Distributor shock!?

[BlackDynamite]

Ok a few days ago, before i went to work, i started the car and popped the hood(Holding it up because my shocks just went out) and was checking everything under the hood doing a quick check just for the heck of it.

Well i made sure the oil, radiator, etc. caps were on tight and went to make sure the the spark plug wires were on nice and tight and then......ZAAAPPPP.....

I get the baJesus shocked out of me, making both of my arms flinch hard into my chest and making me fall over and drop the hood....is this normal?:sarcasm:

Ps. The wires were on all the way and still got shocked

 

[jetjock]

Lot of voltage, very little current. We've all been there. You'll live...and it'll teach you to be more careful

 

[BlackDynamite]

Yeah, i just didnt think it would do that...none of my other cars have done that...

Well i mean, there was this cap that came on the car that went over the distributor....but i never put it back on.....doh....;]

Oh my dads an electrician and was laughing at me as i'm laying in the yard...he saw what happened through the window and said it looked like i got hit by a taser.....then i started laughing...

 

[cuel]

lol. Been there, done that. Adjusting distributors to set the timing. I wear rubber gloves, and make sure I'm not too close to the wires, now. Bet you won't check the wires with the car running again...

 

[MassSupra89]

Happened to an instructor of mine, grabbed a plug wire and went right through him... Just be glad you weren't leaning on the fender of a truck and were grounded via your crotch like him. Lol.

 

[BlackDynamite]

It happened to me once before but i thought it was a fluke and it only barely popped me....but you're right, i won't do that again....

 

[Jaguar_5]

Oh my dads an electrician and was laughing at me as i'm laying in the yard...he saw what happened through the window and said it looked like i got hit by a taser.....then i started laughing...

LMAO

lol. Been there, done that. Adjusting distributors to set the timing. I wear rubber gloves, and make sure I'm not too close to the wires, now. Bet you won't check the wires with the car running again...

I've done exactly that before, lesson learned! :biglaugh:
Wasn't enough of a zap to knock me over though lol

 

[cuel]

lol, bet it hurt, though...

 

[Figit090]

ah, haha...man thats funny.

the other day i was removing a sparkplug wire (testing for RK) and I realised just how readily the sparks will jump a good 2-3 inches. then thought *AHH shit! * and slipped it back on.

how much do rubber gloves actually help? and how thick, the white thin ones or the heavy-duty yellow ones?

I was just wondering because sparkplug wires are coated in rubber so...

 

[Jaguar_5]

lol, bet it hurt, though...

It definitely was not pleasant lol

 

[cuel]

I wear nitrile gloves at work anyway, to keep all the oil and crap off my hands. As far as keeping you from getting shocked, I don't know if they add enough insulation, and not gonna grab a wire to find out. Should make my hand a little less conductive, though. Electricity is kind of like water, in that it will take the path of least resistance. The wires are coated in rubber, but all it takes is a pin hole from someone grounding them out to test for spark, and you have enough to get bit.
Pulling the wire, on the other hand, lets the spark loose from the cap. I have a special pair of plastic plug wire pliers for pulling them. You can pull the wire up a few inches, and it'll still spark. Nice thick bolts of electricity, to, like miniature lightning.

 

[ValgeKotkas]

^Yeah, did that lightning bzzztbzzt Luckily didn't get bit, though mechanics beside me laughed at said to touch the wires with hands

 

[jetjock]

Ignition secondary voltage will rise to whatever it takes (within it's design limit) to jump the plug gap. That means when it's connected to the plug it only needs to go to around 15,000 volts to ionize the gas mixture. Once the plug fires voltage falls to about 5,000 for as long as the spark remains.

However, the system is capable of around 50,000 volts. Should you pull a wire off that's what it'll go to on the next firing and that's what you'll get hit with. The moral of this story is if you're going to mess with the ignition system do it with the plugs connected

 

[BlackDynamite]

It still zapped me enough to put me on my ass with the plugs on...lol...i might wanna check the rubber around the plugs...

 

[labrat469]

I was going to say something but forgot because I was laughing too hard. Been there done that, will never do that again

 

[st2b]

I was replacing the starter, hit the wrench from the pos to the ground, and my hand felt like shit for like 3 days.

Nothing that bad, I think the worst part was my friend's chest injury (Laughing too hard)

Apparently I couldn't stop making funny faces... Oh well.

 

[Rennat]

wrenches + battery + strut tower bar = good show

haha

although i've never really been "shocked"... just scared more.

 

[bigaaron]

If you don't touch a metal part on the car with your other hand or your body, you will not get shocked.

 

[st2b]

If you don't touch a metal part on the car with your other hand or your body, you will not get shocked.

You learn somehow, right?

 

[bigaaron]

Yeah, I got hit with the output from a MSD 6A with a "blaster" coil before, and you thought the stock coilpack was bad?!?!?!? :aigo: