Every time I or my passenger exit the MCS we get shocked (sometimes I get a few little zaps). I had this problem with my VW NB (seemed to begin after I put in aftermarket alpine HU, subwoofer, amp and cd changer). I've done nothing to the electrical/entertainment system in the MCS, expect the blitzsafe connection for the ipod.

Anyone have any solutions?

 

Static has absolutely nothing to do with electronics in the car. It is caused by sliding your butt over the upholstery which causes triboelectric charging of your body. The voltage generated can be tens of thousands of volts. The charge buildup is discharged when you touch a conductive surface on the car. Some upholstery fabrics are worse than others. I had a Celica that shocked me nearly every time I got out. I solved the problem by holding the roof with one hand as I was exiting the car.

 

Rubber Gloves?

I looked behind me, and you were not there.......

So I am assuming you may be in a wintery dry climate. If that is the case, could just be the lack of humidity in the air. Or

also, check your wiring and esp the ground wire for the recent application. If you have any after market wiring through firewall check that as well. Chaffing of insulation on wiring will have same effect.



Hope this helps.

 

ah- interesting point - I have the cheap mini fabric seats (similar to the VW) - other previous cars had leather or alcantra and no zapping!

 

west coast, so definitely low humidity and dry but not much in the way of wintery temps.

 

You know, now that you say it, I have this happen to me all the time as I touch my hand to the handle when closing the door. I too have the cloth seats.

 

This thread made me lol because this has also been happening to me recently. Every time i get out of the car and toutch the door to close it I get zapped, but I just figured it was because I've been wearing sweatshirts due to the cold and they were causing the extra static

 

If you touch something metal in the car as you exit, like the shifter-shaft (if you can), or door thresh-hold, you'll ground yourself and dissipate the charge.

 

Possible remedy to try....

Static Guard in a spray can. Spray carpeted floor mats in area of your feet.

Rubber Floor Mats - Self explanitory...... and IF that doesn't work....

* and Contrary to a previous post.....Yes a bad ground CAN also cause this phenomena, just ask any genuine mechanic. Every vehicle needs a minimum of 3 grounds which always are covered at the factory...the 3 grounds are:

1) Battery to engine/trans
2) Engine to chassis
3) Chassis to body

You can do better than the factory by adding additional grounds, and ground straps are CHEAP. Add additional body grounds...Body to battery,body to engine/trans,and body to chassis.That should stop the static shock.

And it wouldn't hurt to check the ground of the dome light switch mounted in MINI door frame either.

 

I saw something about this in mythbusters if you have underwear that can make static like leopard stuff, it makes static, The point of the experiment in the program was that, that static if you are pumping gas and you touch the metal side the gasoline will turn on fire :s.

sorry if you didnt understand me lol

 

This used to happen to me all the time in the JB/W(see gallery) MCS I used to have with cloth seats...doesn't happen at all in my DS/DS with leatherette.

 

gRay hit the nail on the head...it's largely a seasonal phenomena.

Ambient air can be quite electrically conductive or only very slightly conductive depending on the amount of water vapor in the air (i.e., humidity) due to the hydrogen bonding of the water molecules. If there is high humidity like during the summer months, the air's permittivity (it's lack of electrical resistance) is high, allowing static charges to "bleed off" via the water vapor to oppositely charged surfaces.

In winter when the the air is cold, the air is not as conductive because of the lack of water vapor (air at 0C can only hold about 0.002 grams of water vapor per gram of dry air at sea level, while at 25C it can hold about 0.02 grams -- a factor of 10 more) and so static charges are not able to bleed off and stay on the surfaces where they accumulate, e.g., your clothes and skin. You become a good capacitor (you hold the charge well) and you get a shock when you touch something with a different level of static charge. I've come to realize that one of my winter jackets with a fleece outer layer, after rubbing against my Wet Okole seat covers, makes a damn fine capacitor if I don't keep a hand on the car body as I exit the cabin.

People who work on electronic circuit boards have to be really careful in winter climes. A small static discharge, even too small to feel, can destroy an expensive integrated circuit.

(sorry, I make a living doing weather geek stuff)

 

I have cloth seats and while it doesn't burn up my legs or skin in the summer, it sucks because I always get shocked!!

 

This is just one more reason to love soft & smooth, well conditioned leather.

 

Bah! Every genuine mechanic knows the cause of static shocks is an improperly grounded Johnson Rod.

 

Yep. The type of shoes you wear can make a big difference too as some sole materials are more conductive than others. I used to wear a pair of shoes that had rubber soles and the static charge that I would build up by sliding out of my chair at work was BRUTAL. I would use my keys to touch the doorknob and the discharge was so powerful it would make the muscles in my arm twitch.

 

I have rubber floor mats and cloth seats and I get shocked often, so I don't think the rubber mats help.

 

All you have to do is make sure you're touching a metal part of the car before your feet hit the ground. Works like a charm.

 

my civic shocks the daylights out of me, but the mini is leather so no problems at all