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4 Ways to Protect Your Car from an EMP Attack


Electromagnetic pulses are a natural phenomenon that occur from both coronal mass ejections and lightning strikes. Electromagnetic pulses, also known as EMPs, are bursts of electromagnetic energy that are capable of downing and severely damaging electronic devices and electrical systems. While most people know that lightning strikes can take out your power and cause surges that can damage your electrical devices, plasma and the associated magnetic field that can be ejected from the sun’s corona as a solar flare can cause similar problems, often on a much larger scale.

Just like it is a good idea to protect your vehicle’s bumper from the dangers of rocks and curbs with a product like SLiPLO ULTRA Universal Bumper Scrape Guard DIY Kit, it makes sense to protect your vehicle from EMPs as well. A bigger concern than natural electromagnetic pulses are those generated by humans through high altitude nuclear detonations and electromagnetic bombs capable of destroying electronic devices and systems over extremely large areas.

Luckily, most vehicles will survive an EMP attack because the vehicle’s chassis acts as a faraday cage. Most of the vehicle’s crucial components are mechanical, so the major parts will continue to work and mods such as the best bolt on mods for horsepower will be unaffected. Although having an older diesel vehicle will be the safest, it’s not because there are no electronic devices in the vehicle. Electronic fuel injection systems, for example, have been in use since 1968. Instead, the chassis of the vehicle shields most of the electronic components.

 If you want to go the extra mile protecting your vehicle’s electrical components since the shape and materials of the vehicle’s chassis can cause there to be more or less protection, you have come to the right place. The following are 3 ways to protect your car from an EMP attack:

1)     Solder a Small Surge Tube Across Vulnerable Components

Not all parts of your vehicle are vulnerable to an EMP attack, especially those that are housed inside of the chassis. Although the headlights, turn signals, and radio may malfunction if you are hit with an EMP attack while driving, if the car is not running the biggest risk is usually only to the heating element of the rear window defroster and the radio through the antenna.

Of course, this may not be the case with electric and hybrid vehicles. On top of the 4 common Tesla maintenance problems, Teslas may not be a great option in the event of an EMP attack. Since  electric vehicles have not been tested, we are not sure if it would destroy the obviously crucial electrical components or have no effect at all.

If you do not have a hybrid or fully electric vehicle, there are only a few especially vulnerable places on your vehicle and this vulnerability can be remedied through the use of gas surge arrester tubes. For example, the rear defroster can be protected by soldering a small surge tube across the heating element. This works by diverting extra current away from the heating element and into a ground line. Although it is more complex, you can do something similar for your antenna and use both a gas tube surge arrester and a relay.

2)     Build a Faraday Shield Garage for Your Vehicle

A great option for protecting your vehicle from EMP attacks is to build a faraday cage garage for your vehicle. Not only will you be able to store your vehicle safely, but you will also be able to store other electrical items that you do not want to be affected. As the name suggests, faraday shields are continuous enclosures made of a conductive material and faraday cages are made of mesh materials.

Although there are several ways you can go about making a faraday shield garage, the easiest is through the utilization of aluminum siding and a tin roof. On the inside, aluminum backed insulation is the best idea. This way not only will the electronic components of your vehicle be protected by its chassis acting as a faraday cage, but it will also be protected by the garage acting as a faraday shield!

3)     Install an EMP Shield

Even though making a faraday shield garage for your vehicle and other electronics is a great idea, it will take a substantial amount of money, time, and effort. If you just want to protect your vehicle from electromagnetic pulses without going that far, the EMP Shield is a great product to install on your vehicle.

This product is backed by an insurance policy if it fails to protect your vehicle from electromagnetic pulses even at the extreme end of the spectrum with a lightning strike. Highly rated by buyers, this product works by diverting excessive power from an EMP from going through the battery and directs it away from the rest of your vehicle’s electrical system.

The protection afforded by the installation of an EMP Shield includes not only surge from lightning but also solar flares up to 228,000 amps. The EMP Shield has undergone extensive military testing to ensure it is capable of preventing damage in the event of an EMP attack. Lastly, your entire vehicle will be protected with this one small device, and the team backing it is very responsive and will be able to assist with any problems you may face during installation.

How Do You Protect Your Vehicle from EMPs?

If you are worried about an EMP attack, or even just damage to electrical components of your vehicle during a solar flare or lightning strike, there are a few steps you can take to make sure your vehicle will not be any worse for wear. Since your vehicle’s chassis acts as a faraday cage as is, you only really need to protect vulnerable areas.

One way you can do this is by soldering small surge gas tubes across vulnerable components so that excess current is directed away from the electronic component. Installing an EMP Shield works through similar means, but instead of having to direct electricity away from individual components, it protects the entire vehicle and directs excess currents away. Finally, you can build a faraday garage that will protect the entirety of your vehicle and anything that is in it.   

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