Can anyone offer some advice on how to stop getting static electric shocks from your car?! I get one nearly every time I get out of my car. I just got a shock now and I was only going in my car to get something, I didn't even turn the engine on.

Has anyone tried anything that works? I know there's those short rubber strips that you can attach to the back of your car but someone told me that they're a load of rubbish and they don't work.

Why does it happen and how can I stop it?!

Try using an earthing strap on your hand.

Get a static shock stopper! Get them from halfords and the like - you attach them to the back of the car, and it earths it for you which should stop the shocks.

The conductive rubber straps do work but they need to be touching the ground. Also, if they get dirty or the connection to the car bodywork isn't sound, they will be less effective.

You can also get sprays for the upholstery (depends upon the type of upholstery) that reduce the static buildup .

It happens because of something called the triboelectric effect - basically the thing that creates static electricity when you rub a balloon on your hair, or take a jumper off when you're wearing a nylon shirt under the jumper. This effcet is caused by electrons moving form one material to the other when they're in contact - the effcet is made worse by rubbing.

So if you sit in the seat in certain clothes you might get a shock. Also, it's posisble for the car itself to accumulate a static charge on dry days by just running along the road.

The rubber straps dischrage the charge to earth. They're made of conductive rubber, not normal insulating rubber.

Joe

I can sympathise with you as it happens to me a lot . What you wear makes a lot of difference as do seat covers etc. The worst Ive known was hiring a car in Arizona where its very dry which makes things much worse. Every time I got out the car I would get an almighty shock from the door! Started kicking it shut to avoid touching then would get a shock from the next metal thing i.e. shop door. People must have thought it was an English tradition to shout B*******D when leaving car.

Thank God for this post. My other half thinks I'm nuts because every time I get out of the car I get a massive shock then swear. He thinks I'm imagining it. At last I have proof....and a solution (cept those rubber strips look abit naff and boy racer-ish).

I seem to remember that my chemistry teacher said that those earthing strips also serve to turn you car into a voltaic cell (?) and hence it will rust a lot quicker. Although that could just be complete rubbish...

The tutor I have for my PC Servicing course suggests that you touch either the metal of the car door or the post before you put your feet outside the car in order to discharge the static first. Not had too much of a problem with it myself so haven't tried it. Does seem to make sense though as you would touch the metal frame of a PC to discharge the static.

Let me know if it works.

Buy a TVR. They're fibreglass :)

Holding the metal part of the key or ignition surround as you leave the seat does work, if you remember to do it! Having studied electrical engineering and some electronics cant see the rubber strap bit working really.

The rubber HAS to be conductive - it's the same technology that's used for making the anti-static bags for RAM chips and other components.

Normal insulating rubber won't work - it will not drain the charge away - but any conductive path will act to drain the charge off. On damp days the charge drains through the moist air or through water on the car.

It could conceivably act as a voltaic cell, but usually the effect would be very small as the resistance of the conductive rubber is not that low - it's low enough to drain the charge but not low enough to allow a substantial current to flow, and the electrochemical effects are dependent upon current flow.

Joe

This is a really easy and 100% reliable method that will work every time...

Take a length of thick copper wire, (it doesn't matter if it's plastic coated) and find a suitable bolt that goes through the car bodywork.

You can normally find one inside the boot where the rear light cluster is bolted to the bodywork. Loosen the bolt off about 2 turns then hook the exposed wire around it and tighten it up.

Then take the other end of the wire and find a suitable bolt outside the car on something attached to the ground - a drainpipe or garage door is fine.

Connect the wire in the same way, tighten the bolt and Bob's your uncle! No more static shocks! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Tony, you can be soooo evil sometimes. Plus, I wouldn't dream of attaching my exposed sire to the garage door.

Yet again I am going to claim caffiene induced spelling malfunction. :P

i always get this shock too - is it the person that's more susecptible to static or is it the car that's the cause?

also, when i goto the gym i always get a small shock from the running machine - on the runner there's a steel bar which measures your heart rate and when you put your hands on it and after a run i always get a shock when i do this plus i can't plug my headphones in the machine without getting a little shock every now and again!!!!! very annoying - anybody got any solutions????

New running shoes and socks.

the reason for this being???
constructive advice would be welcome :)
although i think that maybe you are toying with me! :roll:

Not at all! It is your gym gear that's causing it. The charge is building up through the friction (think of rubbing a balloon on your bedhead :)).

It's unlikely that you could totally stop the build up, especially as most gym gear now is man-made fibres, and excercise obviously makes you a bit sweaty and very conductive.

You need to find another way of allowing it to go to earth instead of through your hands.

The most obvious change would be to change the materials that are making contact with the running machine, ie shoes and socks. Shoes with carbon outsoles instead of rubber ones will probably do the trick.

The other one you could try would be to attach the emergency stop cord (assuming the runner has one) to a nylon item of clothing like your shorts.

Disclaimer: This advice is freely given and is not a professional opinion. If you burst into flames don't call me. :D

Wow, thanks guys!

floyd77, I didn't know there was such a thing as a "Static shock stopper". I might have to invest in one.

I think I'll try Wendy and dragonsoup's suggestions first though and see if that works before I buy anything. I hope I can remember to do it though!

Jackthedog, I wish I could afford a TVR!

"i always get this shock too - is it the person that's more susecptible to static or is it the car that's the cause?"

Some people are more susceptible than others. This susceptibility seems to be variable too: it may be better/worse a couple of months later and that variability excludes obvious factors such as the material your clothing and shoes are made of and the weather/atmospheric pressure

the car we have got at the moment is a bugger for static shocks!!, the others cars weren't, maybe it's something to do with the make of car. however, i was told a way to stop it happening and it works everytime. whilst you are still sat in your seat put your foot on the floor outside the car, then grab the metal bit of the door and keep hold of it till you are out of the car completely. it really works i haven't had a shock since!! (apart form when i forgot to do it once!):roll: silly me!!

I was once told some people are more affected by static than others,some carry more electricity in them. I've heard some peoples watches are always fast due to this, is this true? I nearly always seem to get a shock when getting out of my husbands car but he never gets it.