⚡ Immunity test of electronic modules of road vehicles and of complete vehicles to electrical disturbances from electrostatic discharge (ESD) — ESD generator based on the human model (150 pF or 330 pF, 330 Ω or 2 000 Ω), contact discharges 2–15 kV and air discharges 2–25 kV of both polarities, direct and indirect discharges, powered-up and unpowered tests, ground plane, (25 ± 10) °C, humidity 20–60 %, ISO 10605

Electronics and EMC ISO 10605

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. ISO 10605 has not been adopted into the PN collection — the PKN search for “ISO 10605” (02.10.2026) returns no results, so there is no PKN card. We read the text in the sample of ISO 10605:2023 (third edition, 2023-06) from the cover to 8.3.2.1 (page 9, test set-up with the ground plane only); we do not have 8.3.2.2–8.4 (set-up with the field coupling plane, direct and indirect discharges), Clauses 9–11 (unpowered test — packaging and handling, vehicle test, test report) or Annexes A–G (A — normative, generator verification, B — targets, C — function performance status classification FPSC and suggested levels, D — choice of resistor and mode, E — air discharge verification, F — coupling plane, G — automated testing) — we know only their titles from the table of contents. We also downloaded the samples of ISO 10605:2008 and ISO 10605:2008/Amd 1:2014 — from them we use only the table of contents of the 2008 edition.

ACCORDING TO THE TEXT OF ISO 10605:2023 (foreword, introduction, Clauses 1–8.3.2.1, table of contents). The standard was prepared by ISO/TC 22 “Road vehicles”, SC 32 “Electrical and electronic components and general system aspects”; the third edition cancels and replaces the second (ISO 10605:2008), which has been technically revised, and incorporates Amendment ISO 10605:2008/Amd 1:2014 and Technical Corrigendum ISO 10605:2008/Cor 1:2010. Main changes according to the foreword: alternative test set-up with a field coupling plane for direct and indirect discharges on the component (powered-up test); minimum number of indirect discharges on the component changed from 50 to 10; interval between successive single indirect discharges changed from 50 ms to 1 s; a ground connection for discharges on DUT pins in the unpowered test; optional set-up for electronic modules moved from an annex to the main body; new Annex G. Introduction: the importance of ESD has grown with the number of electronic modules in vehicles; tests from other industries do not fully fit the automotive field, so adapted tests were developed; the method is based on the human ESD model and covers modules and vehicles. Scope (1): ESD test methods for evaluating electronic modules intended for vehicles — discharges during assembly, from service staff and from users (occupants); modules on the bench and complete vehicles; all road vehicles regardless of propulsion; objects supplied by an unshielded or shielded power supply system and self-powered; the standard does not apply to pyrotechnic modules. Reference (2): ISO 11452-1. Terms (3): air discharge (approach of the charged tip, arc) and contact discharge (tip touches the object, discharge by the generator switch); device under test (DUT); direct discharge; ESD generator simulating the human model; ground plane (GP) — common reference potential to which the test voltage refers; holding time — time for the voltage to drop by 10 % through leakage; indirect discharge — onto a coupling plane next to the DUT, through the transient field; surface (housing, gap, opening, e.g. switches, ventilation and loudspeaker openings). Conditions (4): severity levels are specified by the user (suggestions in Annex C); ambient temperature (25 ± 10) °C, relative humidity 20–60 %; other agreed values are documented in the test report. Location (5): shielded rooms (also with absorbers) are allowed but not required; transient fields can disturb equipment several metres away. Generator (6.1, Table 1): contact discharges 2–15 kV (or according to the test plan), air discharges 2–25 kV; voltage accuracy ≤ 5 %; both polarities; rise time of the short-circuit current (10–90 %) 0,7–1,0 ns; holding time ≥ 5 s; capacitances 150 pF and 330 pF, resistances 330 Ω and 2 000 Ω (nominal — the generator shall meet 6.3); at least 20 discharges per second and continuous monitoring of the tip voltage are recommended; for contact discharges a 1 MΩ ± 20 % resistor between tip and ground is recommended; return cable 2 m, up to 3 m for tall objects if the current waveform is maintained. Tips (6.2): contact (usually stainless steel, diameter (12 ± 1) mm, angle 25°–40°; for pins the shape may be changed if the current meets the specification) and air (above 15 kV a larger tip, 20–30 mm, is recommended). Current verification (6.3.1, Table 2, procedure in Annex A): for 150 pF/330 Ω peak 3,75 A/kV ± 10 %, 2 A/kV at 30 ns and 1 A/kV at 60 ns (± 30 %); for 330 pF/330 Ω peak 3,75 A/kV ± 10 %, 2 A/kV at 65 ns and 1 A/kV at 130 ns; for 150 pF/2 000 Ω peak 3,75 A/kV (−0/+30 %), 0,275 A/kV at 180 ns (± 30 %) and 0,15 A/kV at 360 ns (± 50 %); for 330 pF/2 000 Ω peak 3,75 A/kV (−0/+30 %), 0,275 A/kV at 400 ns and 0,15 A/kV at 800 ns. Ground plane (6.4): copper, brass or aluminium sheet ≥ 0,25 mm, width ≥ 800 mm (or width of the set-up + 200 mm), length ≥ 1 600 mm (or length of the set-up + 200 mm); connection to an extension — resistance ≤ 2,5 mΩ. Insulating blocks (6.6): non-hygroscopic material, relative permittivity 1–5 (e.g. polyethylene), height (50 ± 5) mm, extending at least 20 mm; dissipative mat (6.7): 10⁷–10⁹ Ω per square, thickness 2–3 mm; uncertainty (6.8) — IEC 61000-4-2:2008, Annex E. Modes (7): in contact mode the tip touches the conductive point before the discharge is triggered, a coating not declared insulating is penetrated by the tip; in air mode the charged tip approaches the object as quickly as possible (e.g. 0,1–0,5 m/s) — according to the text the approach speed is critical for the rise time and amplitude; a coating declared insulating is tested in air mode. Powered-up test (8.1–8.3.2.1): direct discharges on the DUT and parts accessible to the user (switches, diagnostic connectors, buttons) and indirect discharges through metal (e.g. the GP); 330 pF or 150 pF depending on the location of the module in the vehicle, 330 Ω, 330 pF if the location is not specified; conductive surfaces — contact, non-conductive — air; before the test, generator verification according to Annex A at an interval set by the laboratory or customer; the test plan specifies the set-up, points, operating mode and deviations; all points in normal operating modes, both polarities; set-up with the GP only or with the GP and the coupling plane — according to the plan; a DUT mounted to the vehicle body lies directly on the GP and is connected to it, others on an insulating block (the text refers here to 6.5, while the blocks are described in 6.6); harness 1 700 mm (+300/−0 mm) or according to the plan, 100 ± 10 mm from the edge of the GP, on an insulating block; battery on the table, negative terminal connected to the GP, taking the explosion hazard into account; table at least 100 mm from other conductive structures; the same return cable for verification and test, at least 200 mm from the DUT and its cables — here the sample ends.

