Who can tell me …

[JBerd81]

What this thing is? I was messing around under the hood of my JT, trying to find the wires for the aux buttons and i found this.. no idea what it is, or how it works? Anyone

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[Hootbro]

Through the miracle of Google:

https://www.finalcoatusa.com/module.html

I have no input on the validity of what it claims to do.

Seems to be some dealer add on crap possibly.

 

[JBerd81]

When I push the button to test, nothing happens… I’m going to see if it’s wired into my aux switches ?‍. It’s in the same area as where the wiring for those is at.

 

[Cburd61]

Looks like “snake oil”. Some sort of anode to prevent corrosion. Kind of like the anodes JC Whitney used to sell to hang in your radiator.

 

[Hootbro]

I think I found the previous owner it was sold to.

 

[Jteakus]

Voodoo

 

[Jefe1018]

When I push the button to test, nothing happens… I’m going to see if it’s wired into my aux switches ?‍. It’s in the same area as where the wiring for those is at.

Pull that garbage out and make sure they don’t fudge any wiring putting it in.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Looks like “snake oil”. Some sort of anode to prevent corrosion. Kind of like the anodes JC Whitney used to sell to hang in your radiator.

Things can work in radiators and heat pumps and such where there's liquid and a current flow. Look at the zinc anodes in water heaters, and for boats............ but for a vehicle sitting on rubber tires? To electrically charge it?

 

[Cburd61]

Things can work in radiators and heat pumps and such where there's liquid and a current flow. Look at the zinc anodes in water heaters, and for boats............ but for a vehicle sitting on rubber tires? To electrically charge it?

That was sort of my point. I had one of the sacrificial anodes in my ‘50 Studebaker trucks radiator. (Yeah, I bit on it!). Had it in there for almost 35 years. There was actually a little bit of it left, after all that time. I had the radiator boiled out once in all that time. So, I guess it worked. But, an electrical anode, on an insulated vehicle, (tires), I don’t see it. In my opinion, it’s probably a $35 part, marked up $100.

 

[Moby]

This is a dealer add-on that relies on being “science-adjacent” to be sold. Using cathodic or anodic sacrificial metal systems can help preserve ship’s hulls in saltwater environments, but this doesn’t apply to vehicle sheet metal or paint. Someone bought a useless item that boosted the dealer profit.

 

[BlueScapegoat]

lol Proven to reduce the rate of corrosion on automotive sheet metal by up to 99.7%

Here's the patent

 

[LouisvEarlleJT]

I didn’t look up the company or this system, just want to say that out front.

I wouldn’t entirely write it off as snake oil. This appears to be an impressed current system. If you could prove conductivity between all panels that come into contact with dissimilar metals then it could work. If the test station is not showing conductivity then the system is no longer working (i.e. something is disconnected/corroded)

this is the same tech that is used to protect metallic water mains

All that to say-I highly doubt there are enough unpainted surfaces to bond all the aluminum panels on the vehicle in one conductive circuit.

 

[LouisvEarlleJT]

Things can work in radiators and heat pumps and such where there's liquid and a current flow. Look at the zinc anodes in water heaters, and for boats............ but for a vehicle sitting on rubber tires? To electrically charge it?

There are two forms of cathodic protection for metals, impressed current (which I believe this is) and sacrificial anode.

Impressed current relies on pumping juice into an isolated system (a vehicle isolated on rubber tires, metallic water mains isolated by rubber gaskets, etc.) and that impressed current keeps the metals involved from passing electrons between each other and causing the galvanic corrosion (like we see on our door hinges, etc. where there are dissimilar metals in contact).

Sacrificial anode systems rely on the metallic thing that we don't want to corrode already being in an electromagnetic field and as the name would suggest the sacrificial anode provides a place for that electron transfer to happen thereby corroding itself instead of the metal you're trying to protect.

This has been your primer into corrosion control and cathodic protection. *sits down*

 

[ShadowsPapa]

As we studied way back in college - doesn't really work on cars. Fine for water mains, there's a complete circuit, connection to soil, moisture, but for cars - meh, it doesn't transfer well.

Cathodic protection including sacrificial anode CP and impressed current CP are very effective for metals submerged or metals in soil, but the use of this method for outdoor structures such as automobiles is less efficient and protection is very localized.

Frankly for cars it IS snake oil.

From the web:
Those devices only work when the metal is submerged in water. While device manufacturers have plenty of anecdotal evidence from satisfied customers, Iny says he's seen no studies showing electronic rust inhibitors actually protect your car on the road. "Your car's not usually underwater," Iny says.

and

Why don't cars have cathodic protection?
But in your car, the only way to complete the circuit on all the metal in your car is to drive into seawater or be buried in soil! There are various products on the market claiming to provide cathodic electrochemical protection to your car, just by injecting electrons into your metal work - but they don't work.

and

by R Baboian · 1991 · Cited by 1 — 3 However, protection by impressed current protection (ICP), which is a form of cathodic protection, has not been used successfully on automobiles.

 

[firemedic2714]

Sacrificial anodes DO work. Fire trucks use them. Every truck I've seen has them on every inlet and outlet to protect the pump and associated plumbing. I've also seen the damage that's done when those anodes aren't replaced at regular intervals. Waterways start corroding and then it's big bucks to replace them.

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