Conference terri::cars_uk

i've been getting this a lot too this past week, the shock from mine is quite
painful sometimes, dunno whats causing it either


...art

I've had the same problems for some time, I just try and remember to shut the
door by touching the glass rather than the metal of the door ... or give up
wearing pure wool suits (they seem to make it worse)

Peter

    Have you tired attaching one of these grounsing strips to the back end
    of the car somewhere ??
    
    Personally I doubt their effectiveness but you never know !
    
    Rich
    

    I've had this problem for a while myself and strangely enough, it
    only happens when I'm wearing a particular pair of shoes and certain
    wool socks. The static charge build-up is caused by certain types
    of material rubbing against each other. My method of avoiding the
    dreaded zap is to hold some metal part of the door before and while
    I'm getting out of the car. That allows the charge to be dispersed
    through the car before you discharge it somewhere else e.g. door
    handle etc.
    
    

    I get this too, but only when wearing trainers. I think it's some
    reaction between those particular shoes and the carpet.
    
    IAn.

    There's an easy solution to this ....
    
    Get in the habit of holding on to the car *as* you get out. Don't know
    why this works, but it seems to.
    
    JK

Re: .7
    
>    Get in the habit of holding on to the car *as* you get out. Don't know
>    why this works, but it seems to.
    
Most of the charge is accumulated as you get off the seat.  If you have
a discharge path while you do this the charge can't accumulate to the
same extent.

jb

    Change to some good quality Vinyl seats, and you will have no problem, 
    I can arrange a straight swop for my 20 year old Beetle ones....;-)
    
    Carl.

    I have heard of (but never seen) conductive paint that can be applied
    to the inside of the tyre outside walls to make a reasonable ground
    connection.  If the charge is being built up on the metal of the car
    (rather than you body) this should leak any static to ground as you
    drive.  This has the advantage of not having one of those dangly
    things trailing behind the car.
    
    If the charge is building up on you then apply the same stuff to your
    favourite driving shoes... :-)
    
    Rob

    You too ! I've been getting them recently. I assumed it was because
    I'm wearing a new pair of shoes, different socks or something like
    that. 
                     
    Hmmm, interesting...
    
    -Shantanu

    This all seems a bit risky to me, if you paint on a conductor to get
    rid of the static, then you are leaving yourself open to lightning
    using the same conducting path. The main reason that lightning does not
    hit cars, is because they have rubber tyres, take the insulation
    properties out these and its anyones guess.....
    
    Carl

    To discharge the car you need a trailing arrow head thingy from
    the rear bumper. Contrary to common though furry dice do not help
    this problem.
    
    DejW

    How about a stick on garfield....????....or some fingers hanging
    out from the boot....
    
    according to the latest forensic reports..these  are a known cure
    for static shocks...
    
    

    If your car gets hit by lightning it will be when the air is damp
    enough to support the discharge - ie when its raining - so it don't
    matter.
    
    Rob

The so-called anti-static arrows some people have underneath their cars do not
work. (They are actually sold I believe as a cure for car sickness.  This may be
psychosomatic.)  The charge is built up on your body as you exit the car and is discharged
earthed through the car when you touch the door to close it.  Cars are already
earthed through their tyres which are in fact slightly conducting and designed 
that way. 

As several people have advised, the solution is to change clothes (avoid silk
and wool) or hang onto some metal part of the car as you exit.

Cars do get hit by lightening and the fact that their tyres are rubber has
little to do with it.  When it's raining, you'll find that most tyres conduct 
high voltages very effectively!  Lightning conductors work by providing a point
for corona discharge of the air mass, not by providing an easy route to ground
as is commonly thought.  The aim is to discharge the air rather than to
encourage a massive belt of EHT to pass down a relatively thin conductor.  It may
reduce the risk if you lower the radio aerial during lightening storms, but in
any case statistics are on your side.

Mike.

:-)


i've worn different clothes this past week in my car & still i get a shock
so severe that i don't actually want to close the door 

i thought it had something to do with atmospheric conditions

perhaps my car hates me

i did wash it on tuesday 

bain of my life

...art


		:-)

The reason static is worse in dry air is because dry air conducts electricity
less than wet air (ie it's the vapour that conducts) hence you get more static
buildup.  You can get anti-static powder to sprinkle INSIDE the tyres to help
them conduct away static charge, though whether this helps or not I don't know.

Static charge conducts best at a point, so if you touch the car with your
finger tip you'll get a bigger shock than if you touch it with the flat of your
hand.  The shock is due to the difference in electrostatic potential between
you and the car.  If you hold some metal part of the car as you get out, no
difference in charge can build up, hence no shock.