STATUS (as of 02.10.2026). ISO 10605:2023 (third edition) is valid from 02.06.2023 according to the catalogue card of the Estonian standards body EVS; ISO 10605:2008 has the status “Withdrawn from 02.06.2023” there. There is no Polish adopting standard (PKN search for “ISO 10605”, 02.10.2026: no results).

HOW MANY LABORATORIES AND IN WHAT FORM (copy of the accreditation scope database, data up to 17.09.2026, read 02.10.2026). The number 10605 appears in 10 records at 7 laboratories: AB 045, AB 082, AB 128, AB 261, AB 1637, AB 1930, AB 1960. The current scope of AB 045 (issue No 25 of 22.09.2026, read 02.10.2026) no longer contains ISO 10605 or the electrostatic discharge immunity test — the database copy, loaded from an earlier issue, had a record “Vehicles (vehicle components)” with ISO 10605:2008. In the current scopes on the PCA website (read 02.10.2026, issues from 18.02.2025 to 04.08.2026) the number therefore appears at 6 laboratories: ISO 10605:2023 alone — AB 128, AB 261, AB 1960; ISO 10605:2008/Cor 1:2010 — AB 082 (in one item also ISO 10605:2023); AB 1930 — ISO 10605:2008, 2008/Cor1:2010, 2008/Amd1:2014 and 2023, the last two excluding point 10; AB 1637 — additionally ISO 10605:2001 excluding point 6. Point 10 in the 2008 and 2023 editions is the vehicle test according to the tables of contents. In none of these scopes are the lines with ISO 10605 marked as suspended. The “Laboratories” tab (“ISO 10605”) shows 16 laboratories: 7 Polish (including AB 045, because the database on the server has the same data load as the copy) and 9 Czech — checked with the tab query on the production server labcoda.pl on 02.10.2026.

