2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Tired of getting shocked.

[Truckie]

THATS IT I'm tired of it. I am sick and tired of every time I drive my truck and I get out of it I get the $h*t shocked out of me. I know its static electricity, but how and why? Every time I touch the door to close it ZAP.

Do I need some type of a grounding strap?

Its to the point I don't want to drive the truck any more, and if I do I don't want to get out of it.

Its not just a little zap there are times other people have herd the zap and I mean man dose it hurt. :{

MIKE

 

[ToolManTimTaylor]

Gotta love "Sliding out" of your truck in dry low humidity weather. Come heat / humidity that should end. It's not the trucks fault.

 

[Bill Lins]

Happens here on the rare low- humidity day. I make sure to put my hand on a metal part of the truck (door frame, usually) BEFORE sliding out of the seat. This drains the static to ground before it can zap me.

 

[Fastang]

Put a dryer sheet in your jacket or pants pocket... You'll never get shocked again... .

 

[Brand-X]

A friend uses static guard just sprays the interior every now and then.

 

[**ICEMAN**]

use fabric softner when your clothes are washed,,or a dryer sheet when they are in the dryer.

 

[DOUGMartin]

I use dryer sheet all the time when i do the wash and I like Truckie still get zapped o well the humidaty will be here soon . If I had hair it would be all frizzy some times the way i get zaped.

 

[jeepit]

I just hang on to the metal skin of the door as I exit. It works.

 

[Woodenhead]

Hang on to the metal part of your truck key and touch some metal with that before grabbing the door. Still get the spark but no shock. I get zapped all the time too.



Mike

 

[BigPapa]

The worst I ever got it was getting out of our car. All I had on was a T-shirt (besides my pants of course!). It was at night and my wife saw the flash from the other side of the car. Anyway, the static arced from the top corner of the door to my nipple! OUCH!

 

[Joe G.]

When I'm in a dry place in the winter (NV for example) I don't touch any metal when I get out. Before I touch the ground I have hold of the plastic arm rest grip. Then I just slam the door with it by giving it a good pull and letting go so I don't touch any metal while I'm in contact with the ground. Easy to do and no shocking exits.

 

[Coalsmoke]

I do the exact same thing. Just give the handle a pull and get your arm out of the way before the door closes. If I have my hands full I'll use my knee as I'm almost always wearing jeans, the jeans cut the shock down a lot. Or, you could stand there and count to about three, which would give most people with average shoes and on most ground types enough time for almost all of the current to exit naturally, unless of course you have really good insulating sneakers.

 

[monkfarm]

Static grounding

We have a Kenworth T2000 that has major static problems, and My brother was waxing it at a truckstop when a grizzled old timer walked up, and told him all the trucks with fiberglass bodies have that major problem with static. The problem is that it makes the dirt stick to the body as well. So it gets dirty real fast. He had a W900 (fiberglass body as well) and when he gets home, he jumpers the truck (right at where the frame rail meets the hood latches) to a ground rod (pounded in the ground). He says it starts working after you do this 3 or 4 times. You loose the static electricity.

We just hooked the kenworth up to one a couple days ago while my brother is off, so I can't personally testify that this works. If it does, I will start hooking up the dodge, because I notice there is a problem with that too.

 

[tbrudder]

I believe the static buildup on the truck body is caused by the vehicle moving through the air. When humidity is low, it causes the vehicle to accumulate an electric charge--ever hear of St. Elmo's Fire, where balls of static electricity form at the top of ships' masts and airplanes' wings? Same thing. Airplanes have static wicks to dissipate it.



Anyway, your truck is moving through the air, building up an electrical charge, and the tires insulate it from the ground so it can't escape. Then you get out, touch the door with your feet on the ground, and (unless you have insulating shoes--I know my Doc Martens aren't... ) get zapped as the charge equalizes through you.



Solutions? Maybe hook a chain onto your axle housing, dragging the ground? That'll keep the electrical potential the same.



Of course, that still won't save you from building up your own electrical charge when you slide off the seat. Maybe keeping a hand on a body panel while you slide out would help...



--Ty

 

[tbrudder]

Oh, BTW--



As I recall, if you can actually feel a shock from static electricity, that's at least 5,000 volts. That's why people working on delicate electronics have those anti-static mats with grounding wrist straps--some of the parts in my facility will die from less than a 50V shock. You won't even feel it, but the part will be dead. Or even worse, it will test okay, but be weakened, then die out in the field. Real bi*ch trying to track that kind of thing down.



--Ty

 

[Singer]

I always touch the end of my key to the truck after exiting and before touching any of the metal. Seems to work.

 

[Truckie]

Well I see I'm not the only one here that has this problem.

Iv tried getting out of the truck and touching nothing and then the door to close it and then ZAP, Iv tried getting out with one hand on the door and still get the ZAP. I'm either going to try to find a grounding strap like the one I had on my GMC 5 star General, or do like (tbrudder) said to do. That is a piece of chain hanging from some part of the axle or frame rail. Which just reminds me that one of our pumpers and rescue truck have a few chains hanging down and I think this is for the same reason.

I'm still going to throw a drier sheet in the cab for the hell of it. Cant hurt any thing just make it smell nice.

MIKE

 

[fox]

I get the shock too and just use some static guard spray I keep in the truck.

this was posted here some time ago and someone said that when they replaced their Michelins it was gone.

I'm still running michelins are all of you ?

Now the real question, What tires don't shock??

 

[Coalsmoke]

plastic ones wouldn't shock. Good luck on milage though

 

[wcjp]

My wife's minivan is a consistent shock enviroment. My Dodge and Jeep rarely to never give any type of shock. I read somewhere at some point in time alot had to do with tires. The addition of silican to tires was the cause. As the new improved tires spin they actually create a difference of potential or electricity. The tires are no longer a true electrical isolation. I don't get shocked with my Les Scwab tires (Wild Country XTX). My Jeep is running Bias Swamper TSL's.