Static Electricity

[TopCatGr58]

Hey there folks,
We have a Hyundai Sante Fe with AWD, and it seems to generate a lot of static electricity, so much that when we exit the vehicle, it will shock me thru my leather jacket as I touch the ground with my feet and then the door edge or frame with my shoulder, hand, etc.!!

Has anybody experienced this with their SUV?? I'm thinking that it may be due to the larger wheels/rubber tires doing a better job of insulating the frame from grounding and discharging to the ground!? Has anybody tried securing a metallic strip to the frame that would reach the ground to provide a path for static discharge, or would that work!? Thanks in advance!

T.C.

[graybird78]

static electricity

hi Topcat. my 03 pontiac grand am lets off static charges from it too. but only when we wear certian types of clothes. we have soft cloth seats in our car. when we exit the car sometimes we get nipped. my son also has a 01 olds alero. that was doing this also. but his would literraly bite you. we took it in to the dealer to have it checked out.they found some live wires chaffed inside the door.they repaired it no more shock.either one may be a good senario.I work on cars for a living, and I have been shocked by customers cars many times. may depend on clothes and type of seat material. hope this helps

[TheDjost]

Go to any auto part store to get a ground strap. They cost about two bucks. You just bolt it to the frame at the rear of the vehicle and let it touch the ground.

Another trick is to use more anti-static fabric softner, that also helps. Static is rarely generated by the car's electrics. Usually it's the fabric of the seats and the passenger's clothes that generate it. Just like in the dryer. The tires also can generate the static on dry days. In the summer, when it's hot and dry, it can accumulate. It's a function of the type of rubber in the tires, the type of road surface... Some people are more affected by static than others, and a lot of people who get car sick are much less affected if you install a cheap ground strap.

If you want to know if it's the car that is generating the static or your clothes, go read a book in the car for half an hour without the engine running. You will know when you get out of the car.

-Justin

[kf4anm]

shocking

i had a mazda pick up that would do that year round. my current vehicles do it during the winter months. the cheapest easiest solution i found: when you get out of the car, touch your key to the door frame. it will make a spiffy arc and no more shocky for you.

[wildbill]

I have had the same thing happen to me with my mothers car,02 Lummia,has a crushed type interior.Doesn`t shock her but sometimes it feels to me like I grabbed a electric fence,can see the spark.Something to ground it with would be a good idea.Don`t want to start pumping gas and get a spark.I try to ground myself before I even reach for the gas pump.I hold something metal inside and step outside at the same time,sometimes it works but when it doesn`t or I forget it lets me know.Dry weather in wintertime causes it and makes it worse.When its raining or snowing does it shock more or less?Wish you luck but more than likely there is not much you can do about it.Could wear a rubber suit

[John]

This is why it is not a good idea to get back into the car when refueling. If the door is left open, on exiting, and you do not touch the car before getting to the filler neck area, the spark can and will start a fire. Getting burned in a gasoline fire really sux. It can ruin a couple of months of your life. BTDT. Our 99 Chevy Venture van, with cloth seats always gets me when exiting. Even through my leather jacket. It spark is always audible. It seems the dryer the air, the hotter the spark. The 91 Chevy Corsica rarely zaps me though, and it has cloth seats also. Go figger...

[Huron52]

I had the same problem with one of my cars. It didn't happen all the time. When it did I made sure that I kept at least one hand on the metal part of the body/ door when I got out. Once I was touching the ground I could let go of the car and I wouldn't get a shock.

If I got out of the car touch the ground with a foot and then reached back to close the door ..... ZAP

[desert1]

static

Something I've never Xperienced TC that is getting out of a car....now if I get of the chair in the living room and open the woodstove then I get zapped.....

I'd try the ground strap on the frame 1st, see if that helps...

Enjoy your birthday Big Guy, have a slice for me....Cheers

Bruce Doucette
78 XS1100 Alpha
79XS1100 Special

[Jerry]

There are sevferal reasons why auto static is on the increase. A good page to check is:
http://www.pei.org/static/
Another page with useful information is:
http://www.snopes.com/autos/hazards/static.asp

[TopCatGr58]

Thanks Jerry,

I checked them out, and one of the things that the CarTalk guys mentioned, even way back in the mid 90's was with the "newer" car tire materials that were using less Carbon Black and more silicone to reduce the rolling resistance, and that was contributing to more reports of Static in vehicles equipped with those types of tires.

Our seats are fabric, but I wear regular black denim, and my passenger also gets zapped upon exiting as well. It is more noticeable in the cooler dryer weather, but I'm not doing hardly any sliding on the seat, so I really don't think it's that, vs. the car/suv's generating it and not dissipating it. I've been under the weather yesterday(stomach bug), but will be looking into getting a grounding strap and attaching it to the frame and will report back on any possible success!!

Thanks for the B'day wish Bruce, do you check the calender before you go to the forum? My B'day isn't reported accurately in my profile, I think they said there was a bug in the program/script, but I think I remember posting it in the calender!
Stay warm!!!
T.C.

[Parr8hed]

If you watch the show "mythbusters" on the discovery channel, they actually did an experiment on the this very thing. They were able to make a pretty big explosion with gas and static electricity from a car seat and clothes. The bottom line, ground yourself to the body beofre reaching for the fuel filler.

Travis

[TonimusMaximus]

I rarely get shocked when I get out of my '99 Blazer, but then again, I'm massive and I have to hold the frame to weasel my way out. What a lot of people do is attach a ground strap to the backside of their mudflaps. Touches the ground often enough to dissipate the charge. Assuming of course you have mudflaps.

[wildbill]

What you could do is look at the way tanker trucks are grounded and get a idea as the best way to do this.Either the mud flaps touch{or come close to}the ground or they drag a flap or something witch is bolted to the frame to get rid of the built up charge.I guess cureing the problem might become a bigger problem if not careful.My mothers car still shocks me and I threaten to do something about it,then I forget until it shocks me again.Good luck

[chevy45412001]

I get those shocks all the time here, in illinois.When i go to my van in the morning I see the spark as the key gets about 1/2 inch from the lock.Looks prety cool.Almost like your testing for spark on the lawnmower or something.....lol

[TopCatGr58]

Shocking Update

Well,

I attached the grounding strap to the stabilizer arm on the back/rear wheel independent suspension arm so that it slightly dragged the ground! It didn't help one bit!

I then retested my seats by after discharging myself on the door frame after exiting the SUV, I got back in, and then climbed/slid back out and ZAP, got it again!!!!

So....apparently it IS the fancy felt like material that the new seats are made out of that is generating it all from just a slight slide from the seat to the outside!!! My older Corsica with standard cloth fabric doesn't do it at all!!! Oh well, have to develop a new idiosyncracy of holding/grasping the door frame upon exiting the vehicle to prevent the unwanted finger zap.

I, too, saw the mythbuster's special, and it's not the cell phones that caused the problems, but the getting back into and then out of the car while it's fueling, to stay warm in the winter, and not discharging yourself against the frame/door safely away from the fuel filler handle, and when they grabbed the handle, they shorted against the filler hole and zap, poof, caboom as the gas fumes ignited!!!!! Be careful out there!
T.C.