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Tired of getting shocked.

Old Apr 20, 2005 | 02:01 AM
  #1  
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Tired of getting shocked.

Basically, every single time I get out of my car I get shocked. At night you can actually see it when it happens. It's actually embarrassing when other people are riding with me. I have a nice car, friends like how it looks, and when they exit the car, ZAP! It has now gotten to the point that it's time to do something about this problem. I know adding a grouding kit seems to be one cure for this, but is anyone aware of any other remedy? Thanks in advance.
Old Apr 20, 2005 | 02:48 AM
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I agree with you completely. I would also like to know of other remedies that would eliminate this problem. Why do our cars have this problem anyways?
Old Apr 20, 2005 | 02:48 AM
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just out of curosity...where on the car do u get shocked?

I remember when I use to close my door w/ my hands....i would get shocked if I touched the door handle area.....now I just close the door with my feet.....or I push the window....ever since I got Blehmco's grounding kit....I haven't gone back to the traditional method....but I never knew ground kits helped with static? maybe I'll try it out since u mentioned it..
Old Apr 20, 2005 | 02:51 AM
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The window frame, the door itself, the handle. Doesn't really matter where. My g/f gets it on her side and the passengers in the back get shocked as well. Quite annoying.
Old Apr 20, 2005 | 02:57 AM
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weird.....I know my friends never had a problem with static in my car....it was only me and it was minimal....doesn't sound as bad as yers.....thats as far as a NON ground kit 2k2 goes.....

I will try out closing my door the traditional method for a few days....and let you know whats up.....if I don't get shocked during those days...then indeed the ground kit helped control the static....if I still get shocked...then I really don't know
Old Apr 20, 2005 | 03:11 AM
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I know that this might sound like a really odd question, buuutttt...

Do you wax your car frequently? I noticed that when I was holding my forearm near the bumper when I waxed it on Sunday that there was some massive static electricity happening to the point where my hairs stuck up on end. Just a thought, might be the wax?
Old Apr 20, 2005 | 03:23 AM
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Haven't waxed it once this year yet.
Old Apr 20, 2005 | 04:15 AM
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it happens to me too, but only when I use clothe made out of 100% cotton, like Dockers Dresslacks.... which I use every single day to the office., when I use jeans nothing happens. try adding anti static to your clothe and you willl see how it works,... it does for me..... Oh it only happens when It is cold outside.....Why, no clue... but I don't think a grouding kit has anything to do with it. but if it has work for others I night be looking into adding one,....
Old Apr 20, 2005 | 06:01 AM
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oh this happens more then when its cold. I get shocked every single time i get out o my car. i got shocked the other day when i wasn't even driving it..just sitting in it adjusting my new HU and i got out and got shocked. Its 60-70 degrees here now and i'm still getting shocked. I've noticed i get shocked in just about every car i ride in and so are my friends? could this be a bigger problem then the car?
Old Apr 20, 2005 | 06:04 AM
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Well, up here in the north we get that a lot.

I've started using this little gadget on my key chain called "shockstopper" that dissipates the charge and it works. Bit of a nuisance since you always have to be mindful to touch it up against metal when you put your foot on the ground as you exit the car.

Some reading below for your info: Have not tried the glass option below, might be interesting.

http://www.static-sol.com/articles/s...hocks.htm#What about shocks when I get out of my car?

What about shocks when I get out of my car?
Many people experience shocks when they get out of their car. Often they believe that the car is charged - but this is not normally so.
Sitting in the car, electrostatic charges are generated on the car seat and the person's body, due to contact and movement between the clothes and the seat. When the person leaves the seat, They take half of this charge with them. As they get out of the vehicle, their body voltages rises due to this charge - a voltage of 10,000 Volts is not unusual.

When they reach to touch the vehicle door, the electrostatic discharge and shock occurs as their hand approaches the metal door.

The voltage build-up can often be avoided by holding onto a metal part of the door frame as you leave the seat. This provides a return dissipation path for the charge on your body.

