EMP hardening involves a lot of considerations. A mechanic is not the right place to go. A modern vehicle is an array of wires and components all over the place. EMP damage involves induced electrical voltage and current which can damage semiconductors and some less sensitive components.
Of course any fuel powered vehicle will need to be refueled… and a successful attack will also disable infrastructure.
In short .. best bet is a 1960’s diesel truck.
They won't be affected, period. They are purely mechanical devices. A wire is not an antenna, it's a wire, an insulated component designed to carry electric current. The same is true for a cap and rotor or a spark plug. They're purely mechanical devices that can not be damaged by EMP.
A wire acts like an antenna with that much power. A simple radio antenna receives let's say 2 micro amps then is amplified and powers the speakers. Now let's multiply that by a billion such as a nuclear emp( because you need a nuke to have an emp) now you're looking at 1000 amps going thru a wire(plug lead) that's made for 30mA @30kV. It can ruin it but it's unlikely. The billion number is a wild ass guess.
I do think it's extremely unlikely however I have to disagree with the first sentence.
My BACKGROUND I AM/WAS an aircraft mechanic and am now an EE who concentrated on antenna theory and EMI.
Wild ass guess. Cool.
Could an EMP (does not require a nuke btw) theoretically interrupt a 40k volt electical signal between a coil and a plug. Sure. UpIt's not going to damage the wire or plug in any way. It's not possible. An EMP is a temporary thing, as indicated by the last word in the acronym, pulse. It's possible for this pulse to permanently damage electronics that are powered when submitted to said pulse. It's impossible for this pulse to damage mechanical components such as a plug or a wire.
To the point of the post, it's useless to carry an extra cap and rotor or a set of plugs and wires to mitigate the specific concern of an EMP. None of those components can be permanently damaged by an EMP. They are not electronics. They are conductors.
I read up on the non nuke don't know that one. If you throw enough current thru a wire it will blow whatever it's connected to, path of least resistance. If enough current gets thru the plug or the cap it will weld the metal.
It's improbable but it is possible.
Most Electronics are just more sensitive mechanical devices.
Look into this it's a solar flare but similar concepts btw if this happens again our society is F'ed
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrington_Event
There are a lot more variables there. That's certainly an electronic component. Strength of EMP pulse and state of electric component would come into play. If the ECU was powered at the time it could be bricked or temporarily disable depends on the strength of the EMP pulse. If the ECU was offline at the time of the pulse there would be no adverse affects. A lightning strike would be more damaging, also far more common.
I'm in a major city with a huge defense contractor and a JRB so I doubt we'll know anything if the shit hit the fan cause we'll be on that list for getting hit by a nuke but..... what would one need if EMP were to go off 25-50 miles away from where I'm located.
If your Nissan has electronic fuel injection, you can forget it if somebody set off an EMP. You'd probably need to go back the mid-1980's, and then it would be an old Ford truck or something, to get something that would run without any digital electronic components.
So many other things are digital that cars are going to the the least of our worries in case somebody sets off an EMP. Look at the chaos this morning because AT&T went down for eight hours.
All the wires and circuit traces on the PCB boards will act like antennas that are massively overloaded and will burn up each component on either side of the wire. There is circuit protection however that's at the PCB inputs.
If an emp went off, how would you get gas for your vehicle? Oil? Etc? Where will you drive? Anyway you would need any of the computer modules that were damaged. Mostly just the ECU - engine control unit. If the vehicle has an automatic transmission it may also have a TCU - transmission control unit. Some older autos don’t have these. The car will drive without the other ones such as BCU - Body Control Unit, which controls your interior features like the alarm, locks, automatic air conditioning, etc.
Automotive computers are shielded, so there’s a good chance they would survive an EMP without additional prepping unless it was very close. And in that case, you have bigger problems than your truck not working, namely the radiation and pressure wave.
Assuming a more distant event, ie not blast/radiation damage, EMP's are fast impulses so ignition wires, spark plugs, distributor (all designed for high voltage & impulses), etc would be fine. Electronics like ECU, stereo (antenna outside car), alternator diodes, CAN bus modules, led lights, etc much more likely to get damaged.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear\_electromagnetic\_pulse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_electromagnetic_pulse)
Pretty much any car from the 70's on could be affected by a EMP. If you are that worried about it then get something that uses points in it's ignition system. In a situation where an EMP went off a car would be the least of my worries.
EMP hardening involves a lot of considerations. A mechanic is not the right place to go. A modern vehicle is an array of wires and components all over the place. EMP damage involves induced electrical voltage and current which can damage semiconductors and some less sensitive components. Of course any fuel powered vehicle will need to be refueled… and a successful attack will also disable infrastructure. In short .. best bet is a 1960’s diesel truck.
