On Tue, 22 Jul 1997, Bob Sykes <s1500@worldnet.att.net wrote:
>
> Hi Kevin, you wrote:
>
> > 2. The car has overdrive, if I switch it on while holding the metal part of
> > the shift knob, I get a strong electric shock. Somehow this does not seem
> > quite right. ;-)
>
> Could it be that the shock actually happens when you turn the OD off?
> If the wire leading from the OD switch to the solenoid is "pinched"
> somewhere in the gearshift lever/knob assy. you can get a good jolt.
>
> Normally you cannot feel a 12V shock, but the inductive kick of a coil
> (OD solenoid) turning off can generate a much higher voltage. I have a
> friend (fellow list member) who had just this problem. If you rested
> your
> (other) arm on the drivers door while switching off the OD, it gave you
> a noticable zap. One quickly learned not to do this.
>
> I see you have received good answers to all your other questions.
>
> - --
> Bob "conditioned response" Sykes
> '78 Spitfires
>
Uh, the anonymous list member referred to above is me. As Bob wrote,
turning off the OD, accompanied by the resulting shock, was a real
attention-getter. (Bob's "noticeable zap" comment is a great
understatement. It actually shocked the h*** out of me!) I not only
learned not to do this but to fix it quick, too. Getting zapped at
speed while negotiating a twisty road caused me to lose concentration,
for some strange reason.
I found the insulation of the leads from the OD solenoid to the
switch were compromised at the point where they exit the bottom of the
gearshift lever. This provided a path directly to the lever and my hand,
with the discharge path being completed by my arm resting on the top
of the door. Perhaps the last digit of my commision number signifies
Ouch!
D.
'78 Spit
FM90204UO
--
dee_jackson@gilbarco.com
Greensboro, NC
voice 910-547-5007
fax 910-547-5234
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