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A Closer Look At High Potential Testing
Of Rotating Electrical Machine Windings
By Tom Bishop, P.E.
EASA Technical Support Specialist
A frequent question that arises during repair or
maintenance is how much voltage to apply when
performing a high potential test. The test voltage
for a new winding will be higher than that of a
winding that has been in service, but what is the
appropriate test voltage? Seeking answers to this
question can sometimes lead to confusion. Our
goal in this article is to clarify high potential test-
ing and test voltages.
What is meant by high potential (hipot) testing
is not always clear. The term “high potential test-
ing” is defined by NEMA (MG1-1.57) and IEEE
(IEEE Standard 858) as a test that “consists of the
application of a voltage higher than the rated volt-
age for a specified time for the purpose of
determining the adequacy against breakdown of
insulating materials and spacings under normal
conditions.” For example, a 5000-volt hipot test
on a motor rated 4000 volts would be considered
a high potential test.
Before proceeding into the selection of a test
voltage we should consider a critical step in hipot
testing. That is the determination of the suitability
of the winding to be hipot tested. An insulation re-
sistance (“megohmmeter”) test is the first step
prior to the hipot process. EASA AR100 and
IEEE 43 recommend the test voltages in Table 1
for determining the insulation resistance of motor
and generator windings.
Table 1-Insulation resistance test voltages
versus machine rated voltages.
Winding rated Insulation resistance
voltage test DC voltage
(AC or DC)
<1000 500
1000-2500 500-1000
2501-5000 1000-2500
5001-12000 2500-5000
>12000 5000-10000
August 2003
Most random and
form coil windings rated
below 1000 volts should
have a minimum insula-
tion resistance of 5
megohms; and for most
form coil windings rated
1000 volts or more the
minimum is 100
megohms. All insulation
resistance values must be corrected to 40º C, and the
reading taken after applying the voltage for 1
minute. In addition to measuring the winding tem-
perature to determine the correction factor, the
humidity should also be measured.
Appy Voltage Gradually
Hipot test voltage should be applied gradually
until the final voltage is attained. The final voltage
should be held for 1 minute before reducing the volt-
age gradually to zero. An alternative to gradually
increasing the test voltage would be to apply the test
voltage in steps until the final voltage is attained.
The number of steps and length of time to hold the
voltage at each step will vary with machine rating
and is seldom used on machines rated less than 600
volts. A 4000-volt machine might be tested in 10
steps whereas a 13 kV machine might be tested in 30
steps; a 200 hp motor might have the voltage steps
held for 30 seconds while an 8000 hp motor might
have voltage steps held for 2 minutes each. If there is
a current indicator on the test set, the steps should be
held until the current stabilizes.
A Pass-Fail Test
A winding that withstands the final voltage, and
return to zero voltage, is considered to have passed
the hipot test. There are no standards for minimum
insulation resistance for a hipot test. It is a pass-fail
test. An AC hipot does not indicate insulation resis-
tance, and although a DC hipot can indicate
insulation resistance, it is not an acceptance param-
eter for the test. After performing any hipot test, for
safety purposes, make certain that the winding is
discharged to ground through a resistance circuit
(e.g., the hipot) for a long enough period that the
winding does not recharge. IEEE 43 recommends a
minimum discharge time of 4 times the length of
time the test voltage was applied.
Continued on Page 2
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EASA CURRENTS
High Potential Testing . . . Continued From Page 2
According to NEMA MG1 and EASA AR100, a
new winding should be AC hipot tested at twice
rated voltage plus 1000 volts. If a DC hipot is used,
the AC test voltage is multiplied by 1.7. A new
winding rated 4000 volts would be AC hipot tested
at 9000 volts (2 x 4000 + 1000), or 15300 volts DC
(9000 x 1.7). It is usually more practical to read the
display of a hipot in 250 volt increments, making
15250 a more practical value than 15300. This ulti-
mate test voltage must only be applied once to a
winding. Therefore, the winding should be impreg-
nated and fully cured for this ultimate test.
If a subsequent hipot test is desired or re-
quired, the test level should not exceed 85% of the
new winding test. This test is sometimes termed
an acceptance test and is also a one-time test. It is
often applied to the new winding after the motor
or generator is assembled. Using the 4000-volt
rating example, the 85% AC hipot test level
would be 7650 volts, and the DC equivalent
would be 13005 volts. Note that some calculated
values are not practical, and should be modified to
a value that can be read on the hipot. Thus, the
15300 value may be modified to 15250, 7650 to
7750, and 13005 to 13000.
Conducting Subsequent Tests
Subsequent hipot tests on a new winding, per
NEMA MG1, should be at 75% of the initial new
winding test value. The 4000-volt machine in the ex-
ample above would subsequently be AC hipot tested
at 6750 volts, or DC hipot tested at 11475 volts or a
more practical 11500 volts. Note that this test (75%
level) applies to all tests after the initial (100% level)
test and the one subsequent (85% level) test. Also
Table 2: Hipot tests and test levels for rotating electrical machines.
Type of test AC test level
New winding
Ultimate test (2 x rated voltage)
+ 1000
Acceptance test .85 x ultimate test
Subsequent tests .75 x ultimate test
Reconditioned winding
Reconditioning test .65 x ultimate test
In-service winding
Installation test 1.25-1.50 x rated
voltage
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note that all of the above hipot tests apply to new
windings that have been impregnated and fully
cured. Untreated random or form (“green”) coils
must be tested at reduced levels. For form coil wind-
ings make certain that the coil supplier agrees to the
test voltages that will be applied to untreated “green”
coils. There are no industry standards for hipot test-
ing of untreated coils. At most, a level of 60% of the
equivalent treated winding test value is suggested.
What test levels do we use for windings that
are no longer new? EASA AR100 states that a
hipot test on a reconditioned winding should be at
65% of the new winding test value. The 4000-volt
machine would be hipot tested at 5850 volts AC,
or 9945 volts DC; or 5750 volts AC and 10000
volts DC in more practical values. It is suggested
in AR100 that windings that have not been recon-
ditioned be insulation resistance tested, and not
hipot tested. That suggestion applies to service
center work, where the subject winding would be
reconditioned prior to a hipot test.
Maintenance Hipot Test
Machines installed at the end user location can
be hipot tested, if desired or required, at 125-
150% of rated voltage in accordance with IEEE
432. This test is often referred to as a maintenance
hipot test. The 125-150% level applies to an AC
hipot test. The DC hipot equivalent would be 1.7
times the 125-150% levels, or 215-255% of rated
voltage. For the 4000-volt machine used in the
earlier examples, the AC hipot level would be
5000-6000 volts, and the DC hipot level would be
8600-10200 volts (more practical values would be
8500-10250 volts).
DC test level Test limitations
1.7 x [(2 x rated One time
voltage) + 1000]
.85 x ultimate test One time
.75 x ultimate test Can be repeated
.65 x ultimate test Can be repeated
2.15-2.55 x rated Can be repeated
voltage
Continued on Page 3
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High Potential Testing . . . Continued From Page 2

