'Electric' shocks off my car

Richard53

Nah, drive naked, it's the way forward

And post pics!

atrixblue.-MFR-.

many cars are fitted with a static strap chassis to engine block engine block to body. to dissapate excess static charge, many people oversee them and when they are old and break appart dont replace them hence some will get a small whack when exiting a vehicle.



in one way or another the car will have a antistatic groundwire. check its complete and replace if it gone. may cars will have a ground strop going from chassis to suspension leg so the car can earth through the tyres.

Richard53

I've never heard of this before. Are you sure the straps you mention aren't just extra earthing straps for the car's electrics? It's pretty common to fit those to older vehicles to ensure the engine and chassis are properly earthed to the battery, where the original earth points have become corroded. And earthing through the tyres? Rubber is an excellent insulator, which is why a lot of tools (e.g. electrician's pliers) have rubber handles.

Willing to be shown I am wrong here, but I am puzzled.

photome

Richard53 wrote: »

I've never heard of this before. Are you sure the straps you mention aren't just extra earthing straps for the car's electrics? It's pretty common to fit those to older vehicles to ensure the engine and chassis are properly earthed to the battery, where the original earth points have become corroded. And earthing through the tyres? Rubber is an excellent insulator, which is why a lot of tools (e.g. electrician's pliers) have rubber handles.

Willing to be shown I am wrong here, but I am puzzled.

I thought the same as you and am unsure wether an earth strap would stop a static shock.

I get shocks from both our cars, one is 4 years old the other less than a year.

I think these shocks will stop anytime soon as the weather is changing and becoming more humid

steve-L

Try changing your shoes for some that don't have rubber/insulating soles.

Nothing you get in the UK will be really unpleasant, as photome say's try a desert environment or cold/dry place. When I lived in Calgary I stuck a earth wire through my boots sole and then glued up the hole I drilled to get it through.

maninthestreet

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

many cars are fitted with a static strap chassis to engine block engine block to body. to dissapate excess static charge, many people oversee them and when they are old and break appart dont replace them hence some will get a small whack when exiting a vehicle.



in one way or another the car will have a antistatic groundwire. check its complete and replace if it gone. may cars will have a ground strop going from chassis to suspension leg so the car can earth through the tyres.

Surely that is the engine earth strap, to ensure good electrical conductivity between the engine and the car chassis? This won't help dissipate a static charge that has built up on the car whilst it was being driven.

maninthestreet

thehappybutterfly wrote: »

I keep getting really bad static shocks when I shut my car door. I find myself yelling the f word in the middle of car parks / in front of my elderly neighbours etc.

The car seats are velour and I've been wearing a wool coat these last 6 months (it's been a loooong winter!). Could this be causing the problem? If so, this might wear off when the warmer weather comes in.

Would those rubber strip things which hang at the back of the car work?

I'm getting nervous every time I get out the car!

To reduce your static-induced Tourettes syndrome, try shutting the car door by pushing the on the window glass instead.

penrhyn

Not a good idea as you would then retain your charge, and would discharge yourself as soon as you touched something metal.

colino

The earth straps in a car are to ensure electrical continuity, and in some cases prevent interference on sensitive components. No car, sitting on normal tyres (you know that rubbery stuff that is a great insulator) discharges charge all by itself to the ground. More likely weather conditions, coupled to footwear and clothing mean you are building up a charge in the car and become a grounding point when you touch the car and the stored static discharges through you, down your damp shoes and into the earth.

almillar

Closing the door using the glass is a pet hate of mine. You're going to break the window mechanism sometime or at least make it noisy. Previous owner of my old 3 Series coupe did this.
I get static quite often off my car and plenty of other things all the time.
But this week, I've been getting tiny electric shocks on my earlobe from my earphones! Has happened with earphones connected to 2 different devices. At least when I go to open my car I can brace for it!