Dielectric grease revisited

[3Phase]

Hah! I haven't played that in ... decades. I usually got my tailfeathers kicked by my ex-wife so I quit playing.

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[Geezer]

I have to disagree with most of what has been said here. If you don't pack the plug, there will be gaps where condensation will collect and cause corrosion.

One thing I do is to take a pair of pliers and gently tighten the female terminals before inserting them in the plug body. This way when the 2 halves are mated together, the dielectric grease is wiped away from the connecting surfaces.

I've been doing this for years and when done right, it's a permanent connection.

Similarly with bullet connectors. They usually have to be tweaked a bit to tighten them up. Old ones will snap and that's how you know they need to be replaced. It's kind of like when the fuse holders snap. It's not your fault, it was just time for them to go...

Geezer

[3Phase]

Well, yeah, but you and the rest of the Northwest contingent and a lot of the folks up in TheGreatWhiteNorth live where people don't tan, they rust and then freeze in place for the season! Pack that stuff where you can, try not to leave it outside and check it regularly anyway even if you do.

For the people that don't have to gear up like Flippy the Frogman to ride down to the corner store for a sixpack of Twinkies a little dab is plenty!

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[jetmechmarty]

When it's all said and done, you may do as you wish. As for me, keep it away from my bike. I would likely not even buy one that had that stuff in the connectors.

[MaximPhil]

After my experience I am drinking Marty's Kool Aid
Right or wrong I am not taking the chance with it any more.
While the evidence may be mixed I have joined the " Just say No camp
Phil

[BA80]

Dielectric grease[edit]

Dielectric grease is electrically insulating and does not break down when high voltage is applied. It is often applied to electrical connectors, particularly those containing rubber gaskets, as a means of lubricating and sealing rubber portions of the connector without arcing.

A common use of dielectric grease is in high-voltage connections associated with gasoline engine spark plugs. The grease is applied to the rubber boot of the plug wire. This helps the rubber boot slide onto the ceramic insulator of the plug. The grease also acts to seal the rubber boot, while at the same time preventing the rubber from becoming stuck to the ceramic. Generally spark plugs are located in areas of high temperature, and the grease is formulated to withstand the temperature range expected. It can be applied to the actual contact as well, because the contact pressure is sufficient to penetrate the grease. Doing so on such high pressure contact surfaces between different metals has the advantage of sealing the contact area against electrolytes that might cause rapid galvanic corrosion.

Another common use of dielectric grease is on the rubber mating surfaces or gaskets of multi-pin electrical connectors used in automotive and marine engines. The grease again acts as a lubricant and a sealant on the nonconductive mating surfaces of the connector. It is not recommended to be applied to the actual electrical conductive contacts of the connector because it could interfere with the electrical signals passing through the connector in cases where the contact pressure is very low. Products designed as electronic connector lubricants, on the other hand, should be applied to such connector contacts and can dramatically extend their useful life. Polyphenyl Ether, rather than silicone grease, is the active ingredient in some such connector lubricants.

Silicone grease should not be applied to (or next to) any switch contact that might experience arcing, as silicone can convert to silicon-carbide under arcing conditions, and accumulation of the silicon-carbide can cause the contacts to prematurely fail. (British Telecom had this problem in the 1970s when silicone Symel® sleeving was used in telephone exchanges. Vapour from the sleeving migrated to relay contacts and the resultant silicon-carbide caused intermittent connection.)

It does just exactly what it's supposed to do and was designed for in my experience.

[Geezer]

In that case you will need to tell the 3 big auto makers in Detroit to stop packing connections with dielectric grease... I don't know about new bikes but all new cars have come with the connections packed for over 10 years...

Tony

[jetmechmarty]

Dielectric Grease - The PROPER way to apply it.

http://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generatio...onents-979955/

an FYI about dielectric grease and electrical components
considering the FC harnesses are usually the worst condition of all the vehicles i see i have seen many people do different things with the harnesses to try and buy more time from them.

one thing people have tried is dielectric grease on various electrical component connections. this is NOT a good idea! dielectric grease or "tune up grease" as you may find in auto parts stores is ONLY meant for high voltage connections such as spark plug wires, that is about the only place it belongs on a car.

using it on electrical connections, eventually you may as well pitch the harness into the garbage.. it's almost impossible to get the stuff out once it's in there, dielectric grease does not conduct electricity very well and will in fact cause resistance issues and eventually failed connections.

the best thing to do for connections is to clean and dry them with cleaners like brake cleaner or carburetor cleaner and compressed air. a nice dry solid and sealed connection is about the best you can hope for. any other electrical connector grease compounds are not easy to locate so dry and clean is your best bet.