If you have forgotten to hold the metal door part as you leave the seat, a shock may often still be avoided by touching the glass window before you touch the metal door. The glass may be conductive enough to dissipate charge, whilst preventing the rapid discharge which is felt as a shock.
Old Apr 20, 2005 | 07:18 AM
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Same thing happens to me, I thought there might be a bad ground on the car.
Old Apr 20, 2005 | 07:22 AM
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a long time ago, someone on here, I think Kev, said something about grounding the car helps. I get shocked on a daily basis. Ive just learned that instead of grabbing the door with my bare hand, I kinda reach my arm over the door and close it with the underside of my arm. It works for me. I still get shocked, but it just isnt that bad.
Old Apr 20, 2005 | 07:26 AM
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When you get out, touch your key to the door before you close it.
Old Apr 20, 2005 | 07:44 AM
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Whenever i pick up my girl at work, she gets into my car and she zaps the hell outta me when she kisses me! It hurts for like 5 minutes!
Old Apr 20, 2005 | 07:45 AM
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I have the same crap happening. It's been worse lately for some reason. Must be the weather in OH thats causing it to happen more.

SEMY2k2GO - I'll let you know how the Blehmco Grounding Kit affects the static shock after I install it. I'm hopefull that it will help even a little.

I don't mind a little zap but when my nips start getting hard every time I close the door...................
Old Apr 20, 2005 | 07:55 AM
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Originally Posted by SEmy2K2go
Basically, every single time I get out of my car I get shocked. At night you can actually see it when it happens. It's actually embarrassing when other people are riding with me. I have a nice car, friends like how it looks, and when they exit the car, ZAP! It has now gotten to the point that it's time to do something about this problem. I know adding a grouding kit seems to be one cure for this, but is anyone aware of any other remedy? Thanks in advance.
You're looking for a grounding kit, or a grounding strap? I thought to solve this problem, people add a grounding strap. Which, I believe, is a strap that hangs down from the underside of your car, and drags on the ground. Am I totally off on this?
Old Apr 20, 2005 | 08:06 AM
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Personally, I find the shock invigorating...but that might just be one of the side effects for having contests to see who can hold on to the electric horse-fence the longest.
Old Apr 20, 2005 | 08:12 AM
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Originally Posted by Max6spd
Well, up here in the north we get that a lot.

I've started using this little gadget on my key chain called "shockstopper" that dissipates the charge and it works. Bit of a nuisance since you always have to be mindful to touch it up against metal when you put your foot on the ground as you exit the car.

Some reading below for your info: Have not tried the glass option below, might be interesting.

http://www.static-sol.com/articles/s...hocks.htm#What about shocks when I get out of my car?

What about shocks when I get out of my car?
Many people experience shocks when they get out of their car. Often they believe that the car is charged - but this is not normally so.
Sitting in the car, electrostatic charges are generated on the car seat and the person's body, due to contact and movement between the clothes and the seat. When the person leaves the seat, They take half of this charge with them. As they get out of the vehicle, their body voltages rises due to this charge - a voltage of 10,000 Volts is not unusual.

When they reach to touch the vehicle door, the electrostatic discharge and shock occurs as their hand approaches the metal door.

The voltage build-up can often be avoided by holding onto a metal part of the door frame as you leave the seat. This provides a return dissipation path for the charge on your body.

If you have forgotten to hold the metal door part as you leave the seat, a shock may often still be avoided by touching the glass window before you touch the metal door. The glass may be conductive enough to dissipate charge, whilst preventing the rapid discharge which is felt as a shock.
I was reading same article the other day. And it seems that you can deal with it two ways. 1st have leather intirior or aftermarket leather 2nd is to hold on somthing metal when you get out of the car like body frame of the car.
Old Apr 20, 2005 | 08:19 AM
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An engine grounding kit will not get rid of the static that causes you to get a shock. Cars with cloth interiors will generate more static than leather. I got just as many shocks from my 93 Accord (cloth interior) as I do with my Max (cloth also).

The best fix I've found is keeping my left hand on the door jamb as I'm getting out of the car. I keep my hand there till my feet are on the ground. This drains almost all of the static and.....no shock when I close the door.
Old Apr 20, 2005 | 08:24 AM
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I bet Robocop's car wasn't cloth.
Old Apr 20, 2005 | 08:26 AM
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Tim,

I never had the nerve to post about my shocking experience, so thanks. Yeah, this is really really annoying. My girl cackles just about every time I get out and the door zaps the he ll out of me, while she has somehow found a way to avoid being zapped.

Happy I'm not the only one this is happening to.

