Am i getting scammed?

[HarroVX]

hey guys, recently i bought a new radiator and had it put into my Vx acclaim because the old was so rusted it wasnt funny.
after completing the job the mechanic said that i needed to get some electric's looked at by another mechanic he knows. He said that my Radiator rusted because it wasnt "earthing" Properly. i know what that means but i didnt think there was any electrics going to the radiator.
i think hes trying to rip me off cause a me and a mate bought a new radiator for his Vt and put it in ourselfs and there wasnt anything but the pipes connected to the radiator.
help apreciated.

[soop]

No but alloy doesn't rust. It corrodes due to electrolosis.
Which is caused by stray currents.

[])R@G()N]

It must be the time for radiators. I just put a new one in my VT yesterday.

My one didn't have any corrosion at all in it, The bloody plastic tanks on it spilt and let go (plastic junk)

If your has corroded that bad I would be getting it checked out (a.s.a.p before it starts again)

As soop said the electrolosis will eat the aluminum away. Especially if your near salt air.

Under the warranty on my new radiator it has

Must check straight current with a volt meter making sure not exceed over 0.05volt

[nemesis_adrasteia]

did you flush your cooling system before refitting and filling the radiator? if your radiator is corroded out just think of what your heater core and water will be like

[lout]

electrolysis or stray current will kill a new radiator, if the tech said get it checked then get it checked

[graham7773]

Or earth the aluminium part of the radiator to the body of your car. couple of self tappers and a length of copper wire, just don't go through the core of your radiator.

[Hot-Rod]

i had a radiator in for 1 month eat its self apart from electrolosis. Was caused by the mechanic not flushing the system properly so it had the old coolant react with the new coolant causing electrolosis. Got a new radiator and new mechanic while i was at it.

[Brett_jjj]

Ive been reading a bit about electrolysis lately,and Ive found that a lot of people recommend actually insulating the radiator from earth to prevent electrolysis.The plastic radiator tanks and rubber mounts used these days on new cars automatically insulates it from earth apparently,and also the rubber hoses that are included in part the auto transmission cooler lines are there for the same reason,to prevent the metal lines acting as an earth for the radiator.Ive always thought the radiator has to be earthed to prevent electrolysis,but Ive never really looked into electrolysis before much either.A few people have said that earthing the radiator just completes the circuit which causes electrolysis to occur.They also said that not using distilled water and proper coolant helps cause the problem too, because distilled water has very little salts disolved in it,where normal tap water has lots of salts in it,and we all know how salty water can conduct electricity extremely well.So when the earthed radiator is combined with normal tap water, its a good recipe for getting electrolysis,It all sounds pretty reasonable to me.It also said that to test for electrolysis,use a multimeter set on volts,connect the earth probe to the battery earth,and insert the positive probe into the coolant in the top of the radiator. NOTE-the probe should NOT touch the sides or the core of the radiator,it should only be touching the coolant itself.It says to leave it in there for a few minutes,then if the reading is above 0.3v,theres a problem that could cause electrolysis ..A few people wrote in and said that they had refilled with distilled water after getting a high voltage reading of more than 0.3v,the distilled water was enough to drop the voltage reading to below the 0.3v.

[Longman]

I would get it checked for sure, maybe not with his mate though.

[])R@G()N]

Ive been reading a bit about electrolysis lately,and Ive found that a lot of people recommend actually insulating the radiator from earth to prevent electrolysis.The plastic radiator tanks and rubber mounts used these days on new cars automatically insulates it from earth apparently,and also the rubber hoses that are included in part the auto transmission cooler lines are there for the same reason,to prevent the metal lines acting as an earth for the radiator.Ive always thought the radiator has to be earthed to prevent electrolysis,but Ive never really looked into electrolysis before much either.A few people have said that earthing the radiator just completes the circuit which causes electrolysis to occur.They also said that not using distilled water and proper coolant helps cause the problem too, because distilled water has very little salts disolved in it,where normal tap water has lots of salts in it,and we all know how salty water can conduct electricity extremely well.So when the earthed radiator is combined with normal tap water, its a good recipe for getting electrolysis,It all sounds pretty reasonable to me.It also said that to test for electrolysis,use a multimeter set on volts,connect the earth probe to the battery earth,and insert the positive probe into the coolant in the top of the radiator. NOTE-the probe should NOT touch the sides or the core of the radiator,it should only be touching the coolant itself.It says to leave it in there for a few minutes,then if the reading is above 0.3v,theres a problem that could cause electrolysis ..A few people wrote in and said that they had refilled with distilled water after getting a high voltage reading of more than 0.3v,the distilled water was enough to drop the voltage reading to below the 0.3v.

Good Find Brett!

I'll give you some rep points

[drift-it]

in regards to bretts post which is totally correct the only thing that is able to conduct electricity is the coolant. the coolant im guessing gets its electrical charge from the block as it passes through. i was told by a radiator specialist to earth out my radiator as i had over .5v doing the coolant test.

however i did the "big 3" cable upgrade for my stereo. 0 guage cable for alternator to bat, bat to engine earth, and bat to body earth. guess what...better earths no electrolysis. as any stray currents in the block can find there way to the battery much easier!

[justbad4you]

Thats why it always pays to do a bloody good fush

i had a radiator in for 1 month eat its self apart from electrolosis. Was caused by the mechanic not flushing the system properly so it had the old coolant react with the new coolant causing electrolosis. Got a new radiator and new mechanic while i was at it.

[graham7773]

I want to know if this is all an urban legend. The engine of the VT and later Commodores (earlier ones as well) has at least two good earth cables from it to the battery and to the body of the car! Why do they not get rid of stray electrical currents? In an earlier post of mine I recommended distilled water and good quality coolant/anti corrosion. I forget who the next reply came from but they said "tap water is just as good as distilled water". Most of us know that is crap as distilled water has nothing but water in it. No salts, no purifers from Sydney Water or wherever you are, no fluoride. Nothing! How is that not better than tap water? Could not help myself. Had to have a rant!

[coasty]

i distill my own water. i use the right coolant and mix it exactly as told. this is the only way to stop electrolisys