Why does my car generate static electricity?

Does he hit you, does he love you? How to get rid of static electricity on a car body

How does the old Soviet approach to combating static electricity on a car body differ from the modern Chinese one? And how widespread and relevant is this problem these days? We study grounding through buses, antistatic key fobs and rubber “tails”!

Grounding via busbars

The manifestations of static electricity are familiar to everyone from ordinary household things - electrification of a synthetic sweater, hair on a plastic comb, and so on. As a result, charges of different potentials accumulate on the object and the human body, and a discharge occurs, sometimes with sparks of frightening sizes jumping out. A car easily accumulates a static electric charge - usually in dry, windy, hot or frosty weather. When air humidity is more than 85%, static electricity practically does not occur.

If conditions are favorable, a charge of tens or thousands of kilovolts can accumulate on the car body. This frightening voltage is not dangerous due to the insignificant current, but it gives rise to two unpleasant moments in everyday life - painful stabbing blows when touching the car, as well as increased attraction of dust, which is especially annoying on a freshly washed car, which quickly takes on an unkempt appearance. By the way, contrary to popular belief, there is no danger of ignition from gasoline static when filling the tank - all gas station equipment is grounded in accordance with the most stringent standards and is not afraid of discharge from the bodies of customers’ cars!

At the same time, the problem of statics on a car cannot be called widespread, and many almost never encounter it. The fact is that, oddly enough, the tires, which we consider an insulator, contain a sufficient amount of soot (the essence is conductive carbon), which allows the static charge to safely drain into the ground in most cases. Although, with increased accumulation of static, when the car is parked in a strong wind carrying a large amount of dust or dry snow, grounding through the wheels is no longer enough... And modern tires with reduced rolling resistance include more and more silicon dioxide, replacing traditional conductive carbon black. Many people probably noticed how, after switching from standard budget Russian tires to decent “bourgeois” tires, the car began to gather more dust and shoot out static more often...

However, some “lucky” people are electrocuted while driving regularly and constantly, always and everywhere... It’s just that in their specific cases a number of factors coincide unsuccessfully - the nuances of the climate and wind roses in the places of permanent residence, a certain combination of synthetics in the material of seats, covers and everyday clothing, features of tires, type of car body paint, etc., which together provide a constant accumulation of charge on the car.

"Electric Tail"

In Soviet times, perhaps the most popular element of simple external “styling” was a polyurethane or rubber “current collector” strip, designed to drain a charge from the body to the ground - every second car sported such an accessory, and the discharge effect was excellent, if, of course, the car owner did not make any mistakes during installation. The fact is that the “tail” itself did not conduct current - a metal wire was simply fused into the tape, coming out in the form of a contact petal with a hole for a bolt. And the tape had its effect only when attached to a metal body part that had been cleared of paint and dirt - but screwing a “nine” or “eight” to a plastic bumper, of course, did no good. Another popular old-school mistake is buying ribbon made by crooked co-ops who cut it out of sheet rubber with no conductive wire inside. Such a “current collector” gave only advantages to showing off - decorated with colored reflectors and the foreign inscription “antistatic” (often with a mistake, with a K at the end!), it was hung in most cases for the sake of dubious beauty, and those who did not initially have problems with statics , they didn’t even know that the “tail” did not fulfill its main task...

Oddly enough, such accessories have not disappeared from the shelves to this day; they are produced and sold. Since there is no longer anyone willing to drill a hole in a metal bumper or in the “skirt” of the body to attach an antistatic agent, as was done during the times of widespread Zhigulism, the “tails” have evolved and are now equipped with clamps for mounting on the tip of the exhaust pipe, which is guaranteed to have high-quality contact with the “ground” . These devices fulfill their task of ridding the car of aggression towards the driver and attracting dust, although, it must be said, they disfigure the appearance of a modern car quite significantly...

"Do it once, do it twice..."

If you don’t want to attach a ridiculous rubber tail to a brand new modern car, you can use a special “antistatic” tactic for getting out of the car. Having opened the door, you must first grab the metal edge of the door with your hand (not the plastic handle!), and then put your foot on the ground. This equalizes the electrical potentials of the body and the person, and there will be no painful injection.

