So....
It's 0315 this morning and I'm working on the EFI install on the 912E..

We had a huge rash of bad thunderstorms roll through the area and I'm just waiting to see the lightning start popping to the ground since the radio had warned of serious cloud to ground lightning... But being the hard head I am and since I wanted to finish the FI install to get the 912 back on the road I kept splicing wires..

So... I am at the back of the 912 semi bent over hooking up the fast idle solenoid when out of the blue I hear a sharp pop, then a crack, then another pop and louder crack followed by a flash of bright white light and a numb feeling.... The first thing that crossed my mind was to jump into the engine bay of the car and get off the concrete floor and thats exactly what I did! Immediately following this I looked through the vents in the decklid toward the front of the car which was facing toward the back of the shop where the bay door was open and I saw a flash that appeared to come from under the car and go straight out the back door, but I never saw it hit anything..

So I just sat there in the engine bay for a while and then I sat down inside the car to gather my thoughts a bit then I went back to work thinking that I barely missed a big jolt.... Worked for about another hour and then crashed, but I felt fine.

Fastforward to this morning..

I wake up and I fell like I have had my ass beat by Schwarznegger or Mike Tyson...

As soon as I get out of the bed I know something is not right because it even took effort to open my eyes all the way, and then every muscle and joint in my body feels like it needs some serious lubrication or something.

So has anyone else ever had this happen to them before or anything close? I know I definately did not receive even one millionth of the juice that went out the back door of the shop but I don't understand why I didn't feel a literal shock, not even something like getting zapped by a plug wire..

I probably should go to the Dr. but I'm a hard headed SOB and don't want to go wait in line and smell the Dr's office. I doubt there is anything they could do anyway??? Right??

Weird thing is that we get zapped by lightning on top of this granite hill all the time, I normally lose computers ever summer and TVs as well but it doesn't seemed to have killed anything in the shop this time. I definaltely need to have the balancer recalibrated though, because it sounded like it bounced off the base of it the loudest since its 7,000 pounds of steel filled with concrete..

Its not fun for damn sure!

Heck I can't even think straight now, typing this took serious concentration!

OUCH!!!!

Jake,

A similar thing happened to my Mom (no car involved)....

Quit being hard headed and get a checkup.

NOW SOLDIER! On the double!

Ken

go to the hospital now!

this is not a joke. you have been electrocuted and need to be checked out by e.m.s

I work out in the field in all weather and we are trained in what happens whan you get struck by lightening. you have injuries and need to be treated.


GET TO MEDICAL HELP NOW

messix,
Thanks... I'll see how I feel in a bit then make a decision.. I do feel better than I did this morning.

Looks like I would have felt some kind of shock if I was electrocuted- wouldn't I?

I'm thinking that I leapt into the engine bay so fast I may have ran into a few things on the way in..

QUOTE (Jake Raby @ May 20 2005, 11:31 AM)

So has anyone else ever had this happen to them before or anything close?

ayupp. and some people think those "incidents" explain why i am the way i am ...

i had two similar encounters, one when i was around ten, the second in my later teens (dunno, 16 or 17 maybe) ...

really weird thing is, you don't hear thunder! it's just a really loud "ZAP" sounds and you feel the pressure wave going through the air, but no loud thunder at all ...
i guess when you're too close, the wavelength of the thunder sound is longer than your distance to the lightning, so you don't hear the sound ...

btw. felt kinda the same way you describe it, really beaten up the next morning.
other than that, i turned out fine (or so i think) ...

the pain will go away slowly, it's simply sore muscles all over your body.
try to move them all to help with the recovery ...

lightning is cool!
Andy

Andy, thats exactly what happened- I never did hear it.. Just the pop and crack of it bouncing around in the shop..

How long did yours last? a few days?

It can lead to things that show up later.

Get checked!

Ken

same thing happened to me.....take it easy for a while...your pain will eventually go away. I know this guy at western that actually had his hair turned white by lighting....i was dumb enough to ground myself to the jeep when lightening hit me. I got the blue spark a foot long jump outta my finger when lightening hit. Electrons travel at light speed, but sound only travels 700ft/sec or something lik ethat...thats whty you dont know it happened. It was a year ago and wierd things have happened to me. Actually i can't hardly sleep for more than 5 hours every day since then......

Just consider it a "free from Mother Nature" shock treatment, which we all know you needed anyway

Maybe I won't be quite so much of an asshole anymore then!!!! Nah, it would have taken the entire bolt of lightning to stop that!

