Shocked When Exiting Vehicle

A good answer.

I noticed in 1960s when some manufacturer used Nylon tyres in their vehicles having

NO CARBON CONTENTS in their material.

Drivers dismounting got sever shocks.

You may have noticed hanging metallic chain on Heavy Trucks [Oil Tankers ++].

We see this in Pakistan daily.

Electricians in Pakistan were warnd not to wear Tyre-Sole Shoes as they are conductive.

We hang chains from combines when combining grain to drop the chaff from the windows clinging due to static.,

Combine fires occur due to chaff buildup.

Scotchgard the seats for a long term fix OR to temporarily reduce/eliminate the static charge generation, rub the seats with a dryer-fabric-softener sheet.

Be advised that the static discharge you are experiencing is the most likely real cause of those supposedly cellphone induced fires at the gas pump. The 1/2" to 3/4" arcs I used to get from my car could have easily ignited gas fumes.

I get a good old crack of my Micra. _{(It make my tail fur all standy upitty.)}
I try to discharge via my elbow rather than sensitive fingertips.
The problem with groundstraps is that they wear away, especially when you are heavilly laden so that they no longer make contact under normal load. An automated retractable one linked to the ignition wouldn't beyond the wit of man, but then it's just something else to go wrong.
A bit of Bowden cable would probably be as good as anything specially if nicely frayed at the end.

Del

As stated by Hero and Del a ground strap has advantages and disadvantages.

When the Chicago Police first introduced the Motorola Motrac radio system to their cars in the mid 1960's they had a bad static problem that was effecting the performance of the radios.

Apparently a small amount of static was always present but not really noticeable to the occupants.

The Motorola engineers realized that they had to dissipate the static or loose the radio contract.

They came up with a rubberized strap (about the size of a belt for trousers) with metal strands embedded in the rubber.

This strap was bolted to the frame of the car and a segment of it was dragged on the ground and the static was dissipated.

Don't know if this is a solution for you but the CPD used these straps successfully for years.

My wife has a problem with static in the minivan during the dry winter months. She sprays the seat with Static Guard spray. That usually takes care of it.

KJK/USA did you mean LOSE not LOOSE?

Meant to say "lose the contract"

Stay inside the car until it starts raining

Dave,

When you turn your ignition key to the off position, don't put it in your pocket. While touching the metal part of the key, touch it's tip to a metal object on the car and the key will keep you from getting shocked. It won't keep the spark from jumping.

Rubber strap may be better for dissipation/slow discharge. And no key holding.

I have that problem in Az. in the winter with the work truck.

I have to laugh, a friend of my father's did just that with his key (many years ago now when keys were relatively thin in Europe!).

A year later it had lost so much metal at the tip, it would not open the doors anymore reliably!!!!

Pick something metal but disposable, not an expensive (electronic?) ignition key!!!

Hold it firmly in the hand so that a large area of skin is discharged through....

I thought I posted something you all will be interested in. Unfortunate it didn't get sent. Is there a way to find the article back that I've written today? Thanks all

I noticed the same thing with a car I used to own. Then I noticed it depended on the shoes I was wearing, so I thought it might be the carpet/floor mat.

When I was wearing the static-y shoes I kept the car key in my hand and touched the key to the door handle as I got out.

There is a process that does work.

After you open the door, grab hold of it (like on the window frame) or some part of the exterior of the car BEFORE you swing anything out of the car.

Swing out and get yourself completely out of the car. Both feet on the ground.

Then close the door.

The static generated either by the movement of your clothes on the seat coverings, or the surface static from the vehicle exterior are discharged at your feet to the ground (far less sensitive) rather than your fingertips when you touch the car frame.

Yes, the static straps help IF the static is caused by vehicle movement through the air while driving, but does little if it's static charge from seat covers.

In the winter I get shocks from my vehicle. I grab my key by the metal edge and tap it on the frame rail while getting out of the car. This way the arc is on the end of the key and doesn't snap my fingers off.

I did some research and I found the problem.

Rolling tires are essentially Van de Graaff generators.

This problem got pretty bad in the 1970's and tire manufactures responded by adding carbon-black to the tire compound to bleed off the static energy.