I always chalked it up to her punishing me, for me punishing her with my right foot.
Old Apr 20, 2005 | 08:40 AM
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Spray your cloth seats with fabric softener. Your butt sliding across it creates the charge. Get some and to reduce the "static cling" thing. Winter is dryer, and creates more charge than a muggy summer day.
Old Apr 20, 2005 | 08:46 AM
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I purchased something for this a while back that was called Static Guard or Anti Static at Walmart, it comes in an aersol can. It worked ok but I didnt like how it smelt.
Old Apr 20, 2005 | 08:46 AM
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Wow...Glad its just not me lighting up like Uncle Fester.

One other thing I noticed..and I never noticed this on ANY other car. Last w/e was fantastic weather in NY and I waxed the max.

While I was applying wax with a cloth on the vertical part of the back bumper, I heard the crackling of static electricity.

WTF?
Old Apr 20, 2005 | 08:50 AM
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save up some money and get leather seats. the max leather seats are just as if not more comfortable the my lexus ls400 seats. the leather in the white looks good too.
Old Apr 20, 2005 | 08:58 AM
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well, I wasnt really talkin about the engine grounding kit when I said to ground the car. The topic has been brought up for years on here, and one suggestion that worked for those who tried was grounding it with some sort of wire or something that touched the road/ground. Not sure really, its been so long...
Old Apr 20, 2005 | 09:04 AM
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Lol yeah it can get you good sometimes. One time I got shocked so bad my entire arm jerked and my finger went lost some feeling temporarily. It was similar to when I was learning TIG (or was it MIG) welding and touched the wire to the electrode. I know the "hold on to the door" trick, but I forget a lot and get zapped anyway.
Old Apr 20, 2005 | 09:15 AM
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this is crazy i get that shyt to i thought it was just me or my car,, aint that sumtin, so was the cheap remedy
Old Apr 20, 2005 | 09:51 AM
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LOL...yeah..not exactly cost effective but get leather seats. My past two cars have had leather seats and I've NEVER been shocked.

Getting in and out of my girlfriend's 4th gen with cloth, however, now that's "electrifying."
Old Apr 20, 2005 | 10:05 AM
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I get shocked all the time. It gets annoying. I'll try following some of these suggestions soon.
Old Apr 20, 2005 | 10:17 AM
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Originally Posted by SEmy2K2go
The window frame, the door itself, the handle. Doesn't really matter where. My g/f gets it on her side and the passengers in the back get shocked as well. Quite annoying.
Same for me and my woman. Happens every time no matter where on the door u touch to close it but mostly i use the door frame. does anyone with leather have that problem? Probably just the fabric our seats are made out of.
Old Apr 20, 2005 | 01:38 PM
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This has been a problem for me and my girlfriend in both my 2k Max and her 2K5 Lancer Ralliart. But if you get out of the car by holding on to the metal frame of the door until your fully out of the car you should not get shocked. Eventually you will start getting out of every car the same way, and go on to live a shock free life.
Old Apr 20, 2005 | 01:40 PM
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Thanks guys for all the great suggestions. I'll try the door jam idea first. The only thing is, I will get tired of telling every single person that rides in my car to do the same thing
Old Apr 20, 2005 | 01:45 PM
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Try the lowrider Impala way: grounding strips and curb indicators (but you'll have to replace the grounding strips regularly).
Old Apr 20, 2005 | 01:47 PM
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http://www.amasci.com/emotor/zapped.html
I also posted this on ohionissans....

this seemed the best ive seen.
Old Apr 20, 2005 | 01:50 PM
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Cool, thanks Gregg.
Old Apr 20, 2005 | 08:04 PM
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I happened ALOT to me the when I 1st got my car in the summer...hasn't happened too much since.
Old Apr 21, 2005 | 06:57 AM
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By the way its not ONLY on maximas... Ive experienced this on a lot of other cars (cloth interior)... on a Chrysler Cirrus and on a Toyota Corolla to name a few.
My max is leather and no shocks for me!!! yippi.
Old Apr 21, 2005 | 07:05 AM
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This always happen to me in dry winters with my 240SX with cloth interior long time ago, but never happen to all my cars now that have leather interior. Time to get leather seats, good result is almost guaranteed.
Old Apr 21, 2005 | 07:17 AM
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That's so you don't blow your self up with a spark when filling up at a gas station...mine does that. I hold the frame of the door before I put my foot down and it doesn't shock me.

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