Electrolysis in aluminum radiator - Help
 

Hello,
My S10 is experiencing pretty severe electrolysis.
We built it from the ground up and completed in Oct 2017.
Raced all 2018 season, and then about 2 weeks ago, the radiator got a pin hole in the bottom and seeped water onto the floor overnight. The radiator hoses were about to burst.
Never have had an issue with the 68 and aluminum radiator. Both cars have an anode, for what it's worth...

I know we have a ground issue, but we have welding cable for primary cables/grounds. Engine is grounded to frame....engine to body, and frame to body.

When built and initially raced in late Oct, I started with antifreeze and tap water because it gets cold . In the spring I switched to distilled and Wix coolant additive.

Currently, have .6 volts in the water. Doesnt matter what circuit is turned off/on....voltage is constant.

What is weird is that the voltage does NOT change with the battery and MSD disconnected.

I even drained everything out and flushed with hose water and top hose disconnected from the radiator and turned on the electric pump to push the water and Wix out before refilling a week ago.
So, right before we went to topeka over the weekend I switched to tap water and redline water wetter, and when I got home, same thing, rock hard, bulging radiator hoses. So, I drained the radiator and have the battery disco'd right now.

Ideas?

Thank you,
Clark Doukas
https://imgur.com/PPgKdtz

https://i.imgur.com/0F4mKZW.jpg

Re: Electrolysis in aluminum radiator - Help
 

If you remove the battery's from the car. Do you have voltage? If you don't you might have a bad battery. Also is the radiator got rubber mounts on top and bottom. I don't no if you have tried these things or not. Might help and might not

Kenney Kelley

Re: Electrolysis in aluminum radiator - Help
 

Ground the radiator to the frame/body!!!!!

Re: Electrolysis in aluminum radiator - Help
 

What's the pH of the coolant?

Two dissimilar metals in the presence of an electrolyte = battery.

Re: Electrolysis in aluminum radiator - Help
 

TRue---could be lots of minerals in your water causing problems too---

Re: Electrolysis in aluminum radiator - Help
 

This type of problem is one of the reasons GM developed DexCool .

Re: Electrolysis in aluminum radiator - Help
 

there could also be bad grounds in other circuits. Measure the voltage in the radiator and turn on every circuit one at a time. if you get a voltage jump. if you get a voltage jump. You found your bad ground.

Re: Electrolysis in aluminum radiator - Help
 

out of curiosity, do you run a battery tender? I had a similar problem, ate 2 radiators and ruined 2 batteries. Tender was overcharging and backfeeding through alternator/chassis from battery side of cut-off switch.

Re: Electrolysis in aluminum radiator - Help
 

Might also try using water only, Also Ground each head to the chassis and ground the radiator to the chassis.

Another product that we have used is Bar's leak coolant additive.
https://barsleaks.com/product/coolin...ith-anti-rust/

Re: Electrolysis in aluminum radiator - Help
 

If he's still got voltage with everything disconnected / shut off, then it's not the car's electrical system.

I used to race a rotary Mazda Pro ET door car, and if you didn't keep an eye on the pH of the coolant, it would literally eat a hole through the engine. The engines are even built like a battery- cast iron front plate, aluminum rotor housing, cast iron intermediate plate, aluminum rotor housing, and cast iron rear plate, all filled with the same coolant.


He's got a cast iron engine connected to an aluminum radiator by two rubber hoses, filled with the same coolant.

My money's on the pH of the coolant.