[crenshaw]

I once decided to cut cord to the vanity light in my car (long story why). Even though the car was off I was able to get quick a scare. Lesson, electricity in a car is not off when the key is out. I was close to winning one of those Darwin awards.

[praptak]

The voltage in car circuits is usually 12V, not enough to do you real harm.

Yup, the sparks when you short circuit can be spectacular (the car battery can provide quite a current), but the voltage can't kill you. It would suck if it could - high voltage cables all around you would make accidents very dangerous. The worst that could happen to you is burns from the wires getting hot.

[arethuza]

Shorts in a car can generate an awful lot of heat and smoke - within the confined space of a car this can be pretty alarming.

I've been in a passenger in a car that had a short in the facia while driving - the car immediately filled with dense choking smoke and we nearly crashed. Scary stuff. This wasn't recently though - I hope the standards for in-car wiring have improved a lot over the years!

[imgabe]

Voltage never kills you, current kills you.

[praptak]

It's the voltage that generates the current and 12V is not enough to generate lethal current in human body.

[ars]

Um, a car is 12v how did you manage to do anything at all scary? Even if you shorted it all you would do a blow a fuse.