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  • Electrical Current Affecting the Radiator?

    Hi, I have had a thermostat fail after 8 months and the installer seems to think that there may be an electrical current going through the cooling system which caused white scale on the thermostat and may have caused it to fail. I can understand the white scale (maybe) but not how it affects the thermostat.
    He also said the current, if present, will corrode the radiator.
    Is this reasonable? If so, where is the electrical current coming from?
    I think he didn't replace the thermostat! Can I check the serial number to see if it was OME?

    Sorry about the double barrel questions.

    Bill

  • #2
    Re: Electrical Current Affecting the Radiator?

    I'm confused... ?

    With the number of earthed metal parts the cooling system contains I doubt that there is "an electrical current" passing through anywhere...

    White scale buildup is from using hard water (tap water) and is commonly found around the elements on on the sides of kettles... Its limestone and calcium. If your getting a build up of this inside your cooling system then tap water will have been used to top up the system. generally the recommendation is to use the correct balance of the coolant additive of choice and the rest as distilled water. Of course this is not always possible when out bush, but certainly the best practice.

    Heat causes the scale to build up (or as it were causes the disolved particles to crystalise), and as for affecting a temperature sensor - i suspect for the most part it would only need to be removed and cleaned as the probes accuracy would diminish with the ever increasing layer of scale...

    EDIT: As a second to the above - realistically, what ever is on the probe when it is removed is also throughout the rest of the cooling system - scale decreases the ability of the system to dissipate heat and also reduces the flow of water through the system, due to the following: smaller diameter pipes, rough surfaces - increased friction, this in turn means the pump has to work harder.
    2014 D4D 150 GXL Automatic - CHARCOAL

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    • #3
      Re: Electrical Current Affecting the Radiator?

      Stray current in the cooling system can be a big problem and I have seen it cause plenty of radiator failures. It can come from many places, but more often it is caused by a bad earth connection. This can be anywhere from the battery cables right through to the tail light wiring. It's easy to check for stray current with a multi meter. Put the negative lead on the battery earth terminal and the positive lead into the coolant (dont let it touch the core or tank). Any reading over 50mV should be investigated. Make sure that anything electrical is used when checking as an earth problem won't show up unless that circuit is operating.

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      • #4
        Re: Electrical Current Affecting the Radiator?

        Totally agree with smally,

        Stray electrical currents can, and do corrode radiators and other components, especially heater cores
        which are a real pain to replace.

        It is unlikely that the problem will be with the factory wiring if the vehicle is reasonably new, unless someone
        has changed something or wiring has been damaged etc.

        If you have added any accessories check the earthing of these are to factory earth points or loom or
        better still straight to the negative terminal of the battery.

        If you have a dual battery system, make sure all accessories running of the second battery are wired back to the
        aux negative terminal.

        In my car I have both battery negatives tied together and also both battery negative terminals wired to factory
        earth points and loom.

        Also check the coolant, incorrect coolant can cause electrolysis.

        Cheers
        LeighW
        HKB Electronics, manufacturer of the Alternator Voltage Booster, Silver 2008 D4D,Lifted,Underbody protection, Alternator Voltage Booster, Tiger Z winch, Lightforce DL, Air Horns, Tanami Drawers, Drop down fridge slide, Outback cargo barriers, Rotronics dual Battery system, Polaris GPS, HF/UHF/VHF, Radio speaker combiner, Long ranger water tank, Diff breathers, Inverter, Snorkel and others

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        • #5
          Re: Electrical Current Affecting the Radiator?

          Well you learn something everyday...

          dogs bite

          dont lick power points

          and electric currents can affect radiators - :shock:
          2009 120 V6 Auto. 265/70/17 Goodyear Silent Armours. Bilsteins and Kings Springs.

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          • #6
            Re: Electrical Current Affecting the Radiator?

            Another thing that can cause problems with cooling systems is mixing of metals. NEVER put a copper radiator in a car with an alloy head (or other alloy parts in cooling system) you can get electrolysis, and it will errode the alloy, again the heater core is the lucky sucker, as it is the hardest to replace!!!

            Matt
            2003 Prado Grande TD Auto Pearl White

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            • #7
              Re: Electrical Current Affecting the Radiator?

