So I am putting a brand new interior into my 86. (new carpet, everything else has been refurbed).

The previous owner used some sort of foil based sound deadner. You can see pictures of it as it sits in this post here.

i had the battery connected to test the different switches and I was getting electrocuted while standing in the driver side wheel well on top of the dynomat stuff.

The antenna motor is whirring away. Its broken and it runs constantly (am replacing with an amplified hidden antenna).

So is what I am feeling the grounding to the frame of the car, and i get electricity coming throught the seat base bolts, into the foil, and into my barefeet?


The reason I am having concerns is that the aluminum rails on my driver side seat base were completely corroded and eaten away, in what could only be galvanic corrosion i would think. on all 4 holes, they were all enlarged to over the size of a quarter. could the electricity that i just picked up in my floor have been causing that aluminum to corrode around all 4 seat base mount studs???

to sum up:
standing in driver foot well, carpet uninstalled, on top of foil sound deadner, with antenna motor whirring away, and my feet were getting zapped.

thoughts guys? i did search it but the circumstance is a bit unusual and I did not get a single hit!

 

this is an odd problem to say the least - ??? - i'd start by pulling fuses - one by one. start with the fuse in the power seats circuit -

 

Just a quick correction to your post. You were getting shocked, not electrocuted. Electrocution is getting shocked to death. Presumably you're still with us.

 

LOL. Thanks Dorri. Alive and well!


I am thinking that it had someting to do with the orange power seat hot lines that were sitting in the floor boards where I was standing.

Havn't tried to recreate it yet.

 

Are the power seat terminal ends touching the dynamat?

 

Were you using any plug-in power tools or lights? 12 volts should not be enough to perceive through unbroken skin.

Steve

 

dont think so. not the metal contacts. the plastic lrts were yes.

the car was in "on" position but engine had. ot been started. the antenna motor was going constantly and the radio and the hvac was operating. i had no tools in my hand.

just for clarity, i wasnt being zap zap zapped. it was tingling like there was current through my feet.

like if yoh have ever been to the physiotherapist and they lut the tens machine on you and run some current through your body.

 

12 volts is usually not enough to shock you even when you connect your hand to both terminals. The only way it will shock you is if you are very sweaty and touch it while salty wet. After having my drivers seat removed it makes sense to check the seat power connections. Look for anything that could be inducing the voltage. How does the aluminum sound deadner get charged enough for you to feel it? If you had shoes on it makes it even worse because most soles on shoes are enough to isolate your body.
Kind of like when my son came out and admired my new electric fence, I had shoes on and he did not. I reached out and held onto the wire, I felt a mild tingle, my son put his hand on my shoulder and it nailed him really hard.

Follow the earlier advice about pulling fuses. Be methodical and take your time. You might want to put a voltmeter between the aluminum material and the ground of the car. if you can measure the voltage it would help solving the mystery.
Maybe the installer put it up so high under the dash that he is shorting something out. There are many sources to pick up the 12 volts up there in the dash.

I am a battery specialist and this is the first time I have heard anything like this.
I was in Abu Dhabi building a Photo-voltaic power system and one day I sat on a 12 volt starter battery (for the generator) and my whole body was dripping with sweat (124 deg F) and it lit my *** up, almost literally. It sure got my attention so it is possible to get shocked by 12 volts despite what people tell you.

Make sure that you don't have anything with 120 Vac hooked up to the car. You might also check the output terminal of the alternator. With the engine running check it for Volts dc and then check it again to be sure that your diode bridge isn't damaged by using a multimeter and test the alternator for AC voltage coming out of it. If there is AC coming out your alternator, it is bad.

 

 

Just to add a bit more, it there was a floating ground, or to say it different, 2 (or more) different grounds in the car instead of 1 common ground. You can then get current flow in all kinds of directions like ground to ground, or any potential to any ground. Just something to think about, (don’t know if this was indicated already but did not see it).

Could be caused by corrosion at ground chassis points or possibly the antenna ground point is not at chassis potential even though it has power and runs.

 

this was what i was thinking. lots of rust on this car.

thinking something to do with rusty grounds???


im not good with electronics yet. is this similar to what you were saying?

 

Yes