Need input from mechanical minded folks. Would an EMP harm a diesel car?

I am reading Lights Out, a book about how people react after a huge EMP blows out the power.
in the book, it states that cars will not start EXCEPT for a Diesel VW Rabbit which is " EMP proof".
How and why would that car be EMP proof, can anyone explain it to a non-mechanical me?

However, modern diesel auto engines use computers to control almost everything, including fuel injection, just like gasoline-powered autos. Those computers are liable to be damaged by EMP, and if they are, the engine will not run. So, that book is incorrect except in the case of pre-computer diesels.

Sorry.

do not use electrical (read Spark Plugs) ignition. So the theory goes they would be operable.
That leaves the question of the starter though

so I'd think they would also be affected.

Old cars, both gas and diesel, with no electronics might not be affected.

the old vacuum tube type. I suppose what the Lights Out people are implying is that the Diesel VW Rabbit in question has no solid state electronics and is either all mechanical or what electronics it has use vacuum tubes.

Or, it's also possible that this is a special VW Diesel that has been modified to be EMP Hardened.

Something from the 70's at latest, and certainly from the 60's or earlier, would likely still run after an EMP. Even a gasoline engine.

They used mechanical carburetors and distributors, not electronics on silicon chips, so they'd probably absorb the EMP without any damage.

Even if the starter motor is burned out you can still push it off with a little help, let it coast down a hill and pop the clutch in third gear or so, it will turn over for a bit and then fire up.

The injection system is totally mechanical, a lot of later diesels are not that way so they might be EMP vulnerable.

Which were the norm for plenty of engines at one time but less so over time.

:shrug:

Even with a totally dead battery I could coast it down the road and bump it off as I related.

It will take a longer distance to start if the glow plugs aren't heated but it will still start.

I think mine was a 72, the later ones might have some electronics in the fuel delivery but that one didn't.

...that would be potentially fried by an EMP that are critical to the functioning of the vehicle. As far as that vehicle I looked it up and I suppose the oldest models could probably manage during an EMP. But practically any pre-1970 car should be able to survive an EMP, especially if they're OFF when it happens.

The massive compression causes the fuel injected into the cylinder to spontaneously combust without any kind of external spark.

I don't know how EMP will affect batteries and starting circuits.

In practice, it might not be entirely a good thing to have the only running auto, because although cars might not be working, guns definitely will.

That includes diesel-powered cars. The EMP would knock them out as well. Anything with modern electronics, especially having components on chips, would be vulnerable - the EMP would create thousands of volts of energy potential across those delicate circuits etched on silicon - they'd most likely be fried.

An older car, say from the 70's or earlier, if it had a diesel engine, would have an old fashioned carburetor in most cases, and would have a better chance of still running after an EMP. Actually a gasoline-powered engine from that era might still run after an EMP - the spark plugs would be driven by a mechanical distributor rather than electronic ignition, which would make it less vulnerable to EMP.

Of course, electronic components such as the radio would be toast.

and that would make starting it a pain. Also the kill relay may be susceptible and the engine would just stop.

Old school diesel engines has no real electrical needs once it's up and running. Everything is mechanical, or can be easily converted back to mechanical by bypassing a few key electrical components.

EMP is mostly a bogus issue that has been hyped over the years.

shows how much i know....just curious.

And as I read further in the book, they are mentioning older cars/trucks without computers.


thanks, y'all!!!

Btw..anyone interested in the book can google "Lights Out pdf" it is a free download still, it was originally an online book and just recently has been printed for sale on Amazon.:hi:

Three nukes, detonated at the right locations 70-120 miles up, could bring this country to a screeching halt. And they wouldn't even need to be arsenal-grade. Just a couple of kilotons each, the trio's combined yield could be less than that of Little Boy and still shut our asses down.

It gets pretty cold in Germany in the winter, I never had a problem starting mine if the battery was good and the glow plugs working.

Keep in mind the battery looks like it came from a monster SUV, it's about two or three times the size of a battery in other small cars of the era.

all you need is a warm battery. He used to bring it in the office with him. If he parked outside for any time and not bring it in, then if the glow plugs couldn't get the car to start on the first try after the light, I gave him a ride home in my gasoline car. :) :) :)

http://www.survivalblog.com/2010/08/real_world_emp_effects_on_moto.html

of the EMP Commission's study.

It appears the EMP effect on cars isn't that severe.

Lights Out was a good book, but depicts a worse-case imaginable type of scenario.

Cars that are considered "EMP Proof" don't have any type of electronics needed for operation.

Most modern cars have computers controlling the engine and many older cars have a transistor
voltage regulator used for charging the car's battery from the engine and an electronic-ignition.

diesels would be OK. Newer engines use electronic fuel injection. The engine would have to be hand or push started.

that diesel engines use compressed air to ignite the fuel.
Where as a gas engine uses an electrical spark to ignite the fuel.
It could be 'push started' if the starter was blown. And if it were a manual transmission.
The early diesel engines were completely mechanical, without electronic controls.


since you asked, I typed in word for word what he said :)

Seems it was something I learned almost as soon as I was legal to drive. ( Lots of brothers).

I wonder if we are going to rue the day we bought into so many electronics controlling things.