Just ordered an grounding strap for 99 Odyssey

Our 1999 Odyssey has been shocking the heck out of us all winter. We've had this vehicle for a few years now and I never remember it being this bad. I just ordered a "stop shock" grounding strap from eBay. I'm hoping this will help a lot. I called all the local auto- parts stores and not one of them carried this item.

Anyhow, have any of you had luck with grounding straps?

Mike

Reply to
Mike
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You might have more luck spraying the seat covers with a staticide, or by wearing a different pair of pants / jacket.

'Curly'

Reply to
motsco_

motsco_ wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com:

yes,the charge buildup is on YOU,not the car. I just brush my knuckle against the door frame.

Reply to
Jim Yanik

I agree, too. Drain straps were fairly common in the 60s to stop static popping in AM radios. I think carbon additives in tires mostly put a stop to that.

I've used antistatic sprays on the driver's seat before, and it helps for a day or two. I even got tired of brushing my knuckle against the latch, so I just live with the ZAP.

Mike

Reply to
Michael Pardee

"Michael Pardee" wrote in news:p9SdnX4YwYlsannYnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@sedona.net:

Carbon has been added to tires since about 1920. Carbon is what makes tires black. Absent carbon, tires are WHITE.

Carbon (soot) was added to automotive tires to prevent decomposition due to ultraviolet radiation. It had nothing at all to do with electricity.

Reply to
Tegger

try a new alternator belt from bando. anti-static.

Reply to
jim beam

Now you've got me curious - doesn't the alternator belt just run from one grounded pulley to another?

Reply to
Michael Pardee

that's what i'da thunk, but my 89 used to jolt me until i put on that belt. it's got "anti-static, oil & heat resistant" written on it - didn't order it specially. and i'm reporting the result!

Reply to
jim beam

Strange but true, I guess! Definitely worth a try.

Mike

Reply to
Michael Pardee

"Jim Yanik" wrote

Good plan - works every time. For me, the, uh, shock value is strictly SHOE dependent. I have one pair that just jolts the crap out of me when I get out of the car unless I hold onto the door jamb latch with my right hand's fingers as I exit the car. (There is no shock when I wear real leather dress shoes.) As long as I hold onto that latch when exiting, I receive no shocks whatsoever under any circumstances with any clothing in any season. I live in the desert southwest where it's really dry, and that dryness probably exacerbates the issue. So if that method works here, it should work anywhere.

Reply to
Howard Lester

"Howard Lester" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com:

I don't know why;leather soles insulate fairly well,and the static discharge is to the auto chassis,not to ground. Unless your leather soles are really damp(and electrically leaky). I wouldn't depend on that pair when working on anything electric.

That is because you drain off the charge -as it is generated- by your butt sliding across the seat. Now,with the insulating shoes,try to not touch the chassis and instead brush your knuckles against the ground and see if you still get a shock;I doubt you will.

Reply to
Jim Yanik

"Michael Pardee" wrote in news:p5-dnZszfuwcT3jYnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@sedona.net:

Static builds up on your body from sliding your butt across the fabric seat,as you exit. There's no way an alternator belt in the engine compartment would discharge your body charge.

Reply to
Jim Yanik

I got into the habit of holding the door frame as I touched the ground getting out of the vehicle.

No more sparky....

t

Jim Yanik wrote:

Reply to
loewent via CarKB.com

how is the alternator belt different from the belt in a van de graaff?

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Reply to
jim beam

If you want to fix the problem you will have to spend LOTS of money....... for new tires! This problem was noticed in the 90's when toll booth operators were getting zapped big time when getting tolls from drivers. It was blamed on the newer compounding that included more silica in the formula instead of just using cheap carbon black for filer.

Actually I hope the addition of just a strap solves your problem.

-SP

Mike wrote:

Reply to
Speedy Pete

jim beam wrote in news:O86dndK2eopM1HvYnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@speakeasy.net:

The belt in a Vandegraff generator rubs against a collector brush,inside the globe. Didn't you look at the diagram? Or read the text?

