Funny thing, I get electric shocks in my car while driving it or parked.
I took it to a mechanic who identified a defect in grounding - it goes to the metal body of the car.
He said that it would be easy to fix, howe ver the problem still persists.
The car feels like my private torture chamber now. Please help! 
Your car’s electrical system is 12V. You could only feel that in your mouth or an open wound.
I would suspect that your issue is static electricity which isn’t really related to electrical system grounding. It’s related to the clothes that you wear, the material the seats are made of, and the humidity level.
1 Like
Perhaps you selected the “tens” option when you bought the car and it is in the “on” position.
“He said it would be easy to fix.”
Did he fix it?
Please explain how, where, and under what circumstances you get shocked while driving.
I can understand a static shock, especially when exiting the car, but I’d really like to hear how you get shocked while driving.
And also please tell us the year of your Civic.
…and it can also be related to the brand/type/model of tires that are mounted on the wheels.
As much as I like Michelin tires overall, I have found that they make one more prone to static shock in the winter months.
Not if the OP is being shocked inside the car while driving.
I get electric shocks in my car while driving it or parked.
If the OP were getting shocked only getting in or out of the car, then tires would be a possible factor.
Thank you very much for your responses.
It’s a Honda Civic 2005. I bought it as new. The electric shocks started about a week ago.
I do not believe that it’s static electricity since I do not feel the shocks while exiting the car. Also, I have observed something interesting: the shocks are stronger and more frequent while on the freeway or close to high tension power lines.
I know close to nothing about cars. However, since this problem is so painful thus urgent, I did some research on the net. I found out that the metal body of the car is supposed to be grounded somehow to the negative polarity of the battery or, even better, the engine encasing.
Does this make sense?
If so, how do I reestablish that connection?
I get the shocks from the metal rodes and grids of the seats, the metal frame or any other substantial metal present in the car. Again, the shocks happen while driving or parked.
The negative of your battery is connected to the metal body of the car and the engine. I know this because if it were not, your car would not start and run.
Also, just before I start feeling the shocks I hear some faded clicks coming from the metal frame of the car.
And if you actually read the link you provided, you’ll see that it was a case of static electricity from the interaction of clothes and the driver’s seat material.
Are your seats heated, or have power seats?
Have someone remove your seat from the car.
Chances are the wiring for the electrical wiring is damaged, and is what is shocking you.
If you can find the electrical connector for the seat, you can unplug it, if you are the only driver of the car, to give you time to get it repaired.
BC.
Thank you, Bladercutter, I have thought of that myself as well.
I have removed the fuse for the heated seat to no avail though.
I have even ran a direct wire from the ignition to the negative polarity of the battery since the shocks seem a bit to serios to come from anywhere else.
The pain is so hard at times that my heart skips a bit or so.
It’s just getting worse and worse.
Does the car have to be running for you to get these shocks? Or will you get them just as easily with the car off?
I think that you might still have a grounding problem
So I am experiencing this same issue on a 2015 Volkswagen Jetta SE TSI and it’s not my C wires the main source is coming from the brake pedal and my battery started leaking yesterday really bad but over the last two days has progressively gotten worse and I drove in about 400 feet and parked in a parking lot I don’t think I want to drive it right now anymore because it’s for two days straight and my body still tingly so I’m assuming it’s a ground could my battery acid. cause it and if my sister cross the terminals when she jumped her card and didn’t tell me
Oh oh, I see a discussion of stray voltage from high power lines coming. Some farmers claim their cows are affected and sometimes voltage actually leeches into the ground from power sources. There have been cases of cars shutting off when near certain electronic equipment at airports, etc. but who knows. Remember those ground straps or chains trucks used to drag on the ground? That was to discharge static electricity so they wouldn’t blow their tanker truck up.
I hate to reply to an old discussion but I had to comment. This is happening to me too. It started with the battery. I would try to start it but had to wiggle the wires or hit it with something (pliers) to get it going. I know very little about cars, but I have driven a lot of junkers. The radio was acting strange and I kept feeling pain. Like i was being shocked. Muscle cramps and confusion after being in the car for awhile. Anything metal in the car would be tourturous to touch. And i would feel it after for awhile too. Any answers?
Suggest to not hit the battery with anything. The impact could break something inside & ruin it. Especially don’t hit the battery posts. Years ago as a student in night school auto shop I watched a fellow student hit their car’s battery post with a hammer to seat the connector, battery post disappeared inside the battery … lol …
As you might expect, other than when exiting/entering the vehicle, this is a very unusual symptom For the vast majority of people , to feel a shock the voltage has to be fairly high, 50 volts or more I’d guess. The only circuits in cars with voltages that high are
- specialty headlights (hundreds of volts)
- ignition system (thousand of volts)
- high power entertainment systems, stereos etc (usually 60 volts or less)
- electroluminescent displays (100 to 1000 volts)
So I suppose it’s possible a person could get shocked while riding in a car, for example from the ignition system, but it would require be an unusual combo of events, insulation break-down, exactly in the wrong place, etc…
I guess if I had that problem the common sense things to check
- Is the battery negative robustly connected to the metal frame of the car?
- Are all the exposed metal parts in the driver’s area connected with low resistance to the frame of the car?
- Anything looked frayed or damaged in the ignition system components, coils, spark plugs wires, etc ?
Suggest to post your question as a new topic @fiene.cl_180899 , you’ll get better results here.
I could only imagine a bad spark plug wire giving enough oomph to shack anyone. Open the hood at night and look for sparks or listen for clicking. Things can get weird. Like I am dealing with this old hose, leaks no matter what I do. Replaced the male end brass fitting, then leaking at the female end, new hose washer tightened up more than a toy drum at christmas, replaced the female end yesterday with new brass fitting and clamp, today go out and hose clamp broke, slid 3 feet down the hose and spraying. New hose clamp, now leaking at the hose connected to it! New hose washers, haunted hoses.
1 Like