High-Voltage System for a Motor Vehicle, Comprising Passive Discharge Circuits for Y-Capacitors
DRIVE
January 1, 2026
A high-voltage system for a motor vehicle may include: an electric high-voltage energy storage device; a high-voltage onboard electrical system having onboard electrical system-side HV connections and a capacitor assembly comprising an X-capacitor and two Y-capacitors; a switching device connected to the high-voltage energy storage device and the high-voltage onboard electrical system; and a discharge device for discharging the capacitor assembly, having a discharge resistor connected to the onboard electrical system and a passive discharge circuit per Y-capacitor, wherein the discharge circuits discharge the Y-capacitors, and each discharge circuit has a diode poled in a blocking direction dropping at the Y-capacitors when the switching device is closed, and a diode of one discharge circuit is poled in the passage direction, resulting from the charging of the Y-capacitors and the potential coupling of the onboard electrical system-side HV connections caused by the discharge resistor, in order to discharge the Y-capacitors.
Discussion in the ATmosphere