jon@dakota-truck.net wrote:
> Josh Battles <josh@omg-stfu.com> wrote:
> : We learned about this in my metals class last semester, so I might not
> : be right on, we didn't really do anything similar to this. Am I even
> : close here? The reaction would need some form of catalyst to get started.
>
>
> I don't have much (any) experience in this area, so this is
> probably just a waste of time, :-) but would the coolant flow
> have anything to do with it? Its going through cast iron heads,
> probably some aluminum bits in the water pump, a little brass
> maybe, and who knows what other kinds of metals, and its also
> flowing through the (aluminum?) heater core. Of course, the
> entire engine is grounded, maybe there is an ever so slight
> voltage on the heater core, wether from the battery or just
> static electricity? Anyway, it seems to me that in either
> case, the coolant path provides a great electrical conduit,
> so if (for whatever reason) there was a charge somewhere that
> got to the coolant, it could also get to pretty much anywhere
> the coolant touches. ?
>
that's exactly right Jon. if two dissimilar metals are being grounded
one through the other via coolant, you're screwed. put a ground strap
on the heater core in this case and it'll probably last forever.
--MikeM
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Apr 01 2005 - 00:13:22 EST