I've noticed more static shocks off metal things (eg the screws on light
switches) in the house lately; maybe it's 'cos of the warmer (hence drier)
weather we're having?

Scott

    Well thanks for all the reply's and hints.

    I think that I will go back to wearing mens clothes for a while and see
    if that has any effect.

    I don't really fancy the dangly bits on the back bumper, as I always
    associate them with "furry dice, go faster stripes etc" and they might
    spoil the view of my "Carlos Fandango wheels".

    If anybody else would like to borrow my underpants to check out the
    Faraday cage effect then please let me know.  I can mail you a pair in
    a plain brown envelope.

    Seriously folks, thanks again for the help.  I can confirm that as
    mentioned previously in this note, sometimes the shock has been severe
    enough to make me think twice about closing the door.

The XR2 that I used to have used to do this to me.  I thought that it depended
on my driving, ie the shock was proportional to the enthusiasm rating of my
driving.  Now you're telling me, it's my silk underpants?  I used to gingerly
shut the door with my hand on the glass...

Dave

    Gives a whole new meaning to "hot pants" I suppose ...
    
    m
    

    
    
    Maybe that's why the "Dukes of Hazzard" climb out their windows ?????
    
    
    

    Re: getting hit by lightning ...
    
    there was a QED or 40 minutes or similar program a couple of years
    ago where they got some poor human guinea-pig to do all sorts of
    "silly" things, including driving a Ford Sierra around an extremely
    high voltage machine (whatever they are called).
    
    Due to the Faraday Cage effect, the driver was totally unharmed,
    despite some pretty serious bolts of lightning, but they did hang
    a couple of heavy duty grounding strips (like the ones in Halfords
    but made from thick copper cable!) to the car, otherwise he would
    have got more than a "spark" when he got out of the car!!! The only
    effect was that after every bolt the rear wiper did 2 sweeps.
    
    Re: small sparks
    
    Be careful when you get out in petrol stations!!!!!!
    
    Re: others
    
    Yes, it all depends on the weather, the car, the carpets and whether
    you are wearing fur-lined underwear ;-)
    
    mb

     
    Heh Bruce,
    
     Since we have discovered the source of this zapping is due to
     your nylons rubbing against the seat on exit of the car, and that
     this is problem is more acute in dry arrid conditions, (British
     winter!), then how about this for a solution.
    
     
    
     Wet your seat!
     
    
     No not by accident but....
    
     Seriously, get yourself some decent car upholstery cleaner (some
     makes proclaim their product specifically reduces static) and
     give the drivers couch a good soaking in the shampoo.
    
     Although the seat will dry to the touch, the moisture that gets
     retained in the seat will prevent the static build up caused by your
     b*m exiting stage right.
                
                
     Regards,
    
     Master_Skew
                               

    Graham,
    		Thanks for the tips, I may well try that. (nb) It has been
    known for my passengers to wet the seat for me.  I have noticed that
    the problem is definately worse when wearing trainers,  even the
    ignition lock gives me a belt.
    
    
    Regards
    
    
    Bruce

    I too find the combination of trainers/jeans the worst. I have
    developed the habit of opening the door and pulling myself out using
    the door frame. This eliminates the problem for me.
    
    
    Richard

I finally traced *my* past experiences with this problem down to my SHOES.
I could wear a cheap pair of working boots with rubber soles and get a 
severe jolt......but wearing the identical set of clothes and Clark's 
rubber-soled (it may not *really* be rubber - or is it conductive rubber?) 
shoes or trainers - no problem.

My solution (when wearing the problematic shoes) was as previously mentioned...
hold on to the door frame whilst getting out.  Alternatively...(and I've used 
this to great effect in USA hotels - which don't seem to have heard of carpets
which eliminate/reduce static)...

avoid touching the metal during exit...then hold the metal of your key and
touch the key to the car... presto.. spark is between key and car rather than
hand and car.

The pain is caused by the arcing (IMO) rather than the levelling of electrical
potential.

Paul

Who needs an arc welder; just wear rubber boots and silk underpants, then touch
one piece of metal (which you're holding) to another (earthed) and hey presto!
The arc welds them together!

You might get some funny looks from passers by, though; depends what colour the
underpants are...

Scott

    re. .29
    
    That is it!
    
    Using the key as a lightning-rod really works and seems much more
    comfortable to me than hanging on the door like a gorilla (I wonder
    who was the first one to break off his door trying to avoid shocks).
    
    Olaf.