# How old does a car have to be to still run after an Electromagnetic Pulse Bomb has been set off **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Created:** [October 10, 2009, 3:44pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/how-old-does-a-car-have-to-be-to-still-run-after-an-electromagnetic-pulse-bomb-has-been-set-off/37882 "2009-10-10T15:44:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gumbo319](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ee59a6/32.png) [@Gumbo319](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Gumbo319)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 3:44pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/how-old-does-a-car-have-to-be-to-still-run-after-an-electromagnetic-pulse-bomb-has-been-set-off/37882/1 "2009-10-10T15:44:57Z")
How old does a car, or truck, have to be to still run after an Electromagnetic Pulse Bomb has been set off? ---
**Author:** ![the\_same\_mountainbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@the\_same\_mountainbike](https://community.cartalk.com/u/the_same_mountainbike)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 3:46pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/how-old-does-a-car-have-to-be-to-still-run-after-an-electromagnetic-pulse-bomb-has-been-set-off/37882/2 "2009-10-10T15:46:43Z")
How big a bomb? How close? ---
**Author:** ![rockstar07](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@rockstar07](https://community.cartalk.com/u/rockstar07)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 3:53pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/how-old-does-a-car-have-to-be-to-still-run-after-an-electromagnetic-pulse-bomb-has-been-set-off/37882/3 "2009-10-10T15:53:37Z")
Why, what are you planning? ---
**Author:** ![budd2049](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/77aa72/32.png) [@budd2049](https://community.cartalk.com/u/budd2049)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 3:56pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/how-old-does-a-car-have-to-be-to-still-run-after-an-electromagnetic-pulse-bomb-has-been-set-off/37882/4 "2009-10-10T15:56:05Z")
If the battery is disconnected, any car will still run. EMP pulses only disable active electronic circuits that are powered; ones that don’t have juice running through them are not affected. To answer your question…I’d guess at least 20 years old. Maybe more. ---
**Author:** ![Docnick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Docnick](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Docnick)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 3:58pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/how-old-does-a-car-have-to-be-to-still-run-after-an-electromagnetic-pulse-bomb-has-been-set-off/37882/5 "2009-10-10T15:58:41Z")
You must have just finished reading Dan Brown’s latest thriller, “The Missing Symbol”, where the CIA has a powerful ray that “fries” the local internet relay station. Any normal radiation from industrial or commercial sources will not interfere with you car’s iginiton or electronincs. ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://community.cartalk.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 5:01pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/how-old-does-a-car-have-to-be-to-still-run-after-an-electromagnetic-pulse-bomb-has-been-set-off/37882/6 "2009-10-10T17:01:09Z")
It still has to have points instead of electronic ignition, so it needs to be pre 1973-1975 in most domestics and possibly a little later in some imports. ---
**Author:** ![Joseph\_E\_Meehan](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/joseph_e_meehan/32/21_2.png) [@Joseph\_E\_Meehan](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Joseph_E_Meehan)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/how-old-does-a-car-have-to-be-to-still-run-after-an-electromagnetic-pulse-bomb-has-been-set-off/37882/7 "2009-10-10T20:10:26Z")
If the battery is disconnected, any car will still run. EMP pulses only disable active electronic circuits that are powered I would not be all that sure. Disconnected would increase the resistance, but not eliminate it. ---
**Author:** ![Joseph\_E\_Meehan](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/joseph_e_meehan/32/21_2.png) [@Joseph\_E\_Meehan](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Joseph_E_Meehan)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 8:11pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/how-old-does-a-car-have-to-be-to-still-run-after-an-electromagnetic-pulse-bomb-has-been-set-off/37882/8 "2009-10-10T20:11:25Z")
If you are close enough for it to do the damage, you are close enough that it won’t be a problem for you. ---
**Author:** ![Whitey](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/whitey/32/24680_2.png) [@Whitey](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Whitey)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 8:53pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/how-old-does-a-car-have-to-be-to-still-run-after-an-electromagnetic-pulse-bomb-has-been-set-off/37882/9 "2009-10-10T20:53:57Z")
Why are you asking this question? Are you trying to decide what kind of car to keep at your bomb shelter in the mountains? Are you planning for Y3K?