That was a pretty cool idea, no more grounding straps, mom! It also made the tire stickier, so you got more grip. Win-win, huh? Sorry, Charley.

Well, the 21st century ushered in a new problem; fuel economy!

Carbon-black made tires sticky, but sticky tires do not have a low rolling resistance. This caused manufactures to substitute silica to give us better gas mileage. Now we have another epidemic of static electricity. There have been a few fires at fuel stations because of it, too.

You have two solutions; one, exchange your tires for stickier carbon-black ones. The other is adding grounding straps. The latter is probably the least expensive.

I knew a guy that put a couple of straps on his wife after he was getting a lot of static.

Finally, if it turns out not to be the tires, the only other question I have is: are you still wearing polyester leisure suits by any chance?

My Chevy zaps me everytime I exit. I alleviated this by opening the door, reaching up and grabbing the top of it while still seated and both feet still inside the car, and holding the door top until I am up and on the ground with both feet. No more shock. Downside - this may cause unusual paint wear on the door top - this will take a few years to determine.

"Every time I get out of my two vehicles I get a static shock"

Try driving just one vehical at a time. Sorry, off topic!

I avoid this by rubbing my calf on the doorsill as i get out. But then i don't worry about dirt on the back of my pants. You do need to keep contact with the sill 'till your foot is grounded or you get the shock to your calf. It's now habitual, and no shocks.

We have the same problem with the wife's 2007 Chevy Blazer and the 1996 Blazer before that. I have a 2000 Chevy Silverado with carpet and cloth seats similar to hers. The only difference I can think of is I bought the heavy rubber floor mats to catch the mud and snow and she is using the carpet scraps to protect her floor. There are not any problems with the Silverado. We are both running the same brand and style of tires. The shop cut us a deal for tires if we both bought tires at the same time. I have tried Static Guard spray and it did not work very well. The shock happens mainly in the winter time and to all occupants. The key trick sounds like it will work for the driver but what about the rest of us? I could install grounding wrist straps. I too have tried holding the door as I get out. Some times I get shocked as I touch the door. Other times the shock occurs as I get out. I can't grip the door any tighter than I already am.

"The key trick sounds like it will work for the driver but what about the rest of us? "

Issue paper clips to all passengers?

The kids already complain if the other is touching them. I can only imagine paper clips would be straightened out into weapons. I could give them the plastic kind but that would be defeating the purpose.

You did not say when you get the shock, is it when you touch the door handle, or when your feet touch the ground (and you touch the door handle as well)? Or some other scenario?

Its important to know for a proper fix.....

A leather strap, bolted to a cleaned metal frame under the car, and allowed to drag the ground will remove the static.

If the car itself is picking up a static charge and you exit the car, you will BOTH be at the same potential relative to ground. You may get a spark between you and ground, but you will not get a spark between you and the car.

If the static is caused by movement of your clothing on cloth seats as you exit the car, you can generate a large charge differential between your body and the car and you WILL get a good spark by touching car metal. This is the most likely cause and an anti-static treatment of the cloth seats WILL cure the problem.

I have direct experience with the cloth seat type of static problem and can verify that a good Anti_Static_Spray treatment or even dryer-fabric-softener-sheets rubbed on the cloth seats will fix the problem.

That is EXACTLY the reason I was asking WHEN he got a shock, but no reply upto now on that question.

In my experience its usually inside the car that has/gives the problem, but not always.....

This can increase the hazzards when refueling.

suck it up girls, I have been tripping the current for years with fingertip, I used to put braided strap on customers cars, it would blow back off pavement while driving and drop down to discharge when stopped, little wear that way,
Mitch the peugeot retirey

Hi, you need to get the habit of grabbing the metal doorframe, before you get out of the car. Hold firmly on to the doorframe while getting out. The static is most likely building up between you and the car, so you discharge while charging, therefore no charge when you are out of the car. Otherwise the key trick works, but only if you grab hard and maybe wet your finger touching the key.

It works for me, anyway.

Have a nice weekend, moe

I can't believe no-one directed you here.

Shocking!