’ resilience to electromagnetic field exposure, as well as ISO 7637, which tests electrical disturbances in high-voltage systems. In addition, there are CISPR standards and UNECE R10 regulations that govern vehicle radiation emissions and electromagnetic compatibility, Yannes revealed. “These are mandatory regulations that must be met before a vehicle can be marketed in many countries. This means every legally marketed EV must undergo these series of tests,” Yannes said. Conversely, he assessed that the most rational cause if an electric vehicle stalls in the middle of railway tracks stems from internal vehicle factors. Some possibilities include a weakened 12-volt low-voltage battery (auxiliary battery) that disrupts the main system booting process, disturbances in the sensor system due to prolonged vibrations, or the automatic activation of safety features such as the immobiliser when anomalies are detected. “When the system detects an anomaly, safety features like steering lock or immobiliser can activate automatically and lock the entire vehicle system,” he added. Furthermore, issues with the battery management system (BMS) can trigger errors in current reading or battery capacity estimation, leading to the system’s decision to shut down the vehicle. “BMS communication disturbances that potentially cause errors in current reading, incorrect State of Charge (SOC) estimation, which may result in system decisions such as sudden shutdown,” Yannes explained. Another possibility is the failure of the inverter or DC-DC converter, which can cause a sudden loss of power. Therefore, Yannes emphasised that accident cause analysis should focus on the vehicle’s internal technical aspects, not on assumptions of railway track magnetic field influences.