| reply to ke4pym
Re: Change antifreeze? Well, he's right.
The acidity of the coolant will interact with the aluminum block and form a crude chemical battery. The more acidic the coolant the stronger the "battery" will be, and the higher the voltage you will measure.
My only concern would be that there's no OEM spec on how much voltage is too much or too little.
But he's wrong in that there *are* lubricants and other additives in the coolant which will wear out and you'll never know it by a voltimeter. That degradation is measured in years, not volts, so you should be changing it out every X years anyhow. |
|
 shdesignsPowered By Infinite Improbabilty DrivePremium
join:2000-12-01
Stone Mountain, GA | said by dragonfly:My only concern would be that there's no OEM spec on how much voltage is too much or too little.
Or what the probes are made of: steel? brass? copper? , Nickel plated? zinc plated? Gold plated?
All would produce different voltages.
--
Scott Henion
Embedded Systems Consultant,
SHDesigns home - DIY Welder |
|
| reply to dragonfly
The "end of life" spec is .5VDC, you should change antifreeze before this ....I recommend .4 to my customers, most say a tad lower than that.
Google up antifreeze voltage test....here...
»www.completeradiators.com/articles/34.htm
It's not an uncommon way to test at all and is easily the single most accurate way to do so.
Now as for there being any sort of lubricant in antifreeze ?!?
Exactly what is getting "lubed" ?
The sealed waterpump bearings ?
If the antifreeze ever gets near the waterpump bearings the pump is toast and should be replaced (you will be able to verify this by looking at the antifreeze spewing from the waterpump weep hole).
Nice try. |
|
| Lubricant is a bit old-school, I'll give you that. The newer deal now is anti-corrosion additives, for example those present in Dexcool (OAT) if you're driving a GM vehicle. Those absolutely *are* depleted over time. |
|
|
|