QUOTE (Jake Raby @ May 20 2005, 11:59 AM)

Andy, thats exactly what happened- I never did hear it.. Just the pop and crack of it bouncing around in the shop.. How long did yours last? a few days?

yupp, couple of days ...
the electric shock makes all your muscles cramp and you get sore muscles all over your body ...

it'll get better after 2 days or so and you'll be back to normal in a week ...
Andy

PS: check for burn marks! have your wife check your back too. make sure you don't have burned skin anywhere ...

go get checked out !


i'm not trying to be an asshole here but this is very serious!

these other people might have been lucky, or have just survived the injuries they recieved. you could have things that you cant feel that are affected. get to the doctor or e-room now.

It might have been balled lighting. It travels horizontally across the ground. It can come thru open doors. We had a case where a girl at a picnic was hit. In a coma for months. Go get checked out.

i agree to look for burn marks... also looks like small puncture wounds, they dont bleed. look on your scalp and hands any fresh wounds [lowest resistence] any place that was sweaty.

still get checked out

I was racing at Moroso in Palm Beach about 15 years ago. The rain started and I was walking under an umbrella when out of the corner of my eye I see a bolt of lightning about a quarter mile away. Instantly sparks are flying off my fingers on the hand holding the umbrella. Never heard the thunder. I had a slight headache for about a day and a half (didn't stop me from racing) and I've had numbness in my fingers ever since. The fingers still work, but I can't play the guitar anymore.
I've never used an umbrella since. I'd rather get soaked than socked. Tampa is the lightning capital of the Western Hemisphere with tens of thousands of lightning strikes every day during the summer. I'm alot more careful around storms now.
T.C.

wow dude! I'm glad you're ok!

drink a few beers and walk it off but I think a trip to the DR is in order too!

I agree with messix, go get checked.

Ya might consider putting up a Lighting Rod outside in your field somehere Better to atract it to that then to your shop.

EMS is my job and my advice is to go get checked out you could have internal injuries that might not show up till real permanent damage is done. go see your doc...

Jake

we're going to dog you on this until you go get checked out.

Jake,

Bill Walton (Basketball Analyst) was hit by Lightning while covering an AVP BVolleyball tournament. He said "it was cool" and you may know how goofy he has been since.

G o get checked out.
-Brent

Your muscles operate on electrical impulses as dictated by your brain. An electric jolt of that size would as Andy said, cause your muscles to constrict. Its quite possible that it could cause you to pull/strain/tear muscles that way, even break bones.

If I recall, thunder is caused by the rapid expansion of air around a lightning bolt due to the heat genereted by the energy of the bolt. I wonder what the radius around a bolt of lightning is where you won't hear the thunder?

You really oughta get checked out though.
Ever see the movie Powder...? hahaha

Jake, the number of people telling you to get it checked out, out number the ones that say that you don't need to, there could be issues later that might have not become issues had you taken care of it now. Don't take a chance, don't be stubborn. The Type 4 world is counting on you .
Seriously, get it checked out

i had wished i went to the doctor...i just let it go and now i have all sorts of back pain, etc....that didnt occur before the strike. please, if you don't go for yourself....go for your brother's and sister's on this site...do it for your friends.

Okay..
Called my buddy down at the EMT station and he gets a break in an hour and says he'll hook me up to the dyno and see what I have got....

Maybe he has some sort of an addrennalin shot to pick my ass back up so I can finish this damn EFI install!

If I jumped into the engine compartment of a 912 and was able to close the lid and look out of the vents I'm sure I would feel like crap the next day as well.

QUOTE (Pnambic @ May 20 2005, 12:56 PM)

If I recall, thunder is caused by the rapid expansion of air around a lightning bolt due to the heat genereted by the energy of the bolt.

actually, the bolt creates a vacuum that then collapses and then the air gets pushed outward.
kind of like an implosion followed by an explosion ...

the radius around the bolt where you can't hear the thunder should be equal to the wavelength of the sound generated.
i would think you'll need at least one full wavelength in order to pick up the sound.

but you sure can feel the air-pressure!
Andy

human dyno? woah.....

Lid stayed open!! If I could have closed it I would have!
The only thing that has ever scared me that bad was when I crewed helicopters in the Marines and had a dual engine failure!

Hey Jake

what would you tell a guy who over reved and had low oil pressure and had some "funny noises" coming from one of your engines? awh keep running it, it might get better?

chances are your fine with no major injuries. but you have to at least get a look at whats in" your oil filter"and check for "bent valves".

Good point- Never thought about it that way!

I'd say tear it down! But I'm going to be pissed if they say I want to be torn down.

good. looks like you've got the point.

the med. industry has better ways to look inside us than to tear us down for a look see.

isnt the genral's wife a doc..... any input from her?

sorry i ment capt.tripps

God want's more horsepower...

Quick test: Jake,....

1. How many toothpicks in a box?

2. How long til People's Court?

3. What's the square root of .0191951919?

If you can't answer any of these questions off the top of your head, you are 'ok'.


Olney Il. as a 10 year old kid, I was running up the midway, and rain was falling in bucket sized drops, that is when the ground turned to a sheet of blue-white sparkles, and my body turned into a cramp.