Also the support tube insulates the two pulleys from each other,unlike a engine block and metal brackets suporting the alternator.(and ground straps on the alternator and engine.)

you don't get a charge buildup rubbing an insulator against a metal object.It's strictly insulators/insulators.

BTW,I have actually held a VDG globe and had discharges from my toes right through my combat boots,in USAF PMEL tech school.They didn't insulate as well as the instructor thought they would.Didn't hurt,though.

Reply to
Jim Yanik

yes i have, thanks. the point you're missing is that there's friction between dissimilar materials, and that's how a van de graaff generator works. and whether you care to believe it or not, whether /i/ care to believe it or not, when i changed belt to this allegedly anti-static belt, a car that had previously zapped the heck out of me whenever i went near it, suddenly, magically, stopped. coincidence? try it yourself and /you/ decide.

not true - in the v.d.g., both the positive and negative collectors are conductors. it's dissimilar materials that cause this effect, not whether one is a metal.

Reply to
jim beam

"Jim Yanik" wrote

(There is no shock when I

I'm confused about the draining off the charge as I slide across the seat. I thought I was building up a charge when sliding across the seat. (These are

2004 Accord EX cloth seats. I have had the same issues with previous cars: '97 Civic and '91 Civic.) And yes, my point was that with the "insulating" shoes, I don't need to touch the chassis in order to prevent a shock, as there is none.

When you refer to "the ground," as in brushing my knuckles against the ground (which is how I normally walk) ;-) do you mean the concrete the car is sitting on? I suspect you do -- I'll try that today.

Reply to
Howard Lester

jim beam wrote in news:tZqdncCWV47S8HvYnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@speakeasy.net:

STATIC electric charges are generated between dissimilar INSULATORS,not a metal and an insulator.You can rub a wool cloth on a metal all day and not generate a charge of any significance.

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Static charge generation

The presence of surface charge imbalance means that the objects will exhibit attractive or repulsive forces. This surface charge imbalance, which leads to static electricity, can be generated by touching two differing surfaces together and then separating them due to the phenomena of contact electrification and the triboelectric effect. Rubbing two non- conductive objects generates a great amount of static electricity. This is not just the result of friction; two non-conductive surfaces can become charged by just being placed one on top of the other. Since most surfaces have a rough texture, it takes longer to achieve charging through contact than through rubbing. Rubbing objects together increases amount of adhesive contact between the two surfaces. Usually insulators, i.e., substances that do not conduct electricity, are good at both generating, and holding, a surface charge. Some examples of these substances are rubber, plastic, glass, and pith. Conductive objects only rarely generate charge imbalance except, for example, when a metal surface is impacted by solid or liquid nonconductors. The charge that is transferred during contact electrification is stored on the surface of each object. Static electric generators, devices which produce very high voltage at very low current (such as the Van de Graaf generator or Wimshurst machine) and used for classroom physics demonstrations, rely on this effect.

Reply to
Jim Yanik

"Howard Lester" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com:

When you hold onto the door frame and slide. When you aren't "grounded" is when your body builds up a significant charge.

Insulating shoes would RETAIN the body's charge,conducting shoes would drain it(if contacting a "ground");that's how an anti-static strap or shoe works in electronics repair(I'm an electronics tech),it has a resistor and connects to a earth ground to slowly drain off charges -as they are generated- by your clothes. They actually make shoes designed to drain static charges,you have to be on a conductive mat or surface.they make static draining floor coatings,too. I had to take a anti-static course every year as part of ISO9000 procedures for my company,wore anti-static lab coats,wrist AND heel straps,and tested every day to be sure they were working.I used to work on equipment sensitive enough to measure the charge generated when I moved just an arm or leg when ungrounded.

a reference;

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sit naked on the seat,and you won't build up a charge either.Skin itself is not a good static charge generator.Don't do it in public,though!! Then the police will charge you!

Reply to
Jim Yanik

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