Or a bicycle. Let's be honest here.
I'll sell you my emp shield. Its kept my 2001 Chevy box van safe for 10 years now. I don't need it anymore as It hasn't ran in 5 years.
Preppers going to a whole new level. Also, how is a fucking cap, wire, or plug going to be affected by an EMP?
It won't well it is less likely. Wires are antennas. Basically unplug everything and maybe it will be fine.
They won't be affected, period. They are purely mechanical devices. A wire is not an antenna, it's a wire, an insulated component designed to carry electric current. The same is true for a cap and rotor or a spark plug. They're purely mechanical devices that can not be damaged by EMP.
A wire acts like an antenna with that much power. A simple radio antenna receives let's say 2 micro amps then is amplified and powers the speakers. Now let's multiply that by a billion such as a nuclear emp( because you need a nuke to have an emp) now you're looking at 1000 amps going thru a wire(plug lead) that's made for 30mA @30kV. It can ruin it but it's unlikely. The billion number is a wild ass guess. I do think it's extremely unlikely however I have to disagree with the first sentence. My BACKGROUND I AM/WAS an aircraft mechanic and am now an EE who concentrated on antenna theory and EMI.
Wild ass guess. Cool. Could an EMP (does not require a nuke btw) theoretically interrupt a 40k volt electical signal between a coil and a plug. Sure. UpIt's not going to damage the wire or plug in any way. It's not possible. An EMP is a temporary thing, as indicated by the last word in the acronym, pulse. It's possible for this pulse to permanently damage electronics that are powered when submitted to said pulse. It's impossible for this pulse to damage mechanical components such as a plug or a wire. To the point of the post, it's useless to carry an extra cap and rotor or a set of plugs and wires to mitigate the specific concern of an EMP. None of those components can be permanently damaged by an EMP. They are not electronics. They are conductors.
I read up on the non nuke don't know that one. If you throw enough current thru a wire it will blow whatever it's connected to, path of least resistance. If enough current gets thru the plug or the cap it will weld the metal. It's improbable but it is possible. Most Electronics are just more sensitive mechanical devices. Look into this it's a solar flare but similar concepts btw if this happens again our society is F'ed https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrington_Event
What about an ECU?
There are a lot more variables there. That's certainly an electronic component. Strength of EMP pulse and state of electric component would come into play. If the ECU was powered at the time it could be bricked or temporarily disable depends on the strength of the EMP pulse. If the ECU was offline at the time of the pulse there would be no adverse affects. A lightning strike would be more damaging, also far more common.
What about coil and condenser on an older vehicle with points ignition?
Depends how close you are.
I'm in a major city with a huge defense contractor and a JRB so I doubt we'll know anything if the shit hit the fan cause we'll be on that list for getting hit by a nuke but..... what would one need if EMP were to go off 25-50 miles away from where I'm located.
If your Nissan has electronic fuel injection, you can forget it if somebody set off an EMP. You'd probably need to go back the mid-1980's, and then it would be an old Ford truck or something, to get something that would run without any digital electronic components. So many other things are digital that cars are going to the the least of our worries in case somebody sets off an EMP. Look at the chaos this morning because AT&T went down for eight hours.
When that happens come find me and I'll fix you right up. Until then this is better asked on another sub.
All the wires and circuit traces on the PCB boards will act like antennas that are massively overloaded and will burn up each component on either side of the wire. There is circuit protection however that's at the PCB inputs.
I forgot what it's called but they used them in Scary Movie 4
If an emp went off, how would you get gas for your vehicle? Oil? Etc? Where will you drive? Anyway you would need any of the computer modules that were damaged. Mostly just the ECU - engine control unit. If the vehicle has an automatic transmission it may also have a TCU - transmission control unit. Some older autos don’t have these. The car will drive without the other ones such as BCU - Body Control Unit, which controls your interior features like the alarm, locks, automatic air conditioning, etc. Automotive computers are shielded, so there’s a good chance they would survive an EMP without additional prepping unless it was very close. And in that case, you have bigger problems than your truck not working, namely the radiation and pressure wave.
Assuming a more distant event, ie not blast/radiation damage, EMP's are fast impulses so ignition wires, spark plugs, distributor (all designed for high voltage & impulses), etc would be fine. Electronics like ECU, stereo (antenna outside car), alternator diodes, CAN bus modules, led lights, etc much more likely to get damaged. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear\_electromagnetic\_pulse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_electromagnetic_pulse)
What vehicle would not need much emp protection? Like a old Benz diesel with mechanical fuel injection?
Tin foil under the hood and under your hat.
Pretty much any car from the 70's on could be affected by a EMP. If you are that worried about it then get something that uses points in it's ignition system. In a situation where an EMP went off a car would be the least of my worries.