Table 3: Hipot tests and test levels, modified to practical values, for a 4000-volt machine.

Type of test AC test level DC test level Test limitations

New winding
Ultimate test 9000 15250 One time
Acceptance test 7750 13000 One time
Subsequent tests 6750 11500 Can be repeated
Reconditioned winding
Reconditioning test 5750 10000 Can be repeated
In-service winding
Installation test 5000-6000 8500-10250 Can be repeated

As all of the above stated test values suggest, AC hipot tested at an ultimate test level of 2000
the appropriate test level determination takes volts (2 x 500 plus 1000).
some thought and understanding of the type of
A Note Of Caution
hipot test that will be applied. For simplicity and
There is a precaution to keep in mind about
consistency, we chose a 4000-volt machine rating
hipot testing. The main purpose of a hipot test is to
and used it in each hipot example. Table 3 further
detect weaknesses in the insulation structure that
illustrates this point by indicating the test voltages
could lead to an in-service failure. The application
for each type of test. Whenever you are consider-
of overpotential carries the inherent risk that the
ing a specific hipot test, calculate the test voltage
winding may fail the hipot test, and would prob-
to be applied for the rated voltage of the motor or
ably need to be rewound. The owner of the motor
generator to be tested. Then calculate the test level
or generator to be tested should be willing to accept
using a 4000-volt rating as a check to verify that it
that risk; otherwise, hipot testing is not advisable.
matches the example given here. That will con-
As one hipot testing expert commented after a
firm that your hipot test is at the correct level,
winding failed while under test: “The winding was
before the test is actually applied. If the planned
faulty and we proved it.” Table 2 indicates that
test level is too low, the test will have to be re-
some hipot tests can be repeated; however, the fre-
peated, and if the test level is too high, the
quency of repetition should be extended as far as
winding may fail due to the overpotential.
possible. Hipot testing is a circumstance where
What test levels do we use for DC motors and
more is not better. Overpotential testing can leave
generators? The nameplate rated voltages,
residual dielectric stresses in the winding that could
whether AC or DC, for the windings to be tested
lead to premature failure. Hipot test as necessary to
are used in calculating the hipot test level. For ex-
verify winding suitability for continued service, but
ample, an armature rated 500 volts DC would be
don’t “overtest.”