HOW TO ASSURE A PROPER GROUND ON YOUR MARINE GAS ENGINE WITH ANODIZED PARTS
Anodized parts look great, they can really add that customized touch to your model boat, but did you know that the anodizing process is also a great insulator?
Why is that?
The process of anodization is actually a dying process to aluminum very similar to the way we can dye Nylon or even material (clothing). This process enables colored dye particles to impregnate the aluminum at a shallow depth, .001-.002 inches. During the anodizing process surface hardening takes place and this byproduct becomes non-conductive on the surface level.
This poses no real problems for parts that are not required to conduct electricity, but in the case of a ignition engine it can drive you crazy troubleshooting and replacing perfectly good parts.
The most common method (and this is the same one we used to practice) is to machine or “scratch” off the anodizing under bolts and also re-tap anodized parts to provide a virgin aluminum conductive surface. This works well in most cases however I have had engines running for months and all of a sudden hear customers tell me that I am no longer getting a spark. Puzzling as it sounds we lost the ground. I have had it happen to me during testing. It seems that the big culprit is the anodized parts that are threaded. Even after re-taping the threads (that does not remove all of the anodizing) I would assume that the wet conditions we operate in crates oxidation and resulting in a electrical barrier. Rather than take any chances, I came up with a simple solution that we now use on all anodized engines that can easily be made for pennies in your own work shop.
Follow the diagram bellow to create a simple jumper “bond’ wire and install it on your anodized Zenoah marine engine as shown. It’s simple and inexpensive insurance, and not even a bad idea to use on a non-anodized engine.
Remember– Electricity travels easiest and more efficiently in the path of least resistance.
Happy boating,
Tony Castronovo
Materials needed:
1- 3” length of 14 gauge stranded wire
2– 14 — 16 gauge closed end terminals
1– 1/4” - 1/2” 4MM bolt
1– Terminal crimp pliers
Step 1- Strip each end of the #14 wire back 1/2”.
Step 2– Crimp a terminal end on each end.
Step 3- Install one crimp end on the top coil mount as shown.
Step 4– Install to other end to the block under the coil mount (open threaded land) using the 4MM bolt.
This is a very effective way to assure that you will have no electrical engine grounding issues.