don't let the name fool you(just put the first 3 letters together and think about it) or let the store clerks tell you otherwise, they're not the ones who have to deal with the aftermath of diagnosing intermittent issues or replacement parts aside from grabbing them off the shelf and ringing them up for you. in fact it's meant as a voltage inhibitor, to keep the spark from leaking out of the spark plug boots and to also keep them lubricated for easy removal.

also seen people use it for the contacts on the notoriously bad window switches, it's at least easy to clean off in there but if you really like tearing the switches apart regularly then go for it.

http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum6/HTML/001202.html

Dielectric grease is a nonconductive grease. Because it is nonconductive it does not enhance the flow electrical current. Electrical conductors should not be coated with dielectric grease prior to being mated. However, dielectric grease is often applied to electrical connectors, particularly ones which contain rubber gaskets, as a way to provide a nonconductive lubricant and sealer for the rubber portions of the connector.
The widest use of dielectric grease is in high-voltage connections associated with spark plugs. The grease is applied to the rubber boot of the plug wire. This helps the rubber boot slide onto the ceramic insulator of the plug. The grease also acts to seal the rubber boot, while at the same time preventing the rubber from becoming stuck to the ceramic. Generally spark plugs are in located in areas of high temperature, and the grease is formulated to withstand the temperature range expected.

Another common use of dielectric grease is on the rubber mating surfaces or gaskets of multi-pin electrical connectors used in automotive and marine engines. The grease again acts as a lubricant and a sealant on the nonconductive mating surfaces of the connector. It is not recommended to be applied to the actual electrical conductive contacts of the connector.

The application of any sort of a nonconductive grease to the actual contacts themselves can't help them make better contact at that point. You have to hope the grease gets squeezed out of the way so the two conductors can make contact. Any grease left in there is going to reduce the contact, not improve it.
If the contacts are not perfectly clean, you'd be better off using something like WD-40 on them. WD-40 is designed to restore electrical contacts. It is a decent solvent and will get rid of a lot of corrosion and dirt in the contacts.

If the contacts are open and exposed to the air and water, it may make sense to apply a grease covering to them after the connection has been made. The grease then just acts as a sealant to keep out water and air, and may prevent corrosion from occurring.

Here's one telling you to pack your connectors with it. Preventing Car Electrical Problems With Grease
He's says he's been a mechanic for 46 years and that dielectric grease is a good conductor. He gets my vote of no confidence.

Yes, there are probably plenty who will tell you to pack it with grease. I'm not going to change my mind. Spark plug boots and o'rings.

[3Phase]

I didn't watch the video all the way through because the first minute was enough to convince me that last guy there bumped his head.

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[jetmechmarty]

I didn't watch the video all the way through because the first minute was enough to convince me that last guy there bumped his head.

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The second video, or the first one?

[3Phase]

The second video, or the first one?

The last one:-
Preventing car electrical problems with grease. https://youtu.be/zhl3bLzgq9A

From the title I thought he was going to talk about bearing or chassis grease, not silicone. Regular grease works great for slathering over battery terminals so they don't get fuzzy, silicone's a little pricey for that.

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[BA80]

Regular grease works great for slathering over battery terminals so they don't get fuzzy, silicone's a little pricey for that.

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Bearing grease tends to melt and run into the connection and cause magic smoke issues.

[motoman]

Bearing grease tends to melt and run into the connection and cause magic smoke issues.

That it do.....any of it including silicone. Had an Army retired mechanic in our shop decades back that insisted on either greasing, painting,etc. batt. terms. and connections after removal and good cleanin' with soda and water. This was on the large multi batt. plow trucks(CDOT). What cured him finially was being sent(call-out) to top of RedMountainPass, 2am in the mornin' and -30F for a 'no-start' cond.......and yes, rest of us got a pretty good chuckle out of that. He also had a bad habit of using 'gorilla snot' weahter-strip adhesive on new rocker-box cover gaskets on the Cummins diesels, then wondered why they would return with 'weepy' valve covers........some folks....they are just SO hard to re-train.....lol.

[3Phase]

I've never had a problem from greasing battery terminals.

I have had problems from not greasing battery terminals when they turn into powder and sort of dissolve as they're washed off but no problems using grease except when I get stupid and put my sleeve in it while working.

I really hate acidified grease, the stuffs just plain evil.

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[jwhughes3]

The last one:-
Preventing car electrical problems with grease. https://youtu.be/zhl3bLzgq9A

From the title I thought he was going to talk about bearing or chassis grease, not silicone. Regular grease works great for slathering over battery terminals so they don't get fuzzy, silicone's a little pricey for that.

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That guy talks about all the headlight connectors he has replaced that were melted - one has to wonder was that AFTER he slathered them in non-conducting grease?

John