Not sure what your stall out is, with my poor ignition wire connection car would not run unless leaving the key turned to the start mode. Common culprits are a bad ignition switch or ballast that checked good. Came upon the poor connection by chance more than skill - bumped the harness and presto car would start. Good luck - review instructions for how to take out the bezel and cluster for your car. For mine, I put a towel and masking tape on the steering column to avoid marring it and the edges of the bezel. Stay gentle and patient...to avoid stressing wires/connections at least is the case with mine.
Car died at traffic light!
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Ranger16
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Don't overlook the connections on the starter relay. Mine stalled on me at a light about a year after I bought it. Long story short, those connections where so corroded, it looked like they had never been removed since the car rolled out of the factory. A little scrapping with a knife and I was back on the road.
There is so much misinformation and misunderstanding about dielectric grease. Yes, you are absolutely right, dielectric grease does not conduct electricity. As a matter of fact it specifically is an insulator. What conducts electricity is the contact of metal to metal in the connector itself. The purpose of dielectric grease is to protect the contact points so they do not corrode (e.g. like VitaminCRR's car).
Slap Stick
Well-Known Member
But when you slather the grease inside the connectors before use you are putting the grease on the contact surfaces and then hope there is a clean connection.
It should be used AROUND the connector to prevent moisture from getting inside and causing corrosion.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicone_grease
It should be used AROUND the connector to prevent moisture from getting inside and causing corrosion.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicone_grease
All properly functioning connectors have some type of spring force to force the male to female connection. In other words, to push them together for a gapless positive connection. Otherwise, you would have arcing and intermittent issues. Dielectric grease will not stop that from happening unless you have a really bad connector, and then you would have a problem without the dielectric grease.
If you have a protected part like a spark plug, you could potentially wipe dielectric grease around the inside of the boot to help insert the boot and also keep moisture out. This also can apply to some modern day auto connectors that better protect the connections via a rubber gasket. But in places like our open firewall connectors, which are essentially a bunch of spade connectors, dielectric grease should be on the connectors themselves to protect them. And, yes, on and around the connectors too!
If you have a protected part like a spark plug, you could potentially wipe dielectric grease around the inside of the boot to help insert the boot and also keep moisture out. This also can apply to some modern day auto connectors that better protect the connections via a rubber gasket. But in places like our open firewall connectors, which are essentially a bunch of spade connectors, dielectric grease should be on the connectors themselves to protect them. And, yes, on and around the connectors too!
Slap Stick
Well-Known Member
Just spoke with my son. Retired avionics tech.
Former Director of QC at a military cable supplier, former electrical tech in a steel mill and a present in QC for a military cable supplier.
NO grease inside the female connector pins!
Former Director of QC at a military cable supplier, former electrical tech in a steel mill and a present in QC for a military cable supplier.
NO grease inside the female connector pins!
Well, I certainly would expect that an avionics tech would have specifics as to what to do! But I would love to understand why.
I am an electrical engineer, and I have stated the reasons why I believe there should be dielectric grease even in the female connector pins (and by the way, if there is grease on the male pins, won't it then get in there anyway?) Please understand, I am not trying to pick a fight, but merely trying to understand the reasoning for not putting it in the female ends.
Hawk
Ranger16
Well-Known Member
So much conflicting information (all from good sources) leaves me more confused that when I started.
That said, I have dielectric grease on my bulkhead connectors with no problems, so I think I for one, am going to leave well enough alone.
That said, I have dielectric grease on my bulkhead connectors with no problems, so I think I for one, am going to leave well enough alone.
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All I can tell you is my Western snow plow works flawlessly with dielectric grease smeared everywhere possible on the quick disconnect plugs for blade control... and I'm an Electro Mechanical Engineer myself. That said, I use it in very few places but have never had it fowl a connection from working properly.
Well - suppose one could wonder why the stuff was mfg...'dielectric grease' a solid connection = metal to metal contact and the stuff surrounds it to prevent intrusion of corrosion on this contact.
