How to make a FJ40 and BJ40 EMP proof?? (1 Viewer)

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Did they put something in the water out there recently?

Yikes.

Maybe he need one of these!
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Hey man all in good fun! You can't possibly expect to bring apocalyptic scenarios into IH8MUD without being able to take a ribbing, can you? It's all good! Come to LA I'll buy you a beer and we can watch Godzilla together. For the record I am very concerned the new Star Wars will suck!
Win!
 
Its not too often that I am speechless but wow was all that I could think of. I think my jaw was open and had some drool coming out of the corner of my mouth as well.
 
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s***! Just when I was gonna about a force field to repell lasers and flying sharks...
 
Alright I'll bite... Not because I think that somewhere in NA will get an EMP any time soon, but because its an interesting subject if one considers it from the electrical engineering point of view. I've tried to keep my sarcasm to a minimum and focus on the tech bits since this is in tech, unfortunately I couldn't help myself. :flipoff2:

I'll take the BJ40 for EMP proofing as its easier. (Zero electronics required to drive.)

EMP strength will dictate how much you'd need to replace. As per the EMP commission that studied this crap an EMP of up to 50kV/m didn't even effect many modern cars never mind a BJ40 without a fancy computer. A lighter EMP will do pretty much nothing to a BJ40 (at least to the things you need to actually just drive). A stronger EMP can definitely kill a coil/starter/alternator by fusing the windings. (In fact many Canadian military vehicles have specialized starters at minimum that are removed as "restricted goods" on sale.) (And if the Canadians are prepared for that sorta crap surely you should be too!) :beer:

So I see several scenarios you may wish to accomplish. I'll list them below as I see them and then people can ridicule me :hillbilly:

Assuming you just want to drive someplace, zero creature comforts:
So from experience I know with my 40 I can drive without the alternator indefinitely assuming I don't need headlights/tail lights/wipers ect. (I once did a 2000km trip without the alternator working). This is assuming that you still have the original mechanical vacuum pump, and the original mechanical fuel pump.
This leaves the question of starting the truck. Assuming you have friends(or a wife) who enjoy pushing, or have the foresight to park at the top of a hill pre-EMP you can roll start the truck. You can disconnect the EDIC and just use a rope to shutdown or just pop the hood to turn off. Worst case you would want glow plugs, assuming this circuit died you could just make a fire, throw some hot coals into a steel garbage can lid and put it under the engine to warm it pre-hill/push start.

Assuming you will want a charging system/starting system:
You could hope that your alternator/starter/glow plug relays are all still alive (quite likely with a proper grounding strap) but since you are posting in a forum about the Russians setting off nuke's in the atmosphere, I imagine you're probably the type to keep a spare.

So I suppose in your Magical Trashcan Of Spare Parts (MTOSP) you should keep a starter, alternator, glow plugs, glow plug relay, and a bunch of fuses of various sizes as well as some spare wire.

Assuming you want some creature comforts:
I think that we can all agree that if you're s*** out of luck and stuck with your MTOSP and a running BJ40 you'll want some music. For this reason I'd suggest tossing an extra radio (ideally one that can play cd's or something) and a box of CD's (it'd suck to spend eternity listening to the same cd on repeat unless its CCR). In addition we wouldn't want you to get harassed by the fuzz so I suppose you should ensure you have working lights and signals ect. Also a spare wiper motor.

In Summary:
The things I feel you should keep in your MTOSP in descending order of importance:
1. Starter
2. Glow plug relay
3. Glow plugs
4. Bunch of random relays
5. Bunch of fuses (everyone knows fuses are unneeded and for the weak and those poor at electronics... but why take chances?)
6. Spare wire
7. Alternator
8. Radio/CD player
9. CDs for said radio (No sane person would want to listen to the emergency broadcasts for the rest of their life)
10. Wiper Motor.
11. Bottle Vodka (If you're getting nuked you'll probably want a drink)
12. Edic crap... but I actually prefer my pull wire!

Alright, now that I've opened a massive :worms:I look forward to the ridicule and abuse! :popcorn:

Happy Apocalyptic Driving!

