CK5
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K5 fuel filler neck grounding


To be fair, I'm not saying it can't, won't, or has never happened. I don't know that for sure. I see how it can happen. I don't think it's *likely* or my truck would have burned...I fill often from an ungrounded tank to an ungrounded fill neck. I've yet to see a spark when fueling in my life. That's just my experience, I understand that isn't everyone's.

Prior to whenever...70's at some point, clearly...manufacturers did not ground (in this case would it be grounded or bonded?) the fill necks, and the pump fill hoses were likewise not grounded. So worst case scenario.

If it was a *large* concern, and "real" problem, grounding would have been the norm prior to the 70's, and I cannot remember hearing about any widespread vehicle fires of any sorts at fill stations, in history. Yet the Pinto and corvair were essentially canceled for being unsafe in roughly the same time period (as I recall) and we all know about those, still.
 
The reason they tell you not to get back in your car mid-fueling is because the #1 cause of sparks is sliding in and out of the car.

If air and tire friction were the main cause of static build-up, you would get big sparks after a 300-mile run and almost nothing after a 1-mile run, but there is no such correlation. Also, driving along in salt brine would eliminate the charge, yet it's worst in the winter months (i.e. dry air season).
 
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