In the interest of prolonging the life of certain vehicle components, and preventing corrosion- here's a tip from the heavy equipment industry. Run a ground wire to your radiator. Every single over the road truck that I've worked on, lots of agricultural and earth moving equipment has a ground wire running to the radiator. This helps to prevent electralysis. I assume that this practice is more prevalent when diesel engines are involved, simply because they're susceptible to a particularly nasty type of corrosion- a.k.a. cavitation. Cavitation isn't an issue with most automotive engines, but a radiator ground wire is a cheap and easy method of reducing the potential for cooling system corrosion. I've got ground wires on all three of my radiators... makes me feel all warm and fuzzy knowing that my radiators hold no electrical charge whatsoever relative to the engine.
Radiator ground wire
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If a radiator is deliberately isolated from ground I would leave it alone. Wouldn't want the part adjacent to the strap to accidentally become an accidental sacrificial anode.
If it's supposed to be grounded, eg not in little rubber donuts, I would make sure the grounding fasteners were clean.
Naturally proper fresh antifreeze at the right strength with clean water (not a ton of ions, thanks) (argument over tap vs distilled goes here) helps too.
I'd hesitate to apply something from heavy trucks with brass radiators, iron engine parts, and an antifreeze pH to match, to cars with aluminum motors and plastic radiators. At least not without further research.
If it's supposed to be grounded, eg not in little rubber donuts, I would make sure the grounding fasteners were clean.
Naturally proper fresh antifreeze at the right strength with clean water (not a ton of ions, thanks) (argument over tap vs distilled goes here) helps too.
I'd hesitate to apply something from heavy trucks with brass radiators, iron engine parts, and an antifreeze pH to match, to cars with aluminum motors and plastic radiators. At least not without further research.
Do whatchya want.
FYI, trucks and heavy equipment nowadays often have either brass or aluminum radiators, depending on application. Lots of diesels nowadays have aluminum parts in the cooling system. They're all designed to last many thousands of hours and/or many hundreds of thousands of miles. Nearly all of them have a ground wire on the radiator. I think it's a good tip.
FYI, trucks and heavy equipment nowadays often have either brass or aluminum radiators, depending on application. Lots of diesels nowadays have aluminum parts in the cooling system. They're all designed to last many thousands of hours and/or many hundreds of thousands of miles. Nearly all of them have a ground wire on the radiator. I think it's a good tip.
JHZR2
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How do you attach the ground strap??? Solder it onto the fins or one of the tubes???
Plastic radiator parts dont ground too well...
Thanks!
JMH
Plastic radiator parts dont ground too well...
Thanks!
JMH
Could use a wire tie.. but I was wondering the same thing.
I dunno either. Mine's all plastic except for a very thin aluminum core. I suppose you could pass 14 or 12 gauge ground wire through and through and back and forth between the fins and coils, but sooner or later the dissimilar metals would cause more trouble than it's worth. Think I'll stick to changing the G-05 out every 50K, hose it down with fresh tap water every springtime to get the salty stuff off it and call it a day.
Both of my GM cars have plastic/aluminum radiators. They've got little notches cut (for no apparent reason) here and there along the relatively sturdy metal along the top. I bolted an eyelet(sp?) there with a 1/4-20 bolt and ran some 12-gauge wire that I had laying around. Don't remember what I did with the brass radiator in my nasty old ford truck. I'll have to look sometime.
seems the water would ground it
It does... and that's the problem. Corrosion in a cooling system is an electrolytic process. By grounding the radiator, you're effectively eliminating electrical potential between the radiator and the engine block. When there IS electrical potential, it's going to find a way to 'ground' itself through the coolant. That means that your engine and your radiator are now effectively an anode and a cathode... which seems like a bad idea to me.
In practical terms, when I take apart a diesel engine for a rebuild and find particularly nasty corrosion, I always check the radiator ground. Often, I'll find it broken or left hanging.
In practical terms, when I take apart a diesel engine for a rebuild and find particularly nasty corrosion, I always check the radiator ground. Often, I'll find it broken or left hanging.
Same goes for heater cores..
Heres a ford tsb about the problem
ISSUE:
Some vehicles may exhibit (repeat) heater core leaks. This may be caused by a chemical reaction called electrolysis. Electrolysis involves an ion exchange between the heater core and engine coolant which can result in a breakdown of the heater core material. This is similar to the operation of a battery.
ACTION:
Check for electrolysis on any vehicle with a heater core failure. If electrolysis is verified, flush the coolant and follow additional steps as required. Refer to the following Service Procedure for details.
SERVICE PROCEDURE:
Electrolysis Inspection:
If there is a condition of a heater core leaking or repeal heater core leak, check for electrolysis using the following procedure:
1. To check for electrolysis use a DVOM set on DC volts. Place the positive probe of the meter in the engine coolant and the negative probe on the negative battery post.
