Automotive Test Chambers

Automotive test chambers are used to prove a part will survive the environmental conditions it is rated for before it reaches production. They compress a service life of heat, cold, moisture, and road salt into a test that runs in days or weeks, which is how a supplier verifies a lifespan warranty without waiting one out.

An environmental test chamber will test almost any automotive component that has to work in the weather, including seat belts, airbags, ECUs, sensors, and connectors. Larger chambers take assembled modules like instrument panels and battery packs. What limits you is usually workspace volume and the power the part draws while it runs.

You need a walk-in or drive-in automotive test chamber once the part under test is too large for a benchtop or reach-in unit. Walk-in rooms and drive-in chambers also let you test whole systems together rather than one component at a time, and the larger sizes will hold entire vehicles. See our walk-in chambers for panel, structural, and field-built options.

Environmental test chambers are used in EV battery testing to hold cells, modules, and complete battery systems at a controlled temperature while a cycler charges and discharges them. That is how you measure capacity and degradation at the temperatures a vehicle actually sees. Because a cell under abuse can fail energetically, the chamber also has to contain that event, which is why our battery test chambers are rated to EUCAR Hazard level 7.

We will begin in this chapter by dealing with some general quantum mechanical ideas. Some of the statements will be quite precise, others only partially precise. It will be hard to tell you as we go along which is which, but by the time you have finished the rest of the book, you will understand in looking back which parts hold up and which parts were only explained roughly.

Environmental test chambers support the automotive testing standards that specify temperature, humidity, thermal shock, and corrosion exposure, including ISO 16750-4, IEC 60068, SAE J1455, and UL 2054. A chamber meets one of these by holding the specified range, ramp rate, and uniformity for the full duration of the profile. We will confirm a specific clause against your test plan before you order.

Choosing the right automotive test chamber comes down to four things. You need the conditions your standard calls for, the workspace volume your part needs, the heat it gives off while powered, and the ramp rate between setpoints. Development teams that size on volume alone often find the chamber cannot hold a setpoint against a live load. Vehicle testing chambers raise a fifth question, since the room has to clear the vehicle and the people working around it.