Read the electrolysis part about an electrical current to ground through the coolant rather than the engineered electrical circuit. A separate ground is my take on this, maybe I'm wrong. I was once back in June of 1966.
aluminum radiator technical information
Here is an old email I have directly from Bill. Says do not ground radiator.
Bill Williamson - Ron Davis Radiators wrote:
Great test, I wish all of my customers would do what you did, it would make my job easier. You will never get rid of all voltage, if you have any brass/copper in your system from freeze plugs to thermostat to temperature
sending units it will generate small voltages. As long as you are below .3 you should be fine. The only thing I would do is remove the ground strap from the radiator, we don't want it to be a good ground. All new cars the radiator is isolated from the frame for the same reason. If you have a problem it will attack other components which are much thicker than the radiator. One caution, do not use any additive except for Red Line Water Wetter.
Thank You,
Bill Williamson
Ron Davis Racing Products, Inc.
7334 North 108th Avenue
Glendale, AZ. 85307
Tel- 623-877-5000 Ext.16
Fax- 623-877-5001
www.rondavisradiators.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Alex M
Sent: Thursday, June 11, 2009 12:07 PM
To: Bill Williamson - Ron Davis Radiators
Subject: Re: Question about RD radiator & electrolysis
Thanks for the response Bill - yea, my freeze plugs are probably brass(I didn't build the engine, but I can't think of why they'd be anything else), and my sendings units are brass (autometer) as well.
Out of curiousity, I am confused if the radiator should be totally isolated from the frame or not. Originally I had it totally isolated (using rubber washers/silicone/heater hose/etc...) whereever it made
contact. However, when I read your testing procedure it said the radiator should be grounded. When I read DeWitts material, they also say radiator should be grounded. When I called and talked to somebody at RD
(I forget whom), they also said radiator should be grounded as well.
However, in the past I've talked to people who say the radiator should not be grounded.
So I'm really confused about whether or not you want to ground it - it seems 70% of people out there say it should be grounded, 30% say it shouldn't.
-Alex
Bill Williamson - Ron Davis Radiators wrote: Here is my point of view, what ever it is worth. None of the original equipment manufacturers ground the radiator, they are all isolated. They spend millions/billions figuring this out, we want the radiator to be the worst ground in the vehicle so that it finds somewhere else to ground. So, isolate it and do not ground it.
Thank You,
Bill Williamson
Ron Davis Racing Products, Inc.
7334 North 108th Avenue
Glendale, AZ. 85307
Tel- 623-877-5000 Ext.16
Fax- 623-877-5001
www.rondavisradiators.com
If you reply, please include all previous messages so that we don't loose
the context. Thank you!
Technical Advice: If asked for technical advice, Ron Davis Racing Products endeavors to give each customer advice that represents our best judgment under the circumstances. Ron Davis Racing Products does not warrant this advice, nor does Ron Davis Racing Products warrant that its products are fit
for any particular purpose. Products are sold "AS IS" and used at customer's sole risk.