              Another thing that can cause problems with cooling systems is mixing of metals. NEVER put a copper radiator in a car with an alloy head (or other alloy parts in cooling system) you can get electrolysis, and it will errode the alloy, again the heater core is the lucky sucker, as it is the hardest to replace!!!

              Matt
              2003 Prado Grande TD Auto Pearl White

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              • #8
                Re: Electrical Current Affecting the Radiator?

                From what I have been told from both auto electricians and cooling system experts I have spoken to is the most common causes for stray electrical currents is the new electronics in automatic transmissions and the liquid to gas convertors for LPG installations.
                I had a problem on my holden ute (dual fuel) and it was causing the auto trans cooler to corrode on the inside of the radiator, eventually failing and contaminating the coolant with trandmission fluid.
                Luckily for me I check my fluids regularly and picked it up when the were re globules in the top of the coolant, rather than let it go another few days where coolant may have found its way into the transmission as the cooler corroded further.
                The cost was a new radiator and a full flush to remove the contaminants that had deposited in the cooling system of the engine.
                To prevent it happening again (and yes I have had no further problems for 2 years now) I installed an extra earth strap to the transmission and to the lpg liquid to gas convertor.
                Before we installed the straps we could see almost 2 volts using a multimeter between each of these and the body of the car.
                [img]http://members.optusnet.com.au/~stella_and_col/mypic49.gif[/img]

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                • #9
                  OK, try this again...

                  My BIL was here for Boxing Day. He owns a radiator shop in Penrith. We were looking at my nephews 90 series Prado as he was having some troubles. BIL spotted the radiator top was in need of replacement, as it had discoloured and got brittle. If your radiator top is brown, not black, get it fixed as they typically let go at the top radiator hose...

                  Anyway, I then moved to my 120, to show him (OK, show off) my handy work. He was interested in the dual battery setup and suggested I run the test on the radiator as mentioned above. So i did.
                  I started the car, turned on as much as I could, lights, stereo, spots, front and rear air....
                  Grabbed the multi meter, and put the neg on the negative terminal of my aux battery and stuck the pos into the radiator overflow tank. Noted a reading of -0.05 and yes, it was a multi meter, not a breath analyser...

                  So, being a negative result, do I have an issue I need to investigate? or is this expected? I would assume, ANY result would be an issue.
                  If so, where do I start investigating the issue....? The dual batteries are terminated as best as I could....

                  Setup is,

                  Projector solenoid, 6B&S wiring, AUX battery is Century 70Ah, on an OffRoad down under tray, earthed to the top tray bolt which is bolted to the body. I have an Anderson plug to the rear, and also a 6B&S running to a powered fuse terminal, earthed near the tail light on passenger side. I also have one of Leigh's boosters..
                  D4D Prado GXL - 2014. 2" OME lift, ARB Deluxe Winch bar, ARB under body protection plates, ARB EZ Deflator, Weaco fridge, Matsen fridge on slide, BFG A/T's, ARB CKMA12 compressor, Oztrail side awning with LED lights PLUS canvas extension, Lightforce XGT's.. Oricom UHF380, GME AE4017

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                  • #10
                    This is a more common than most people are aware of and it’s not just restricted to radiators.

                    Many years ago I was told about a gear box problem where the tips of the gears had been burnt and the culprit was allegedly a bad earth between the block and the chassis.

                    I took the “story” as just that until a few years later, when having an unrelated conversation with a transmission service guy, who informed me that it was not a tall tale but something that does occur.

                    I later heard of radiators suffering from the same problem.

                    With many Toyota dual battery set ups having the batteries fitted on either side of the radiator, because electricity will take the route of least resistance, and while the chassis is the apparent best earth, the radiator is a far more superior conductor.

                    As LeighW posted, the simplest solution is to fit decent earth returns and is one of a number of reasons running an earth return from the rear of a vehicle, instead of using the chassis, can eliminate potential electrical problems.

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                    • #11
                      Thanks for the info Guys
                      A great thread to read and has got me thinking about getting out the old multi meter for interest sake.
                      Cheers Troy
                      SOUTH AUSTRALIA GATEWAY TO THE OUTBACK!
                      2003 GXL V6 AUTO 120 CHAMPAGNE MICA [DUNE]
                      LIST OF ACCESSORIES GROWING, WISH LIST SLOWLY DECLINING

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