DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIG.
1, shown thereat is an electrically powered motor vehicle 10 such as shown and described in the above referenced related patent application Ser.
No.
08/258,301, (WE58,335) and whose form of propulsion is by way of a DC motor 12 powered by a 320 volt high voltage DC battery 14 through a power distribution module 16 and a motor controller 20.
The battery 14 comprises the primary source of power for the electric vehicle 10 and comprises, for example, a sealed lead acid battery, a monopolar lithium metal sulfide battery, a bipolar lithium metal sulfide battery, or the like, for providing a 320 volt output.
The motor 10 operates over a wide voltage range, such as 120 volts to 400 volts, to accommodate changes in the output voltage of the battery 14 due to load or depth of discharge.
The power distribution module 16 is coupled to the output of the 320 volt battery 14 and includes, among other things, fuses, wiring, and connectors for distributing the 320 volt DC output from the battery 14 to various components of the electric vehicle 10.
The power distribution module 16 not only distributes the 320 volt output from the battery to the motor controller 20, but also to a DC/DC converter 22, an oil pump unit 24, a radiator/fan assembly 26.
The details of the power distribution module 16 are furthermore disclosed in the above-referenced related patent application Ser.
No.
08/258,157, (WE58,346).
The DC/DC converter 22 is coupled to the 320 volt output of the battery 14 via the power distribution module 16, and converts the 320 volt output therefrom to 12 volts DC.
The DC/DC converter 22 comprises the primary source of 12 volt DC power, replacing the conventional alternator, and supplies its 12 volt output as the normal operating power to the motor controller 20, the chassis controller 23, the oil pump unit 24, the radiator/fan assembly 26, and various 12 volt vehicle accessories, not shown.
The converter 22 also acts as a recharging source for a 12 volt DC auxiliary battery 30 which is intended to act only as a start-up source of power for the DC to DC converter 22, but in an emergency power outage situation of the 320 volt battery 14 and consequently the converter 22 to power the 12 volt accessories, particularly those accessories used for generating and sending distress signals and/or utilities such as emergency flashers, under hood lamps, CB radios, cellular phones, etc
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Electrical and Wave 