But this technique also has disadvantages. Firstly, it only works flawlessly when you touch bare metal, not painted metal. And in a modern car it’s not so easy to find it! Everything is painted, protected by plastic, and even the keyhole under the steering wheel no longer always helps - more and more often it is replaced by a keyless starter button... And secondly, such a scheme is useful when leaving the cabin, but static often strikes when getting into the car!

Plus, let’s be honest, mastering and constantly keeping this algorithm in your head so as not to forget to regularly do it in practice looks like some kind of technical perversion. In the daily operation of a car there are already enough different conventions, and adding to them a special ritual of leaving the cabin is already clearly too much...

“She has a neon inside” (c)

If not “tail” and not “acrobatics”, then what? Today, Chinese artisans offer a fairly large assortment of so-called “antistatic keychains.” This strange gadget most often looks like a small cylinder the length of a finger and the diameter of a pencil, although sometimes it looks like a flash drive. It has two contacts at opposite ends - you need to hold one with your fingers, and the second you need to touch the door, handle, and ideally, the metal of the keyhole. The discharge intended for you will be extinguished by the filling of the keychain and will reach the body imperceptibly.

Oddly enough, this seemingly complete nonsense works. “She has a neon inside her” - everything is verbatim according to the Strugatskys! The body of the “antistatic key fob” contains the same filling as an electrician’s screwdriver – a phase indicator! In other words, a neon light bulb and a high-resistance resistor are connected in series.

Therefore, it is not at all necessary to purchase a “special key fob” - if you have a phase indicator screwdriver, you can safely use it. Let's say more - even a neon light bulb is not particularly needed there. Any resistor with a resistance of several megaohms, costing one and a half rubles in the worst case, is enough.

And again... “tail”!

Touching the car door with an antistatic key fob before opening it is, frankly, even worse than the “magic ritual” with alternate lowering of arms and legs described above. One or two more such regular actions in addition to the key fob - and it’s easier to walk... Therefore, if for some unknown reason your car still tends to “bite” regularly, it is best to solve the problem radically - small, effective and completely unnoticeable from the outside “ collective farm."

Instead of dubious “antistatic” rubber bands, we will need a half-meter piece of thin (about 3 mm) steel cable, but we will fasten it not in a vulgar way in plain sight, on the rear bumper, but under the bottom, somewhere in the area of the front seats. The end of the cable is easiest to attach to the muffler - this is an ideal place, having a perfect electrical connection to the body and at the same time usually being bare metal, which does not require damage to the paint for good contact.

Such a “tail” will flawlessly perform the function of removing static from the body and at the same time will not be visible from the outside and will not spoil the appearance of the car with an inappropriate “old school” look.

The car is electrocuted - causes and solutions to the problem

Many drivers and passengers have encountered this situation - getting out of the car, they received an electric shock. Intuitively, this is due to static electricity. To get rid of this problem, you need to find out the reason for the accumulation of electrical charge.

1 Why does a car get electrocuted - 4 main reasons

When removing a synthetic item, many heard a slight crackling sound, and in complete darkness you can see sparking. The same situation occurs with a car. During friction between bodies, an imbalance of atoms appears. Since interacting bodies have a low ability to transmit electric current, charge redistribution occurs and static electricity appears. This is how a person becomes the owner of a certain charge. Depending on the sign of the charge, a reaction occurs between the car and the person. If the charges match the signs, then nothing will happen; if the charges are different, then when touching a metal part of the car, a person will feel an electric shock.

There are many reasons why a machine accumulates static electricity:

As the car body moves, it comes into contact with air currents, and as a result of friction, a small electrical discharge accumulates on it. Its value increases depending on the duration of the trip. In dry and windy weather, the charge increases. A charge of about 1000 V is concentrated on the car body.
The machine may receive an electric shock due to faulty wiring. It can be damaged for various reasons: due to chafing of the wires, damage to the insulation, the wires could jump out of the connectors. Bare sections of wires come into contact with metal parts of the body, and a “ground breakdown” occurs.
Electric field strength can arise on the discs when the wheels rotate while driving, when the brake pads come into contact with the discs. To avoid the accumulation of unwanted charge, the car should be equipped with antistatic devices.
The cause of the accumulation of electricity may be faults in the vehicle electrical network. Faulty spark plugs can send a spark directly to the engine body. A car can receive an electric shock due to high-voltage wires, dirty motor, coated with lubricant residues.

