A method and system for determining localized contact potential voltages and localized clearance data between a slider body and a hard disk of a hard disk drive. In embodiments of the present invention, a plurality of direct current (DC) pulses are applied between said slider body and a discreet location of the hard disk. In embodiments of the present invention, the discreet location of the hard disk comprises a portion of a data track of the hard disk. In embodiments of the present invention, a variation in the clearance of the slider body is determined when a given voltage is applied. Furthermore, a first set of DC pulses has a positive/negative bias while a second set of DC pulses has a negative/positive bias. The voltage of the sets of DC pulses is increased until a contact between the slider body and the hard disk is detected.