There is something strange about this. Its funny that its only the one door. That frame is all metal. In fact it should all be ONE circuit and it should be hooked to the ground on the 12V battery. It is on a NON hybrid anyway. Thats why you can jump start them by hooking one of the wires to the frame (so the spark is away from the battery just in case). In fact it must be here as well since you jump start the 12V on these with the same frame connection. Anyway, How is one door getting electrified and not the rest of the frame. Someone at the dealership needs to take a voltmeter and start probing around on that car.


He did say the key was in and on so the 330V system could be energized...
But the other side of it is that if its shorted to the frame somewhere why isnt' the whole frame electrically "hot"? It doesn't make much sense unless it IS static buildup, but I find it hard to discount the description of the shock too.

The tires that come on the 2006 are low rolling resistance tires.

 

I have been following this discussion with great interest but have been holding off more posts. Mr. pedropomo60, I'm sure this has been highly stressfull for you and understandably so. I'm sure you are a good head of the family, and are deeply concerned with their welfare and safety. That is evident by your comments. Lets review the facts:

As I understand the situation, your daugter opens the door, exits the vehicle and when she reaches for the door to close it, with both feet planted on the ground she gets a shock which she finds particularly alarming.

If she is only making contact with one hand on the door and two feet on the ground, then this has to be static discharge. She is completing the circuit from the car (the container of the charge) and mother earth. The tires prevent this discharge from taking place because they are good insulators, even better if they have the low rolling resistance design described in previous posts. If she only contacts the car with one hand then the only way she could be getting hit with the Escapes high voltage would be if one of the high voltage cables was dragging the ground.

Suggestion: Go around and open the door for her. It will teach both of your children what good maners mean and set her expectations for how to be treated by polite company. If this static discharge is more likely to travel through the passenger door you will get an opportunity to experience it yourself.

Suggestion: If you manage to get shocked then add a ground strap as has been suggested by more than one of the posts. Gasoline tankers once used them to prevent static discharges from causing them to explode when they arrived at their destination and made hose connections. Now they attach ground wires from the in ground tanks to the tankers when they arrive. This is necessary as the tanker builds up a static charge as the fuel flows out. A ground strap which drags the ground is continually discharging the static so it does no build up.

To Black John Flint: The fire extinguisher analogy doesen't explain what happens in an Escape because the brake system is closed. The fire extinguisher is not. It discharges it's contents (CO2) out to the air just as storm clouds discharge rain and build up charges which generate lightning.

Suggestion: Ask the dealer to look at all of the high voltage wiring, easily checked since it is wrapped in orange insulation. They can check for possible short circuits to the body. Don't forget though that the high voltage wiring is used for both sides of the circuit, power and ground. It does not ground through the car body like the 12 volt system. You would have to have a short circuit to both sides of the circuit.


Good luck and I hope this works out for you.

 

good reply, z1.

Pedro, one thing I have not seen, though I may have missed it while scanning (sorry if I am asking redundant stuff)- has anyone else tried to replicate the problem? That is, have you or anyone sat in the passenger seat and gotten out in the exact same manner? You said Ford couldn't replicate it- have you? Process of elimination 101 sort of requires this, though I understand your hesitation to drive the vehicle or perform this experiment (and its not even in your posession at this point?) Its very hard for even an expert tech to figure out a problem that is a) sporadic b) occurs only with one person in a specific situation c) cannot be replicated. I am NOT doubting your daughter's claims; however I can say with fair certainty that Ford wil NEVER solve your mystery without the ability to replicate the problem. Nobody can. Ever.

As an EE, I lean strongly towards an explanation of a particularly nasty case of static. I used to be a helicopter refueling crewman- hotpumping when the rotors are turning generates a massive amount of static, and I've had shipmates knocked out cold by it when the groundstrap wasn't connected properly, and followup cardiograms (required after electrical shocks in the navy) do show differences. Static shocks normally feel like the ones we're used to from doorknobs, etc, but a larger charge buildup from a car, discharging more slowly because of resistances in paint, etc, can feel like live current for a moment as it takes longer to discharge through a suboptimal path.

For peace of mind, I recommend, as z1 did, that the HV system be checked- with you present, for peace of mind. You can personally check for unintentional grounds/connectivity to the vehicle, and if the system is properly isolated per the meter, then that's that- the test equipment doesn't know how to lie. The service manual should have minimum resistance values for 'proper' isolation- have them show you, and then compare it to the meter as they perform the check.

Truly- if the HV system is properly isolated (and the 12V properly grounded to the chasis), then the issue is NOT electrocution from a live energy source. Several electrical engineers have all provided the same advice at this point- nobody is trying to cover up anything.

I hope for your peace of mind, that you are able to find a satisfactory explanation.

 

I don't have any solutions, but there is no way.... NO WAY that one door could be "hot" and nothing else. NO WAY.

Wheather static, 12v, or 330v, the car body is all one united piece of metal.
Whatever is on the passenger side, is on the driver side, and is on the tailgate and hood.

There is a 99.99% chance this is static electricity.
Someone should tell the cardiologist that lightning is STATIC ELECTRICTY.
Static electricity refers to the source, not the strength.
While we haven't solved the mystery, at least we are all learning SOMEthing!

Good luck.
-John

P.S. No one has mentioned a shorted spark plug or coil-on-plug in this case.
There's 1000 volts right there, and could be intermittant. What else on this car has capacitance?

 

I didn't want to touch on this subject, because I'm no electrician, but you've summed up my thoughts rather well. It seems to be the only rational explaination, IMHO. I know it's of little comfort or use, but that's all I've got.

 

Isn't there part of the lemon law that says they have a certain amount of time to fix a problem? Ask them for a new vehicle.

 

Does your daughter show any evidence of a burn on her skin from the shocks? If not, could she have a problem with a nerve in her arm? That could, when the arm is twisted just so in closing the passenger door, possibly create a neurological symptom that might persist a bit.

I don't think your dealer will do anything. You should either trade the car in to them, or put a ground strap on it, static-guard the seats, and see if the problem is solved.

Did these shocks occur in a dry climate?

 

I hate to say it, but it's VERY highly unlikely that the secondary ignition system could be a factor. Anyone that knows anything at all about automotive ignition systems would immediately point out that for almost a hundred years now, they almost all ground through the engine/chassis/body. So a short to ground is normal. Note that there's only one high tension lead (whether it's coil-on-plug or conventional ignition) and that the spark plug itself is grounded through the engine/chassis. In fact on older vehicles (I don't know whether or not it's true with later technology ignition systems) the ignition system actually has a positive ground even through the rest of the 12V system is negatively grounded! How's that for adding confusion to the topic??

 

FYI today we (In NE Colorado) had very hot, dry, windy weather.
( Humidity was 15% )

I pulled into my garage tonite, and it was dark, because my automatic light bulb was burnt out.

When I got out of the car, I touched the driver door, and I was wearing leather shoes, not rubber, if that matters ( much ).

There was a BIG BLUE SPARK that was impressive enough to light up my garage kind of like a small camera flash. And yes, it hurt and scared the *ell out of me!
The tingle went away in less than a minute.

I can't speak for anyone else, but it is probably true that some people are more suseptible to pain and/or electric shock, and what I felt could have been more dramatic and lasting for them ( and I thought it was plenty dramatic myself ).

-John

 

Interested in a FEH but reading about this hazard, not to sure about the vehicle. I have a 7 month old daughter and wouldn't want her to be in any danger. Does the shocks only happen in the 2005 models?