Except for the fields from the permanent magnets in the MGs, you probably won't find anything in ig-on but stationary mode -- current has to be flowing through the wires for a magnetic field to be present. Even then, I doubt you'd find much of one (we have to work pretty hard to get a field of 80 G, I doubt a single pass of wire would do it, unless it got coiled somewhere). My understanding of TCH architecture is that the MGs are in the front, under the hood, so I also doubt they're the source of your field...

Many static field meters can give wildly erroneous readings when trying to measure time-changing fields (such as the RF from your blackberry); or, as SPL mentioned, it may be the very local field from the speaker magnet -- that field may be strong near the speaker, but should drop off to undetectable levels with a foot or so of separation.

At the hospital here, we have a "5 Gauss line" marked around the MRIs, which no one who has a pacemaker should cross. We estimate that that gives us about a factor of 10 for safety; I wonder if you should also note any magnetic fields higher than that while you're doing your survey (the valve _should_ require 80 G to activate, but it may be prudent to monitor anything above 8 G).

Some questions to consider: is the valve always affected the same way (i.e.: adjusted to full-open mode?). How does the magnetic switch work to control it? Is it an on/off toggle? Does it expect a certain pattern or duration to go to a certain position? Does the direction of the field matter?

 

Just wanted to post a follow up on the question of EM radiation on the hybrid. I obtained a Gauss meter from the manufacturer of the valve and thoroughly probed the Camry. As most of you suspected, the car showed no appreciable EM radiation, not even directly over the high voltage cables. So, I am off to other possibilities.

Thanks so much for all the advice....

Brian

 

There are other emitters to check -- Smart Key system, Bluetooth and nav display are all possibilities in the RF spectrum, but unlikely regarding EMF.

 

We have a magnetic key system to get into my work building and if I have the TCH key fob with me, it interferes with the building door lock (my cell phone does too), so I cannot carry them in the same pocket or both in my purse. So maybe the TCH key is the problem.