Type A Electrolysis
"...the biggest characteristic of this type of
electrolysis is the fact that the electrolysis voltage will
disappear when the battery is removed from the circuit."
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When we have a 12 volt circuit that has a poor or missing ground, we
have an incomplete circuit that potentially pushes voltage into
surrounding components. Maybe it's an electric cooling fan motor
that has a
poor ground and is using the radiator
and coolant to complete the ground circuit. It may be fog lights
mounted on the bumper, grounding
through rusted mounting hardware.
It could be other other add-on accessories, like radios, amps, or
cruise controls to name a few. It might be an engine mounted sensor
"leaking" voltage into the coolant. Perhaps the engine grounds have
been "lost" during engine work, allowing current to flow "the long
way" back to the battery. Other offenders include aftermarket
electric chokes, spark boosters and audio upgrades. The point is, typically this type of
electrolysis is a lost ground return path to the battery, and the
current is leaking into the coolant as it finds a way back to the
battery. The good
news is, it is relatively easy to test it, isolate it and fix it.
Of course the biggest characteristic of this
type of electrolysis is the fact that the electrolysis voltage will
disappear when the battery is removed from the circuit. If in doubt
about testing, jump back to
the testing page.
When it comes time for isolating the exact circuit, there are several
strategies we can follow. 1) Obviously loose or dirty or missing grounds
must be repaired. 2) We also need to understand that
some circuits are
battery fed circuits, and others are ignition switch fed circuits,
meaning that we might not be testing correctly if the ignition switch is
off. 3) Most of the time removing 1 fuse at a time will be very helpful
in
isolating the exact circuit.
Once there is some isolation, further
investigation along that circuit will reveal more exactly exactly
the electrical fault. 4) Some high current electrical
components (starter and alternator) are not fused in the traditional
way and will require carefully removing the wiring to isolate.
5) Sometimes by unplugging wiring harnesses you can get a change of
voltage that will give you a direction to follow. 6) Treating this type of electrolysis like an electrical draw
will most likely result in the problem being found. 7) Some have
reported that during starter operation the voltage spiked. I have
not verified this.
