In the Camry’s owners maintenance and warranty booklet, there is no interval for changing the coolant, out to 12 years or 144k miles, but it called for the coolant to be checked every 30k. Both have the factory fill, never been changed. I tested two vehicles this weekend, my daughters 2014 Camry (90k) and my 2014 Subaru (114k). I’d check on and off because if you have a poor ground, it can cause electrolysis to occur even if the coolant is good. It is probably best done engine off so you are less likely to get a false reading from a poor ground. It also doesn’t matter if the engine is hot or cold or if it is on or not. BTW, in one test on a Silverado, the DEXCOL tested well above 9.0 but the voltage test was 0.350 (350 mV) so I think the 400 mV limit maybe outdated for modern coolants. Most people use an auto-ranging multimeter these days so which lead you use really doesn’t matter but if you have an analog meter, put the + lead on the negative battery post or ground and the - (black) lead into he coolant. Also the article above shows putting the + (red) lead into the coolant, that results in a Negative voltage. Outside of that range and you have ZERO protection. 200 mV seems to be the upper limit for HOAT/OAT coolants.īut the definitive test is a pH test. OK, I’ve been doing some research on this and the ritual above is pretty much the consensus of the various sources I have found. Here’s an article on doing the coolant galvanic reaction test. I don’t like flushing a cooling system but if it is muddy, a flush would be in order. With just a little cloudiness, I would only do a drain and refill. ![]() If your coolant looks like muddy water, that’s iron and you have a serious problem. Aluminum is pretty high on the activity scale so it will be the first to start corroding. If the multimeter test catches that sooner, then I think it would be better.Įdit: let me add the following. I have found that as the additives get weaker or depleted, the coolant turns cloudy, but that is because the additives have actually depleated to the point that the metal is already corroding and causing the cloudiness. I have never heard of the multimeter test that linked to but I’m going to try it. They only test the freeze point but the housing is clear so you can see the coolant.
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