The original equipment manufacturer (OEM) has responded to recent reports of an Ather Electric Vehicle (EV) catching fire in Bengaluru by attributing the incident to problems with the wiring harness assembly.
“One of the connectors to the motor controller was torqued incorrectly which unfortunately resulted in sparking around the controller terminals. Our safety systems kicked in immediately and cut off further power flow limiting the damage. However, the wiring harness had unfortunately caught fire by then,” said Ather in a public statement on Twitter.
Ather Energy cited a “rare human error” as the reason for the redesign of its manufacturing processes and the implementation of a two-step verification process. In addition, the company asserts that it has upgraded its machinery to tighten quality control standards at its manufacturing facilities.
Ather also said that the incident was not connected to a battery thermal runaway event, adding that the battery operated ‘normally’ post the incident.
The heat produced inside a battery cell exceeds the heat that is dissipated to its surroundings. Athermal runaway event takes place. It is set off by a battery cell chain reaction, which once it starts, is challenging to stop.
The OEM also mentioned that the dashboard and the battery management system (BMS) were unaffected by the incident at all. The company assured its customers that its EVs are put through the “highest quality and testing standards” in the world.
