The test standard summaries are for general guidance only. Though believed to be accurate at the time of writing, this may change over time. So this information should not be used as a substitute for referring to a complete test standard, at an appropriate revision level.
Note: the terms salt spray, salt mist and salt fog are all in wide spread use within corrosion test standards. In this context they can be considered to be equivalent and interchangeable terms.
LV124
In recent years the automotive industry has been faced with many technical challenges in attempting to comply with a series of industrial norms. One of the most important of these norms is LV 124, which was jointly developed by a group of German automobile manufacturers; Daimler Benz, Audi, BMW, Volkswagen, and Porsche.
Most of these manufacturers have now developed their own version of this standard, these include Mercedes (MBN LV 124-1), BMW(GS 95024-2-1), and VW (VW 80000).
This complex 160 page standard covers test procedures for electrical and electronic components in passenger motor vehicles weighing less than 3.5 tonnes, and includes electrical tests, mechanical tests, climatic tests, and service life tests.
Amongst the many individual tests within the standard is a requirement for corrosion testing, this element of LV 124 is based upon EN 60068-2-11, which is undertaken to test the resistance of the component to malfunction when exposed to a salt spray climate at an elevated temperature, due to short circuits and leakage currents caused by ingress of salt into the component.