[TenTec] OT: automotive lightning hit

[Shawn Upton]

Engines can cost a few grand, more if imported.  Many of the sensors are "isolated" by whatever control unit they talk to--they do not always get power directly from the battery.  It's possible that if the control units have no damage, then the sensors might be fine.  If not, well, it's just another CEL to fix.

I'd have to wonder: if the insurance company doesn't buy outright, it's probably cheaper to just keep and fix whatever issues come up.  Would you ever buy a car that you knew was hit by lightening?  I probably wouldn't--even if it was deeply discounted.

Shawn Upton, KB1CKT


--- On Sun, 8/8/10, Al Gulseth <wb5jnc at centurytel.net> wrote:

> From: Al Gulseth <wb5jnc at centurytel.net>
> Subject: [TenTec] OT: automotive lightning hit
> To: tentec at contesting.com
> Date: Sunday, August 8, 2010, 7:02 PM
> Greetings Ten-Tec'ers,
> 
> As noted, this is "OT", but I thought I'd toss it out for
> comment since I am 
> sure that a good percentage of the readers of this
> reflector have dealt with 
> the effects of lightning on Ten-Tecs and other
> electronics.
> 
> Here's the situation: a friend of mine who works for a
> local automobile 
> dealership today told me that they had an '09 small import
> SUV that was 
> brought (towed) into their shop after suffering a lightning
> strike. While the 
> strike's exact path is needless to say an educated guess,
> according to my 
> friend it appeared to enter via the vehicle's nav system
> antenna, found its 
> way around inside, exited via the BC radio antenna across
> the body and/or 
> through the electrical system and to ground through the
> tire pressure 
> monitoring system and wheels. In the process, it took out
> the alternator and 
> instrument cluster and "powdered" (carboned?) the surface
> of the fusebox 
> (strangely, didn't blow any fuses.) It also burned a path
> across the rear 
> cargo area carpet (likely from wiring underneath.) Needless
> to say, there's a 
> strong suspicion that this isn't all that was damaged.
> 
> So, based on this description and any experience you may
> have had with 
> lightning vs. Ten-Tec rigs and/or other equipment, is there
> much (or 
> anything) left of the electronics in this vehicle? I told
> my friend that from 
> what I knew even if the vehicle were "fixed" it would
> probably be back 
> multiple times with aftereffects. His reply was that he
> suspected it might 
> wind up going to the salvage yard given the amount of parts
> and labor that 
> could be involved (e.g. it would probably be cheaper to
> replace the engine 
> with a used one than to check and replace all the sensors
> buried inside it.)
> 
> Any comments?
> 
> TNX/73, Al
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