EMC FLEX BLOG A site dedicated to Automotive EMC Testing for Electronic Modules

CISPR-25 indicates that both CE-V and CE-I must be carried out to validate an automotive electronic device.

CE-V in dBuV is measured on B+ and GND lines using the LISN port.

CE-I in dBuA is measured using a “current probe” clamped at 5 cm, then at 75 cm from DUT’s connector. The probe is clamped on the whole harness, then on each connector separately. The RF noise measured may be coupled from DUT directly as well as from wire-to-wire along the 1.7 m test harness.

CISPR 25 is not very specific about supply lines CE “redundancy”, therefore we test everything for CE-I.

Chrysler is the only OEM that specifies in CS.00054 as exception from CISPR 25 to remove from “current probe” all Supply Lines (power and ground).

CS.00054 is asking to run CE-I on all wires not tested at CE-V, however measurements are aquired only at 5 cm from DUT's connector.

2022-06-29

Christian Rosu

RF Boundary is the element of an EMC test setup that determines what part of the harness and/or peripherals is included in the RF environment and what is excluded. It may consist of, for example, ANs, BANs, filter feed-through pins, RF absorber coated wire and/or RF shielding.

RF Boundary is also an RF-test-system implementation within which circulating RF currents are confined

• to the intended path between the DUT port(s) under test and the RF-generator output port, in the case of immunity measurements (ISO 11452-2, ISO 11452-4, ISO 1145-9), and

• to the intended path between the DUT port(s) under test and the measuring apparatus input port, in the case of emissions measurement (CISPR 25),

and outside of which stray RF fields are minimized.

The boundary is maintained by insertion of BANs, shielded enclosures, and/or decoupling or filter circuits. The ideal RF boundary replicates the circuitry of the device connected to DUT in vehicle.

The standard test harness lenght for automotive EMC electronic components is (1700mm -0mm / +300mm). This 1.7m test harness runs between the DUT and the Load Simulator (Shielded Enclosure) that plays the role of RF Boundary.

If the Load Simulator enclosure does not include all DUT loads and activation/monitoring support equipment, additional support devices may be placed directly on the ground plane. The connection of additional devices to LS enclosure must be done via short wiring running on the ground plane.

Testing at subsystem level is preferable to any simulation. Whenever possible, use production intent representative loads.

Running long coax cables directly from DUT outside the chamber via SMA bulk filter panel would violate the 1.7m test harness length rule invalidating the test result. Ideally is to use Fiber Optic to exchange data with devices placed outside the test chamber.

Running long coax cables between Load Simulator and a support device placed outside the chamber is acceptable as long as the I/O line in question is not just an extension from DUT without proper RF boundary at the end of maximum 2-meter length of standard test harness.

It is critical to use the test harness length as defined by CISPR-25, ISO 11452-2, ISO 11452-4, and ISO 11452-9 to achieve valid compliance for your product. The length of the test harness as well as the grounding method (remote vs local) can result in different RF emissions level. Longer the test harness, higher RF emissions above 100 MHz due to its resonance pattern. The local grounding would show less magnitude variation across resonance peaks above 100MHz.

Christian Rosu

2022-02-20

An incorrect DUT grounding scheme can easily make the difference between compliance and non-compliance to CISPR 25 CEI limits. Sometimes we have to evaluate CEI from two modules, one used as DUT and the other one used as DUT's load (e.g. Module #1 is a PWM maker while Module #2 is an LEDs Lamp).

Christian Rosu, 2021-06-09

A few remarks on correct Load Simulator configuration for CISPR 25 Conducted Emissions Current test method.

First of all you have to show the LISN in your EMC Test Plan block diagrams. The way the LS is connected is not identical for each CISPR 25 test method. I will never use a Load Simulator unless is no other way around or I would want to turn it into a RF filter box. Examples of CEI good and bad setups are shown below:

CEI WRONG CONFIGURATION

CEI GOOD CONFIGURATION

To clarify how a PWM maker is connected:

From EMC compliance perspective the goal is to avoid as much as possible common line impedances:

Christian Rosu

2021-04-13

See Ground Return & Common Impedance Coupling

When two circuits share a common ground, the ground voltage of each one is affected by the ground current of the other circuit.

When two circuits share a common power supply, current drawn by one circuit affects the voltage at the other circuit.