I noticed a small black box inside engine compartment labeled "Body Gard" and "Computerized Corrosion Control module" or smth to that effect. It was unplugged, so I tried plugging it in and red light on the box came up...
Is this supposed to be factory-installed option (didn't look like it)? I wonder how such a module can control corrosion, and if it indeed can then why previous owner left it unplugged? It's Durango 99 btw
Peter
Hot damn! Now if dodge could only figure out how to build a module to hold paint on! :)
By the time Dodge does this... GM will have a module that can self remove dents and Ford will finally get around to properly marketing their cruise control wiring/modules as BBQ lighters..
JS
No, it's an aftermarket unit. There should be two contact pads, located at opposite corners of the vehicle. It uses a small amount of current to circulate a charge throughout the vehicle, which impedes corrosion. Yes, it actually works.
Peter, There are such things and yes they work very well, provided they have been installed correctly. Their purpose is to counteract electrolytic corrosion. This occurs when dissimilar metals are in contact through an electrolite solution. They work by monitoring the electric potential difference between
2 points and creating a couterbalencing potential and appying it. For intstance, if you take a bronze propeller and throw it in the ocean. Then in a hundred years remove the propeller. There might be growth, but the prop would be intact. Take the same propeller, place it on the end of a stainless shaft, stick it on a boat in the same ocean and with the slightest electric leakage on that boat and the prop could be wasted away in a year. These systems prevent that from occurring. However, I think they have dubious value in a car. Steve
Unless the car is kept submerged, I can't see how it would work - sure hasn't worked on my daughter's Neon.
electrolite
ocean. Then in
"Body Gard"
effect. It was
When did you install it? Clay
It was installed by the dealer before it was delivered to the original owner. The car is not a rust bucket, but it does have one nasty spot on the driver's door, the muffler is pretty well gone from the outside, and any fasteners that are not cad plated are brown with rust - along with fuel lines and brake lines. Not bad enough to be worrysome, but no better than the wife's unprotected Mystique (2 years older) or my Trans-sport (4 years older).
I say it is high priced Psuedo-Science snake oil.
Thanks for the explanation! I'm not sure if this would apply to a car, but since it's there, why not use it. Now I just wonder why it was left unplugged... maybe to reduce drain on battery?
Peter
Peter, As I stated before, they work in a submerged electrolyte environment, where electric corrosion is a problem. They will not stop normal oxidation, that is a different process. I agree with one of your other reponders. It has dubious value on a car, consider this high priced snake oil. Steve
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