Does anybody else get a pretty good shock when getting out of the van and closing the door. Both my wife and I receive this static shock when touching the door frame.
I've been getting shocked for over a year, and I find that the only way to eliminate it is to hold the metal part of the door as you're sliding across the seat to get out. This grounds you to the chassis and prevents you from building up static that would otherwise be discharged in the form of a shock. It's kind of difficult to do, but it works.
Hey you guys....stop rubbing your hair with that balloon!
You can actually buy some anti-static spray that you can spray in the seat. It works like magic. But it wears out after 3-4 entry/exit cycles. My theory (since the spray works) is that the static comes from sliding on the cloth seats. Never seems to be a problem in my leather-equipped cars.
- Darell
Designed to ensure you wake are awake upon exiting the vehicle!!
Is is very prevelant in the winter due to the low humidity (and nylon coats). Spray static guard on the seats - that seems to help. Or touch the key to some piece of metal prior to stepping out.
I had the problem on my '92 Mits Expo. Cartalk Brothers said that sometimes the tires caused the static spark, especially Michelins, if I recall. It indeed kept you alert getting out of the car, and I could never solve the problem. Had cloth, now have leather.
The shock you feel was designed by Honda to get you to be full alert when entering back into the real world.
This was installed early in 99 when it was found that the Odyssey was so safe and stable that drivers were lulled into a false sense of security.
Remember the anti-static cables that were available in the 50's and 60's? They'd hang down from the frame to the ground and were supposed to stop static buildup. Did they actually work?
Seems like Skybolt's Starcrest lumbar seat-thingie also alleviated this problem if I'm not mistaken. At like $19 its definitely worth a try; and hey; you get the lumbar support to boot!
Check out the 'aftermarket accessories' under 'inexpensive seat upgrade' for full details.
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by eslayter: Does anybody else get a pretty good shock when getting out of the van and closing the door. Both my wife and I receive this static shock when touching the door frame.</font>
I have come to believe that there are individual differences with this. That is, some folks get shocked more than others. Unfortunately, for me, I am one very electric guy. I get shocked getting out of a car in the winter, in the summer, and every day in between; in the rain, the snow, sun; at day and at night; in my Odyssey, my Maxima and every other car I drive; in shorts, jeans, on cloth and leather seats (see the trend here?). Sometimes, at night, I can even see the blue spark arc from my hand to the door and it's so loud that my 3 year old asks what that noise is. My wife, on the other hand, has never ever been shocked. She finds my special Hell highly amusing: I do not. I am considering driving a grounding rod into my body and permantly attaching wire from it to the chassis unless soemone has a better idea...
David
P.S. No, grounding myself with a key or holding onto a metal part of the door doesn't even help.
When I lived in the northeast and Canada I had a pretty severe problem with static shocks. At night I would also see the spark flying and hear the sound. It really hurt! On the other hand my wife did not suffer nearly as much. I would avoid being shocked by touching only the plastic part of the door or the window upon exit, but then would be shocked when I tried to open the metal door into the mall for example. I would literally wait by the door until someone opens it and sneak in.
Later I realized that the pain was caused by the static charge flowing through a small tip of my body. So I would hold a quarter with my fingers and touch it with the metal door. The spark would still fly but I no longer feel the pain.
I hope this helps those with a higher probability of spontaneous combustion.
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Maugham: Remember the anti-static cables that were available in the 50's and 60's? They'd hang down from the frame to the ground and were supposed to stop static buildup. Did they actually work? </font>
Those may help keep the car from exploding, but it won't defray the electron imballance between you and the car, I don't think. I remember those though. Never did figure out what they were really supposed to accomplish. Anybody?
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-= Darell =-
2002 Ody EXL-Nav (TW) ordered, and now maybe coming on November 2!
2001 Civic EX
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by darelldd: Those may help keep the car from exploding, but it won't defray the electron imballance between you and the car, I don't think. I remember those though. Never did figure out what they were really supposed to accomplish. Anybody?
They put the chain on big trucks carrying flammable substances so that the static charge buildup wouldn't trigger a spark and an explosion inside the container. That's what I thought.
I have a 2006 EX-L w/ RES, 92,000 miles.
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Odunlami Olusola · updated 
