Aggravation: Free of charge

[Boogieman]

I've been having the worse time with my VX lately- too many mornings w/ a dead battery. Happened once while my daughter was driving it while we were away, so I figured she left the lights on or something. I've had it go dead after not driving it for the weekend, and noticing that I closed the door on the seat belt; not closed enough to turn off the dome light. I'm usually very careful about the belt thing, but after doing this a few times I decided to just pull the dome light bulb out. Last week, after left sitting for just a couple days- nothing. Dead as a road kill.

I've taken it to a dealer to have the charging system checked. Alternator was fine. Everything was OK. They said there's a factory Izusu something that's drawing a small current- something about an anti-rust system, and offered to disconnect it, but I figured since it was all checking out OK I'd leave it be. It's got a brand new battery now, but something's not right. Cars aren't supposed to go dead if not driven for a week.

Anyone with any ideas, I would appreciate it.

Keith

[Anita]

Did they mean an anti-theft system? Is there any after-market devices that could possibly be shorting and draining your system?

[Boogieman]

Did they mean an anti-theft system? Is there any after-market devices that could possibly be shorting and draining your system?

There's is an aftermarket alarm installed, so I thought that, too. Weird thing is, I've owned this VX for a year and a half with no problems, other than the occasional drained battery from my own doing, i.e. leaving the dome light on. So that's what leads me to think that it can't be that- it's been there all along.

The dealer said there's an Isuzu factory anti-rust inhibitor thingie installed. It electrifies the frame and undercarriage to prevent rust- his words. And I may be wrong with the actual numbers/terms- but they said you want to be below 12 amps draw with an idle battery, and I'm at 11 amps. Disconnecting this anti-rust drops it to 5.

I may take it back there and ask them to do it. I can't enjoy my VX if it's always dead in the garage, and my daughter will be driving it again this summer while she's home from school, so I can't have it dying on her all the time either.

[Ascinder]

I'd like to know what this anti rust mechanism is since I'm fairly sure none of us on the forum here have ever heard of the thing. I have heard of the Navy using an electrified system on ships to inhibit rust, but never on a car.

[Moncha]

The Anit-Rust mechanism is pure BS,, The steel body panels are galvanized to resist rust but, there is not a cathode that I'm aware of to keep the rust bugs at bay.

Have someone you trust at a good quality parts store do a "Load Test" on your battery (Detached from the vehicle).

Your problem sounds more like a shorted cell within the battery. Depending on the brand, most batteries have a sticker over the vent holes so your don't see them. (Usually between the posts) Does said sticker have a discoloration?? If it does, that is a tell tale sign of the battery "Venting", a common occurance when a cell is shorted (Caused by deposits stretching from one plate to the other). This venting is a release of hydrogen and sulfuric acid making the discoloration.

The load test shows the defect much better than a simple voltage test. The load test will show the voltage of the battery under load (Which should drop dramatically over a short period of time) and be very different than a simple resting voltage test, which will most likely show 12 volts or just under making the service person tell you the battery is fine when it's not.

Good luck

[Boogieman]

The Anit-Rust mechanism is pure BS,, The steel body panels are galvanized to resist rust but, there is not a cathode that I'm aware of to keep the rust bugs at bay.

Wow, that's interesting. Thing is, it was a local repair place (one I trust) that told me about the rust-inhibitor thing- it was something they FOUND on the vehicle. So it wasn't an Isuzu dealer/salesman/parts guy saying it. Whatever it is, he said when they disconnect it the drain drops quite a bit. I'll report back when I learn any more- I've gotta do something to keep the thing from dying.

The battery is two months old, so while it could be that, chances are something else is draining it.

[johnnyapollo]

I'm with Scott on this one - my advice is get it checked and if you need a new battery, take a look at the Optima Red Top (or some equivalent spiral technology battery) - the peace-of-mind is well worth the extra cost (check Costco for the best price).

-- John

[Ascinder]

Do you know where it was allegedly located on the VX? That might help solve the mystery. I just did a google search on this type of thing and evidently they do make something like this for cars, but as Moncha posted, the VX was not known to have this kind of thing, but a galvanized approach instead(which means be careful sanding, lead=bad).

[Moncha]

The battery is two months old, so while it could be that, chances are something else is draining it.

I've seen brand new batteries come off the shelf with shorted cells, happens while in shipping.. So age sometimes does not matter.

If you could get a good description or photo of said part that your shop is talking about. We'll figure it out..

[Boogieman]

If you could get a good description or photo of said part that your shop is talking about. We'll figure it out..

Just called the shop. they said it was a small box mounted on the firewall w/ a green and red light (as he remembers it). Said to just disconnect the red wire and tape it off to disconnect it.

I can;t go look for it 'cause I don't have my VX here with me- it's at home... oh yeah, dead in the driveway.

[Moncha]

Has to be after market, never seen anything like that. Even if it was an anti-rust device, (I'm not arguing) it should not draw that much current if it's working correctly... See how it goes.

[Mark B]

Anti-Rust Mechanism?
I would like to know what this guy is talking about.
I have never heard of this in the VX. In fact, I have never heard of this in any vehicle.

[nfpgasmask]

Yeah, once you figure out what is going on, I would totally throw down for an Optima Red Top. These batteries are very good, long lasting and well worth the money, plus they are a lot smaller than conventional batteries, which keeps things looking good under the hood.

Hey, that rhymes!

Bart

[Boogieman]

Anti-Rust Mechanism?
I would like to know what this guy is talking about.
I have never heard of this in the VX. In fact, I have never heard of this in any vehicle.

Well, I found out what it is... sort of. There's two boxes, one mounted on the firewall on the left side, and the other on the right side fender well (inside the engine compartment). I couldn't get a decent picture with my camera phone. The main one is on the firewall- a red positive wired directly to the battery, a negative ground and a white wire connecting the other box mounted on the fender well across the engine bay. Definitely an anti-corrosion device, though there's no ISUZU markings or logos, so I would also say it's an aftermarket unit. Which doesn't surprise me- the previous owner loaded this thing up.)

Haven't jumped the VX yet to get it running again, but hopefully disconnecting this unit will fix the issue.

Read some interesting articles on these units yesterday. one went as far as to say that, because of the inherent fact that a CAR sits on RUBBER, these devices by their very electronic nature CANNOT work- there's no ground. Hmm.. Snake oil anyone??

Thanks for the help-
Keith

[claylong]

Ok. Let's think about this:

Rust is a chemical reaction between iron and oxygen. Corrosion is similar. They both result in loss of mass (after the metal gets transformed and flakes/breaks away).

Electroplating is the process of using electrical current to coat an electrically conductive object with a relatively thin layer of metal. (wikipedia)

I guess you COULD use the electroplating process to make sure that the frame (presumably what is being protected) collects material instead of losing it, however that would require a return path for the current. And because, as you mentioned, the car is on rubber, there would be no such path.

So my initial impression of this "rust prevention" device is that it is bogus.

Anyone have any experience or research to the contrary?

UPDATE: News article on the topic

UPDATE: Forum post (note the username of the guy that has the "device")

UPDATE: Seems that most pages I find are based out of Australia and New Zealand. Counteract Products