M

QUOTE (redshift @ May 20 2005, 04:12 PM)

Olney Il. as a 10 year old kid, I was running up the midway, and rain was falling in bucket sized drops, that is when the ground turned to a sheet of blue-white sparkles, and my body turned into a cramp. M

that explains so much it's not funny...

Jake go to the Dr. quick, before a goat starts looking at you seductively and you end up like Miles!

No, I blame me on the time I fell out of the bed after surgery, onto my head.. damned hospital..


M

The best two reasons I have read to go see the Dr.


Hey Jake

what would you tell a guy who over reved and had low oil pressure and had some "funny noises" coming from one of your engines? awh keep running it, it might get better?

chances are your fine with no major injuries. but you have to at least get a look at whats in" your oil filter"and check for "bent valves".


And


QUOTE (redshift @ May 20 2005, 04:12 PM)

Olney Il. as a 10 year old kid, I was running up the midway, and rain was falling in bucket sized drops, that is when the ground turned to a sheet of blue-white sparkles, and my body turned into a cramp.


M

that explains so much it's not funny...

Jake go to the Dr. quick, before a goat starts looking at you seductively and you end up like Miles!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As stated before you could have damage that isn't showing up right now. The electrical charge could have torn your mussels in your heart or in your head causing a slow bleed. Vision blurry? Head ache? Aches and pains?

Get yourself to the hospital. Famous last words are "it will get better" or " I'll go if it feels worse"

Last two guys I met that said those to their familys didn't wake up the next day.

If there is nothing wrong (when the Dr. says so) you can tell us "I told you I was ok"

QUOTE (redshift @ May 20 2005, 02:16 PM)

No, I blame me ...

hey miles, i see you're a Black Flag fan too!



one of my all time favorite bands!
here you go, "Black Flag - Best One Yet"

Andy

Maybe Jake will have magic powers now.... and just by touching the block, the whole thing is treated with an unexplained sub-atomic process!

Black Flag actually sounds ok in Mp3..



M

QUOTE (redshift @ May 20 2005, 04:33 PM)

Black Flag actually sounds ok in Mp3.. M

what would it lose sound quality?

I like Flag! and I've seen Rollins in concert too... damn that guy can put on a hell of a show, last 2 albums were "eh" but "weight", "end of silence" and "come in and burn" are GREAT!!! pretty good writer too... check out "get in the van" and "art to choke hearts"

Jake,

I just talked with our corporate Dr. regarding your little escapade and he told me that about all that could be done if you walked in would be a general exam for entry/exit wounds and/or skin discoloration, respiratory and cardiac issues and possibly a blood test for CPK levels to detect any potential muscle damage. Based on what you have been saying, I myself (AND THIS IN NO WAY SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE) would probably shake it off unless symptoms persist.

QUOTE (tat2dphreak @ May 20 2005, 05:44 PM)

what would it lose sound quality?

Mp3 sucks! The highend I am lucky enough to still hear sounds like poopys.


M

QUOTE (redshift @ May 20 2005, 04:42 PM)

QUOTE (tat2dphreak @ May 20 2005, 05:44 PM) what would it lose sound quality? Mp3 sucks! The highend I am lucky enough to still hear sounds like poopys. M

i HATE mp3....it doesnt do good unless you encode at 320......and NOBODY encodes that high.

Okay, went down to the EMT station.. They hooked me up to some things that look like my data logger and printed out something that appreared to be one totally screwed up dyno graph! Nothing on this baby was flat and I never sawTq and HP cross at 5,252 RPM!! LOL

Anyway my buddy said I'm okay, but to relax and see if the situation changes...

So, that means I came home, gulped down a couple of Tylenol for the head ache grabbed a Peanut butter sandwich, mountain dew and went back to work on the 912...

I am feeling a bit better now but still kind of dazed and confused.. When I did payroll earlier I gave my paycheck to Brent- He thought he had a huge pay cut!

Damn this is not something I want to do again.

You just need to get plenty of electrolytes.

At least you won't need cables for a jump-start.




M

QUOTE (messix @ May 20 2005, 03:36 PM)

Hey Jake what would you tell a guy who over reved and had low oil pressure and had some "funny noises" coming from one of your engines? awh keep running it, it might get better?

actually, that is exactly what Jake tells the racers, that's how you figure how to build them better the next time.

Then again, there is only one Jake (we can make him better than before, better, stronger faster.....)

Yep, if it blows it gives us another opportunity to make it better!

glad to here your ticker still going good.

the thing about electrocution is, that it cooks you from the inside along the path that the current travels. from entry to exit. and can cause bad damage with nerves and blood vessals.

i didn't want to scare you earlyier with this info.... if your like me i might not have gone. i dont like doctors or hospitals.