Often the culprit behind the accumulation of static charge is a person. If clothing is made of synthetic materials or wool, then when rubbing against car covers, static electricity accumulates on a person. Discharge will occur at any moment as soon as a person touches a metal part of the body, even while inside the cabin.

2 Is there a danger from static discharge and what is it?

At first glance, it seems that there is nothing terrible, except for an unpleasant sensation, in a small static discharge. But this issue should be taken seriously. A clear example of a micro-discharge that jumps at the moment when a machine receives an electric current is a piezo lighter. If gasoline vapors have accumulated inside the car, the resulting spark can ignite them and cause a fire. If for a person a static charge does not pose any danger, since it is too small in magnitude, then for equipment it can be enough to disable the device.

There is another side to this issue. While driving, the driver has to make a large number of movements to control the car: switch gears, turn on various indicators, instruments and devices. If at this time he is shocked, he may make a mistake, which will lead to an emergency. Therefore, as soon as the machine begins to shock, you need to solve the problem immediately.

3 Methods to combat static electricity - will tape help?

The easiest and most affordable way to avoid electric shock in a car is to use antistatic sprays. They are used by spraying on covers, clothing of the driver and passengers. True, the method is inconvenient to use and only allows you to reduce the effect of the discharge, but not remove it. Since you usually get an electric shock when you get out of the car and touch a metal door, you can install plastic deflectors to protect against electricity. They do not pass electric current, which means there will be no discharge upon contact with the human body.

There are several ways to ground a car:

Using special tapes with an antistatic effect. They cling to the car body so that, hanging down, they reach the ground. When the machine moves, the accumulated discharge will go into the ground. The tapes are made from expensive material, so you should not buy a budget option to save money; a cheap tape will not have the desired effect.
On a truck with a special purpose, especially if it transports explosive cargo, the presence of a “lightning rod” is mandatory. Only instead of an antistatic tape, a metal chain is attached, which should also touch the ground.
Some drivers, in order to save money, resort to homemade grounding. Using a terminal, one end of the ground wire is connected to the car body, and the other is made so long that it reaches the ground and drags while driving.

Antistatic tape is more reliable and aesthetically attractive. When purchasing it, you should pay attention that there is no metal wire inside the product, since over time it is affected by oxidation processes, it begins to rust and does not pass electric current well. There should be a graphite or aluminum insert inside.

In order for the tape to effectively perform its function, it must be attached to a metal part of the body that is not covered with paint. If you attach it to a plastic bumper, it will serve only as another decoration.

Since one of the reasons for the appearance of static electricity is the material used to make seats and clothes, you need to change the covers, sewing them from natural fabrics. This also applies to clothing. More static electricity accumulates in dry air, so regularly dry clean and wet the interior. Special aerosols can be used to humidify the air. They reduce or remove static electricity and have a beneficial effect on human health by humidifying the air.

A technical inspection at a service station will not hurt to eliminate problems associated with electrical wiring and electrical systems. If after this the problem is not solved, then you can use the methods described above to deal with the electrical charge accumulated on the car body.

Why does the car electrocute and how to fix it?

Probably every car owner has encountered a situation where, when leaving and touching the body of the car, he was shocked. In most cases, this is not dangerous, but it is still unpleasant. Why can a car give an electric shock to its owner?

Why does the car give an electric shock?

There is nothing supernatural here and everything can be explained by the laws of physics. This happens due to the accumulation of a charge of static electricity, and it is formed due to the electrification of such elements:

car body;
clothes;
seat covers or upholstery.

In spring and summer, the car is electrocuted more often, since electrification occurs more intensely at low air humidity. Although such a discharge is not very pleasant, it is absolutely safe for a healthy person.

