SNLA490 March 2025 ISOM8110-Q1 , ISOM8111-Q1 , ISOM8112-Q1 , ISOM8113-Q1 , ISOM8115-Q1 , ISOM8116-Q1 , ISOM8117-Q1 , ISOM8118-Q1
With the global shift toward vehicle electrification, vehicle to load (V2L) applications are becoming more popular. The market demand for on-board chargers (OBCs) - the key component in EVs/HEVs - is also rising. Relays, a core part of OBCs, are used to connect or disconnect the power between the high-voltage AC or high-voltage DC circuits. However, frequent use and external environmental factors can cause relay contacts to weld, or stick, affecting the reliability of the OBC or even the entire vehicle. The traditional method for relay weld detection is to compare the voltages at the front and rear ends of the relay, which requires two channels of high-voltage sampling, increasing system cost and design challenges. The ISOM811x-Q1 family of opto-emulators leverages TI’s latest generation of SiO2-based isolation technology and can emulate the current-driven input structure of an optocoupler without the poor reliability of the LED. This article focuses on how to build a low-cost relay weld detection scheme with the ISOM8118-Q1, saving one voltage sampling channel and reducing system complexity.