Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club

Corrosion Control Module

After hearing the excellent results my Brother was getting with his and my Sister In-Law's vehicles equipped with dealer installed Corrosion Control Modules, I knew my first investment into my Delica would have to be Corrosion Control. . . and so, I did this week.

He spoke of a bare metal spot on his Suzuki, that at times would appear stained by corrosion, then at others, it would appear to transform back to bare metal over and over again. This told me that progressive dynamic visual results could be observed. He said his door hinges and door latching posts maintained their shinny brass coloured appearance unstained on up to the phew years owning the vehicle. Now, even more years since he told me about the unit, his vehicles are holding up great to the salty roads of Prince Edward Island.

I read that this technology was and is used in underground pipelines, freighters and battleships, as well as other industrial applications. The module disperses negative ions throughout the steel to reduce corrosion. During the corrosion process negative ions are lost to the atmosphere due to oxidization. Some argue this works because the ground or the ocean maintain continuity of the circuit throughout the steel, but in cars this isn't so. I based my decision not on this valid idea, but by real person results and loads of positive feedback from users online.

I looked around for modules online and found many for sale. Most modules I found are sold through dealerships and honour their warranty entrusted by installation of a dealer technician. Some warranties honour the defect of module unit on its own regardless of who installs the system and some go with secondary coverage warranty against corrosion when installed by a licensed tech. I drove to the nearest dealer (Ford in Nelson, BC.) and purchased mine for $200 and proceeded to install myself.

Product: First Canadian Protection Products
Platinum Shield Protection: Corrosion Control Module

Will it work? I'm willing to sand a section of paint to bare metal to see. I will post results here as time progresses.

Installation was easy. The module mounts via Velcro with adhesive backing. Included in the kit was a alcohol wipe to clean the surface prior to mounting the adhesive Velcro pad to body. I used a spot of diesel on a cloth then followed with the alcohol wipe for a truly clean area. The photo shows the cleaned area.

The wiring harness fits tight and proved to be a hassle if needed to disconnect within the small space of the battery compartment. I instead of risking busted knuckles, I lubed the connectors up with some dielectric grease, which proved to help ease of disconnection.

The three wires were mounted easily; Black to Battery Negative, Red to Battery Positive, and Blue at least four feet from the module on the chassis. I used the full length of the wire provided as it was just enough to reach the exhaust bracket and grounding wire for the transmission near centre of the Delica L300.

I made sure to sand down the surfaces of the places I was connecting my wires and used a little dielectric grease for added protection. I ran the blue wire from the battery compartment down along the coolant overflow hose, then along a cable underneath towards vehicle centre. I then mounted the Blue wire above, or first before, the grounding wire for the transmission thinking it may be better for dispersion of ions and and less chance of complications. I like this area for it is close to centre, used the full length of provided wire, met the minimum of distance from module and as a bonus intersected the exhaust bracket, transmission and chassis/body of the Van. In the future I may connect a wire to meet the exhaust system to unsure extra protection seeing most of it hangs free by rubber hangers.

Very interesting, will be watching your results

The science behind them is pretty solid. It's kind of like using a zinc sacrificial anode but using some energy from the battery to reverse the reaction so that it doesn't corrode away (in this case the frame is the anode and the battery prevents it from oxidizing. I've never seen one in action so I can't speak to whether it will work, but I'm considering one and would love to see how yours does at protecting your van!

So, these are from day one of sanding down to bare metal. I sanded two places; one is on the passenger side fender behind the tire on the spot welded seam where there is existing surface rust, the other is on the corner of the passenger door of no rust. I chose the door seeing the current has to travel through all the connections fastening the door, then down to the bottom corner, plus these two places are easy to monitor daily. So, far it's been a couple of days since I had taken these photos and nothing has changed. I'm excited to check back in a week, after of being parked at an airport as I am away for training.

These are the photos taken two weeks later since sanding down to bare metal. It appears the door hasn't changed a bit where as the area where corrosion already existed has stained some. I'll keep monitoring and see what will occur in months from now.

I would be interested to hear how this project is going now that it has been a few years.

You can get sacrificial anodes for cars, its called galvanising. Negative ions are just electrons. The science behind large anodes on ships works because you are sat in a conductive solution and you can use that, it isnt the same on a car body, and flowing electrons through the car body is no different to using the car body as the ground for the electrical system, and this allegedly promotes rust in spot welded bodies. There is no magic to car rust, steel wants nothing more to be in an oxide form, and sanding bits off will just promote that. I would be genuinely interested to see solid science for these working.