:cheers:

Ps: don't forget to ground your MTOSP! (and your tinfoil hat)
 
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Since diesels do not have electronic ignition but glow plugs, add to that the ton of fuel options, a diesel is the way to go. Just strip out all unneeded electronics, no need for smog control if half the country is radioactive anyway.
 
I think I found the perfect EMP proof FJ40.......
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Finally, a subject is found that hasn't been covered 5 times on Mud and now all the @$$holes that always say "this has already been covered" says "oh this is unlikely, you wear tin foil etc.. etc". I already stated that it's unlikely at the beginning of this post ... So thanks for stating the obvious. I love the herd group think... But try not to be a cow all the time.

As former military guy, I know that the EMP is the new weapon, it's more humane and allows the enemy to attack with the opponent destroying itself without a single rifle or tank firing a shot. During military's yearly NBC training its a mandatory subject to be covered.

Why not invest a little $ and time just in case. A lot of cars will still be running if it happens and mine will be one of them.
 
Can a survivable EMP event actually melt something as simple as a starter motor or ignition coil? I thought it was tiny solid state stuff that is at risk?

If that is the case, then the BJ40 would be the vehicle to focus on. Add in the decreased consumption & multifuel capability and it looks even more like a cockroach.
 
Anything with integrated circuits or semiconductors is susceptible to damage from the currents generated by an EMP. In a FJ40 this includes igniters, solid state voltage regulators, alternators (rectifier diodes inside), and radios. It doesn't matter if they are running or not. Motors and relays would be fine. Just because they are susceptible to damage does not mean they will be damaged. The effects depend on the size of the burst, distance, and size of the receiver. If your semiconductor or IC is connected to a long wire or large metal structure, it will be exposed to more energy and be more likely to fail. Thinking about the scenarios, the most likely EMP we will ever experience will be from a solar flare. Not sure of any wide spread damage to cars from this, the usual victims are the electric system due to the long conductors. Just stay home until the grid is back on, no lights or gas anyway. If we get hit by an EMP weapon or nuclear weapon, where exactly are you going to go? I guess there is some comfort in knowing you could try to drive someplace if you wanted.
 
I've pulled the edic relay arm off my 3b and pulled out the batteries. That's about as emp prof as it gets. But in a state of emergency the roads will be closed to everyone but military. Only real option is to live in the woods. Build a survival bunker, and prepare to live off dehydrated water and canned beans.
 
Finally, a subject is found that hasn't been covered 5 times on Mud and now all the @$$holes that always say "this has already been covered" says "oh this is unlikely, you wear tin foil etc.. etc". I already stated that it's unlikely at the beginning of this post ... So thanks for stating the obvious. I love the herd group think... But try not to be a cow all the time.

As former military guy, I know that the EMP is the new weapon, it's more humane and allows the enemy to attack with the opponent destroying itself without a single rifle or tank firing a shot. During military's yearly NBC training its a mandatory subject to be covered.

Why not invest a little $ and time just in case. A lot of cars will still be running if it happens and mine will be one of them.

Hey I might have made the tinfoil hat joke... but my advice for the BJ40 is correct (more or less).
As for the questions about starters and coils and such... unlikely to be effected but depends on strength and distance... that said if you are going to maintain a MTOSP you might as well keep spares of all possibilities... it would suck to have spares of everything except for *insert random thing here*

Random fact... if your starter solenoid is dead from EMP/other you can just drill a hole in the back and poke it with a stick to manually plunge it. Also gets around the starter relay :) No reason why I know that...
 
A must read to go along with your project, airbornemp19. As stated in the book, the best vehicle to own during the Zombie Apocalypse is a bicycle, which as it so happens is EMP proof as well. I have a feeling it would probably be better than a 40 series during a large EMP event. Add to the fact that you wouldn't have to worry about finding time to exercise I say it's a win/win.

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Is this a tech forum?
A must read to go along with your project, airbornemp19. As stated in the book, the best vehicle to own during the Zombie Apocalypse is a bicycle, which as it so happens is EMP proof as well. I have a feeling it would be better than a 40 series during a large EMP event as well. Add to the fact that you wouldn't have to worry about finding time to exercise I say it's a win/win.
 

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