Static electricity accumulates on the car body due to its friction with the air. This usually happens while driving, but it also happens when parked under the influence of wind. When a person touches the body, for example, closing a door, the charges of the body and the body are equalized and an electric shock occurs. The reason for this may be clothing or covers. During their friction, a static charge also accumulates and the described process is repeated.

Another reason for this problem is a car malfunction. If the electrical wiring is damaged, the wires may become exposed and come into contact with metal parts of the body. The machine turns into a large capacitor and when touching its body, a person receives a noticeable electric shock.

Sparking does not cause increased voltage as long as no inductance is included in the circuit. It is dangerous when high-voltage wires, ignition coil windings and relays are exposed.

Video: why a car gives an electric shock

How to solve a problem

There are several ways to effectively deal with electric shocks when touching certain parts of the car. When an electric shock occurs when you touch the external parts of the machine, for example, handles, body and others, then to eliminate the problem you must perform the following steps:

visit the service station. Recommended in case of frequent and strong shocks of static electricity that occur due to electrical wiring faults. There they will carry out diagnostics, identify and eliminate the cause. If you have enough knowledge and time, you can independently check the serviceability of all wires;
install antistatic strips. You just need to purchase them at any auto store and attach them to the rear bumper.

When an electric shock occurs when you touch the internal elements of the car, for example, the steering wheel, gear lever and others, then you must do the following:

pay attention to the interior trim. The simplest solution would be to buy seat covers. They must be antistatic; if the interior is leather, then such problems do not arise;
adjust your wardrobe. Try not to wear things made of fabrics that accumulate static electricity (wool, silk, natural fur, synthetics);
if you don’t want to change your wardrobe, use special sprays to treat upholstery and clothing. They help minimize the chance of electricity buildup;

To minimize the risk of electric shock when getting out of your car, first touch any metal part with your hand before opening the doors and standing on the ground.

Video: what to do if the car is electrocuted

When a problem such as an electric shock occurs when touching a car, it is imperative to find the cause and eliminate it. It may seem like a small thing to some people, but it is very unpleasant for children, and in some cases, a spark that appears can even lead to a car fire.

Is the car electrocuted? This problem can be easily fixed on your own.

You get out of the car, and at that moment he mercilessly shocks you. Remember this most unpleasant moment? Today we will establish the reason for such increased aggression of the car and eliminate it.

Why does a car get electrocuted?

First of all, you need to understand the reason for this, to put it mildly, aggressive behavior of your car. According to the laws of physics, the car begins to electrocute as a result of discharges of static electricity; by the way, it can be formed for several reasons - due to electrification of the car body and/or your clothes, as well as seat upholstery or covers. And the most unpleasant thing, given that we are preparing to welcome spring and summer, the intensity of electrification is higher, the lower the air humidity. The only thing that can calm you down in such a situation is that despite the fact that the electric discharge is accompanied by unpleasant pain, it is absolutely safe for humans.

No matter how boring and tedious it may seem, it will not be possible to understand the essence of the problem without explaining some physical laws, so you will have to talk a little about them. As already mentioned, the reason that the car is electrocuted lies in the appearance of static electricity. Let's look at its source on the car body. Everything is simple here - on the body, electricity arises from friction with air (remember the school physics course and the experiment with an ebonite stick). Moreover, this can happen not only when the car is moving, but also under the influence of wind, even if it is at rest in the parking lot. When someone tries to close the car door, the electric charges of the body and the person are equalized through the same electric shock.

The absence of an electric charge on the car body does not always relieve the car owner from such lightning. Here we already have to blame clothes, especially synthetic or woolen ones, which, as a result of friction against seat covers, accumulate a significant electrical charge. At the moment when a person leaves the car, touching it, the above-described charge equalization process occurs.

How to fix the problem?

How to eliminate this problem, how to return the car to its former friendliness and hospitality? The obvious answer is to wear clothes made from natural fabrics, as well as the absence of synthetic impurities in the seat covers. But we must admit that such methods do not guarantee 100% results; moreover, there are much more effective methods. First of all, these are special antistatic strips offered in the assortment of any car accessories store, which are attached between the body and the ground. Only when choosing them should you take into account that the most effective are only models with a conductive filler (graphite, aluminum powder), or, in extreme cases, with wire inside, so do not hope that a tape cut from old rubber will eliminate electric shock. Treating the covers with antistatic aerosol will also reduce the degree of electrification.