69_Coronet
Well-Known Member
I have used dielectric grease in electrical connectors for a long time with the idea that the grease would coat the connector to prevent corrosion but the wiping action of the contacts would clear the grease from the actual contact area to give a good connection. I have never had an issue with this procedure.
That said, the one thing that needs to be checked when putting grease in a female connector (as warned about in post #26) is that if the connector has no place for the grease to escape (a lot of military electrical connectors have very nicely machined closed end contacts), the grease can prevent the connector from seating properly. This can also be an issue with rf connectors, which often have no good escape path for the excess grease. For the normal connectors used in our automotive applications, I doubt that there would ever be a problem, as these usually have lots of room for the excess grease to escape. The bulkhead connector certainly has this. Cheers!
That said, the one thing that needs to be checked when putting grease in a female connector (as warned about in post #26) is that if the connector has no place for the grease to escape (a lot of military electrical connectors have very nicely machined closed end contacts), the grease can prevent the connector from seating properly. This can also be an issue with rf connectors, which often have no good escape path for the excess grease. For the normal connectors used in our automotive applications, I doubt that there would ever be a problem, as these usually have lots of room for the excess grease to escape. The bulkhead connector certainly has this. Cheers!
66Satellite47
Well-Known Member
Well, I certainly would expect that an avionics tech would have specifics as to what to do! But I would love to understand why.
I am an electrical engineer, and I have stated the reasons why I believe there should be dielectric grease even in the female connector pins (and by the way, if there is grease on the male pins, won't it then get in there anyway?) Please understand, I am not trying to pick a fight, but merely trying to understand the reasoning for not putting it in the female ends.
Hawk
horsman, I think your post #23 says why not to put the dielectric grease in the female connector, it's an insulator, which inhibits the conductive quality of the connection. But I'm not an electrical engineer, just a Civil. LOL
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Right. But the grease does not make the connection. Every electrical connector, regardless of design, has some spring loaded element that forces the male and female parts of the connector to make a solid connection where metal touches metal. It is through this junction that electricity flows. Dielectric grease does not inhibit this connection as it is easily wiped away by the spring force of the connector.
The only exception to the above, which is probably an issue you and others are considering, is as posted by 69_Coronet. It is if you have a closed connector (BTW we don't for our old Mopars). In effect, you would have hydrostatic pressure since the grease cannot escape the closed connector and it would inhibit the ability for the connector to fully seat (figures you would think of that as a civil!
).Since 69-Coronet said it so well, I will simply re-post his exception below.
66Satellite47
Well-Known Member
Right. But the grease does not make the connection. Every electrical connector, regardless of design, has some spring loaded element that forces the male and female parts of the connector to make a solid connection where metal touches metal. It is through this junction that electricity flows. Dielectric grease does not inhibit this connection as it is easily wiped away by the spring force of the connector.
The only exception to the above, which is probably an issue you and others are considering, is as posted by 69_Coronet. It is if you have a closed connector (BTW we don't for our old Mopars). In effect, you would have hydrostatic pressure since the grease cannot escape the closed connector and it would inhibit the ability for the connector to fully seat (figures you would think of that as a civil!
Since 69-Coronet said it so well, I will simply re-post his exception below.
I certainly agree, it's metal to metal contact I fear could be inhibited by the grease. Good metal to metal is required, and enough surface area of the good contact to conduct the needed amperage, right?
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Jesus Chrysler... I still say he had a carb float stick up..
VitaminCRR
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Slap Stick
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This.
Let's lighten the mood:
Actually Don, I think this is a great example of what this forum should be. A few people discussed the use of dielectric grease. We did not all agree, but we all posted our comments and reasoning respectfully. Now folks reading the posts can decide for themselves.
I have no beef with any member regarding this discussion, and will gladly hoist a beer with any of them in the future. If we can't disagree on the finer points on usage of dielectric grease without becoming enemies - then THAT is when we have a problem!!!
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