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (PCA entries). AB 082 — sub-assemblies of vehicles of categories L, M, N, O and T and electrical and electronic equipment and vehicles: immunity to disturbances from electrostatic discharges, bench tests with an ESD generator from 1 kV to 30 kV in 100 V steps, contact and air mode (next to UN Regulations No 97 Annex IX and No 116 Annex 9 and PN-EN 61000-4-2:2011). AB 128 — electrical and electronic equipment (next to PN-EN 61000-4-2:2011). AB 261 — electrical and electronic sub-assemblies in the automotive industry, test level (0,2–30) kV. AB 1637 — electrical and electronic components of motor vehicles (next to UN Regulation No 116 Annex 9). AB 1930 — electrical and electronic sub-assemblies of motor vehicles, from 2 kV to 30 kV. AB 1960 — electrical and electronic sub-assemblies in the automotive industry, test level from 2 kV to 30 kV.

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. Edition: the 2023 edition changes the minimum number of indirect discharges (from 50 to 10) and the interval between them (from 50 ms to 1 s) — the result has to be read with the edition stated in the report; three laboratories (AB 082, AB 1637, AB 1930) also have the 2008 edition in their scope. Generator: resistances and capacitances are nominal — what counts is the agreement of the current with Table 2, verified according to Annex A at an interval set by the laboratory or customer (6.1, 6.3, 8.1). Capacitance: 330 pF or 150 pF depending on the location of the module in the vehicle, 330 pF if the location is not specified (8.1). Air discharge: according to the standard the approach speed of the tip is critical for the rise time and amplitude — the standard recommends approaching as quickly as possible (7.3). Coatings: a coating not declared insulating is penetrated by the contact tip, one declared insulating is tested in air mode (7.2, 7.3). Set-up: harness of 1 700 mm and distances from the edge of the GP; the same return cable for verification and test (8.3.2.1). Conditions: (25 ± 10) °C and 20–60 % humidity; other values have to be documented in the report (4).

WHAT WE DO NOT STATE. We do not have 8.3.2.2–8.4, Clauses 9–11 or Annexes A–G: the set-up with the coupling plane, the number of direct discharges and the intervals between them, the procedure of the unpowered test and the vehicle test, test levels and FPSC classes, details of generator verification or report requirements — so we do not state these numbers or procedures. We do not state the content of the 2001 edition or the meaning of its point 6, which AB 1637 excludes — we do not have a sample of that edition.

Method principle

An ESD generator reproducing the human model (a 150 pF or 330 pF capacitor discharged through a 330 Ω or 2 000 Ω resistor) applies contact or air discharges of both polarities to an electronic module of a vehicle or to the vehicle — directly to the object and parts accessible to the user, or indirectly through a metal plane next to it; the object lies on a ground plane with a harness of specified length, and its operation during and after the discharges is assessed according to the criteria of the test plan.

Applications

• Electronic modules of road vehicles — powered-up bench test, direct and indirect discharges; 6 laboratories in current PCA scopes
• Sub-assemblies of vehicles of categories L, M, N, O and T — together with UN Regulations No 97 and No 116 (AB 082, AB 1637)
• Packaging and handling of modules (unpowered test) and the test of the complete vehicle — Clauses 9 and 10 (outside the sample; two laboratories exclude point 10)

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

ISO 10605:2023 (wydanie trzecie, 2023-06; bez polskiej normy wprowadzającej — wyszukiwarka PKN, hasło „ISO 10605”, 02.10.2026: brak wyników)

Title (PL)

Pojazdy drogowe — Metody badań zaburzeń elektrycznych pochodzących od wyładowań elektrostatycznych (tłumaczenie robocze — polskiej normy nie ma)

Title (EN)

Road vehicles — Test methods for electrical disturbances from electrostatic discharge

Step-by-step procedure

1. Test plan

   Set-up (GP only or with the coupling plane), discharge points, operating mode of the module, severity levels and deviations (4, 8.2). ISO 10605:2023 valid (EVS card, 02.10.2026).

2. Generator verification

   Discharge current according to Table 2 and Annex A, at an interval set by the laboratory or customer (6.3, 8.1).

3. Set-up

   DUT on the GP or on an insulating block, harness 1 700 mm (+300/−0 mm) 100 mm from the edge of the GP, battery with the negative terminal on the GP, return cable at least 200 mm from the DUT (8.3.2.1).

4. Discharges

   Direct contact discharges on conductive surfaces, air discharges on non-conductive ones, indirect through metal; 330 pF or 150 pF, 330 Ω; both polarities in all normal modes (8.1, 8.3.1); numbers and intervals according to 8.3.3–8.4 — outside the sample.

5. Assessment and report

   Operating status according to the test plan and the classification in Annex C; report according to Clause 11 — outside the sample; document conditions other than (25 ± 10) °C and 20–60 %.

Required equipment and apparatus

Health and safety (OHS)

• Transient fields from the discharges can disturb equipment several metres away (5, note)
• Battery on the test table — the explosion hazard shall be taken into account and appropriate protective measures taken (8.3.2.1)

Frequently asked questions