All of the above methods will help you cope with the aggression of your iron horse, however, so to speak, to consolidate the result and fully guarantee safety, we advise you to follow some recommendations on getting out of the car. So, having opened the door with the intention of leaving the car, you need to grab the metal edge of the door with your hand (attention: not the handle!) and only after that step on the ground. Closing the door with a part of your body covered by clothing can help reduce pain. And the most interesting thing is that the skin on top of your hand has a higher resistance than its inner side, take this into account the next time you get out of your aggressive car.

Of course, for some, such a problem is not significant, like, say, a malfunction of the exhaust system or the vagaries of an injector, but we still hope that our recommendations will be useful.

Why is the car electrocuted?

Every person has encountered a situation where objects not connected to the power supply receive electric shock. A synthetic blanket, a fur coat, a cat sleeping peacefully on the couch, and even a car can send an impulse. According to statistics, the car most often gives an electric shock when leaving it. The victim experiences unpleasant sensations: twitching and burning at the site of contact with static voltage, chills in the body, and dizziness may occur. The article will tell you why this happens and how to correct the situation.

When a machine gives an electric shock, in most cases it is not an electrical voltage, but a static voltage, which does not cause any particular harm to human health. This type of energy is formed as a result of the accumulation of impulses on the surface of an object. From time to time a discharge occurs, and if you touch the machine at this moment, it will give you an electric shock.

Static voltage is not as dangerous as electrical voltage. It does not lead to cardiac arrest and does not cause burns to the body. However, such a blow is unpleasant.

The main reason for the formation of static energy is the contact of the car body with air. Discharges occur more often in the summer, when the air is dry and hot. As the vehicle moves, charges accumulate on its body and it begins to electrocute.

The problem may also be in the person himself. If a passenger is wearing a lot of synthetic clothing, he may receive an electric shock. Non-natural fabrics promote reactions between accumulated charges. It looks like this: a person touches the body or door of a car, the touch causes a discharge: a slight crackling sound is heard, and sparks are visible in the dark.

Some people experience electrical impulses more often than others. This is due to increased electrical conductivity. Each person has his own.

There are times when the machine does not shock with static current, but with electrical discharges. The reason for this phenomenon is a malfunction of the vehicle. The insulation of the electrical wiring is broken: the wires rub against the body. In this case, the car will constantly shock and not only individual passengers, as with a static discharge.

Static charges are no joke: they pose a serious threat to human life. If a discharge occurs near the fuel tank, gasoline vapors may ignite, causing the vehicle to catch fire.

The driver also feels uncomfortable when he is regularly shocked while driving. This makes it difficult to concentrate and greatly distracts you from traffic.

How to fix the situation

If the car is electrocuted, then you must:

Install special aluminum strips; sometimes graphite strips are recommended. These products are covered with rubber. The upper part is attached to the bottom of the car, and the lower part is in contact with the ground. A simple device reduces friction and prevents charges from accumulating on the machine body. Another option is to fasten the chain using the same principle. But this method is usually used by drivers of heavy vehicles;

Change the upholstery in the cabin. Covers sewn from synthetic fabric or wool will accumulate static voltage. Leather products can be used. If it is impossible to get rid of capes made from non-natural fabrics, then you should regularly spray them with antistatic agents;
Humidify the air in the car. Cleaning the interior with a wet cloth will partially solve the problem of dryness. The use of moisturizing aerosols is effective: the products create a pleasant smell and normalize the air.

Tips for passengers who are frequently electrocuted in a car

If the problem is persistent, then you should:

Wear underwear only made from natural fabrics;
Eliminate synthetics from your wardrobe;
Rinse clothes in a special conditioner;
Use antistatic sprays;
When leaving the car, before grasping the door handle, you should touch any metal object. Grounding will prevent electric shock.

It is impossible to ignore the fact that the car is electrocuted. This problem can be life-threatening for the driver and the passengers he is carrying. Statics can lead to a vehicle fire and provoke emergency situations.