early this morning I was awakened by a particulary bad lightningstorm, when it was almost over there was a strike out in the courtyard of the apartment building... when we (my girlfriend and i) got up and started to goto work she noticed that the remote entry system on her VW golf wasn't working... after a small investigation, we found the tree she was parked next to had a sprial stripe of bark missing than about six feet or so above the ground a small exit wound. it seems that the strike hit the tree and arced to the car antenna.the car is pretty much dead. the lights try to come on but there is nodigital display nor will the engine make much of an attempt to turn over. i was wondering if anyone has had this happen or knows somebody that it happened to and was the car brought back from the dead? frankly this one is amazing to me, I just can't believe it!
lightning strike???
- Thread starter cilyjr
- Start date
i remember that episode. i'm shocked to hear that. even a direct hit shouldn't do anything since the rubber from the tires should neutralize it or something like that. the charge has to where to go so it disperses.
i'm no science major or anything but that's what i recollect from watchin the tube.
i'm no science major or anything but that's what i recollect from watchin the tube.
battery, fuses, and anything visible all fine... it was towed to the VW dealer (where she used to be a manager so we trust them) but thew won't look at until monday i guess....
full coverage 200 deductable....they say it "probably" is covered under the other than accident clause
full coverage 200 deductable....they say it "probably" is covered under the other than accident clause
- :
- Protege5 2003
cilyjr said:
I saw a TV show once where they drove a car around a bunch of huge Van de Graaff generators to simulate lightning strikes. Before doing so they hung a chain from the frame so the current wouldn't burn the tires AND removed the antenna. I think you may be about to find out why they took off the antenna.
Anyway, if the lightning really did hit the antenna then it could be bad news since that would have allowed a discharge path through part of the car's wiring, arcing who knows where to the ground, to the body, and then out from there to the dirt.
Lightning can indeed fry your car. The whole "tires keep it insulated" thing isn't true. Think about it: When people get hit who are wearing tennis shoes (pretty much the same as tires) they get fried. I saw a thing on Discovery or the news once where a lady in a new VW bug had her car hit by a bolt during a storm and it fried everything electronic in the vehicle.
AbsoluteSwed
Member
- :
- Protege 5
Correct, rubber doesn't do anything. It is the metal exterior of the car that keeps you safe if you are in it. Good luck with the insurance agency if that path is needed.
- :
- Completely Stock P5
Subby... Interested to hear what comes of this.
i can post some of the tree maybe tomarrow...it's not that impressive, but the one thing thats cool isthe stripped bark that sprials down tree. i thought it was cool it turns out (as we've been looking around on line) lightning always sprials down trees in the same direction! the car doesn't appear to have any damage to it. not counting the fact it doesn't work. it has been at the dealer all weekend they won't look at it until monday.... i also saw online that often after a lightning strike that often all four tires go flat after a day or so because of hundreds of micro exit holes the strike makes... the other interesting fact we learned is 3%-5% of all insurance claims are lightning related!!! keep the posts coming!!!
- :
- 03 Mazda PR5
wow that is really odd, keep updating i want to hear what happens.
zoomzoom02
Member
- :
- Protege ES
Thats nuts, at work our work truck was struck by lightning and it was fine other than quirky headlights and displays. Interested to see what comes of this.
I wanna know what happens too...since the car has been sitting there (at dealer) for 3 days now!!!!
Because of curiosity will now give the specific symptoms of the car ... (in order of how we noticed them)
the remote entry/security system down
1.)odo (in a VW displays 24/7) dead
2.)int lights dead
3.)headlights make half-hearted effort to come on
4.)car will try to crank but no elect going through glow plugs ( did i mention it was a desiel ((tdi))
5.)all fuses (that were checked including under the hood) are... good
6.)battery checked w/ volt meter... good
We will hear from the dealer ASAP as my girlfriend was the business manager there for several years (so service manager is a friend) and we trust them. So I will post their findings tomorrow night or Tuesday morning!!
Because of curiosity will now give the specific symptoms of the car ... (in order of how we noticed them)
the remote entry/security system down
1.)odo (in a VW displays 24/7) dead
2.)int lights dead
3.)headlights make half-hearted effort to come on
4.)car will try to crank but no elect going through glow plugs ( did i mention it was a desiel ((tdi))
5.)all fuses (that were checked including under the hood) are... good
6.)battery checked w/ volt meter... good
We will hear from the dealer ASAP as my girlfriend was the business manager there for several years (so service manager is a friend) and we trust them. So I will post their findings tomorrow night or Tuesday morning!!