2. Adjust engine throttle to 2000 RPM to properly get coolant flow and true electrolysis voltages.
3. If more than .4V is recorded, flush the coolant and recheck (follow guidelines in TSB 98-23-16 for Cougar). See Coolant Fill Procedure below to remove trapped air on 4.6/5.4/6.8L modular engines.
NOTE: Export markets, be sure the water is desalinated.
4. If there is still excessive voltage present in the coolant, check the engine to body/battery grounds. Also, verify proper grounding of any aftermarket electrical/electronic equipment which has been installed into the vehicle. Improperly grounded electrical devices can cause electrolysis to occur.
5. If the condition is still present after the grounds have been checked, it may be necessary to add extra grounds to the heater core and engine. A hose clamp can be used to secure a 16 AWG stranded copper wire to the heater core inlet tube. The other end should be secured to an EXISTING FASTENER on the body sheet metal. Extra grounds to the engine should be attached between EXISTING FASTENERS on the engine and body sheet metal. Verify continuity of any added grounds to the negative battery terminal.
6. If the condition is still present, add a restrictor (part F1UZ-18D406-A) on the inlet hose with the arrow facing the direction of coolant flow (toward heater core). Cut the line and install with 2 hose clamps. It is important that the restrictor be installed in the right direction of flow and as close to the engine block as possible (not near the heater core itself).
Heres a ford tsb about the problem
ISSUE:
Some vehicles may exhibit (repeat) heater core leaks. This may be caused by a chemical reaction called electrolysis. Electrolysis involves an ion exchange between the heater core and engine coolant which can result in a breakdown of the heater core material. This is similar to the operation of a battery.
ACTION:
Check for electrolysis on any vehicle with a heater core failure. If electrolysis is verified, flush the coolant and follow additional steps as required. Refer to the following Service Procedure for details.
SERVICE PROCEDURE:
Electrolysis Inspection:
If there is a condition of a heater core leaking or repeal heater core leak, check for electrolysis using the following procedure:
1. To check for electrolysis use a DVOM set on DC volts. Place the positive probe of the meter in the engine coolant and the negative probe on the negative battery post.
2. Adjust engine throttle to 2000 RPM to properly get coolant flow and true electrolysis voltages.
3. If more than .4V is recorded, flush the coolant and recheck (follow guidelines in TSB 98-23-16 for Cougar). See Coolant Fill Procedure below to remove trapped air on 4.6/5.4/6.8L modular engines.
NOTE: Export markets, be sure the water is desalinated.
4. If there is still excessive voltage present in the coolant, check the engine to body/battery grounds. Also, verify proper grounding of any aftermarket electrical/electronic equipment which has been installed into the vehicle. Improperly grounded electrical devices can cause electrolysis to occur.
5. If the condition is still present after the grounds have been checked, it may be necessary to add extra grounds to the heater core and engine. A hose clamp can be used to secure a 16 AWG stranded copper wire to the heater core inlet tube. The other end should be secured to an EXISTING FASTENER on the body sheet metal. Extra grounds to the engine should be attached between EXISTING FASTENERS on the engine and body sheet metal. Verify continuity of any added grounds to the negative battery terminal.
6. If the condition is still present, add a restrictor (part F1UZ-18D406-A) on the inlet hose with the arrow facing the direction of coolant flow (toward heater core). Cut the line and install with 2 hose clamps. It is important that the restrictor be installed in the right direction of flow and as close to the engine block as possible (not near the heater core itself).
Most of the rads we sell come with the ground wire and a nut/bolt to attach it to the Alum core. Doesn't seem to make any difference in comebacks due to electrolysis.
I've had a few cars, mostly Dodge or Ford trucks that eat rads and heaters. I've cleaned all grounds, added ground wires, flushed and put in new coolant, etc and they still eat a rad in 6 weeks.
I've had a few cars, mostly Dodge or Ford trucks that eat rads and heaters. I've cleaned all grounds, added ground wires, flushed and put in new coolant, etc and they still eat a rad in 6 weeks.
What you have to do is solder a diode in between the ground wire.
This will prevent voltage from flowing in both directions. the diode you'd want is a 1N4001, handles up to 50volts of DC current.
soldering it vs. crimping is best.
the diode is marked so voltage can only flow in 1 direction. so in this case, voltage would flow to ground and you'd never have to worry about it flowing backwards and eroding the heater core, or radiator.
This will prevent voltage from flowing in both directions. the diode you'd want is a 1N4001, handles up to 50volts of DC current.
soldering it vs. crimping is best.
the diode is marked so voltage can only flow in 1 direction. so in this case, voltage would flow to ground and you'd never have to worry about it flowing backwards and eroding the heater core, or radiator.
Originally Posted By: edwardh1
seems the water would ground it
Water is a very poor conductor of electricity.
seems the water would ground it
Water is a very poor conductor of electricity.
Distilled water is a poor conductor of electricity.
Originally Posted By: Dan55
Distilled water is a poor conductor of electricity.
Once it is in the radiator, it's contaminated, and isn't distilled any more.
Distilled water is a poor conductor of electricity.
Once it is in the radiator, it's contaminated, and isn't distilled any more.
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