Anyone know about dielectric grease?

I use it for things like the turn signal/brake bulbs on the car where they get exposed to salt corrosion. When you try to take one out to replace it you sometimes almost destroy the socket - not to mention break the glass and bulb base - to get it out. I put a drop on the connections and coat the metal shell - never had a problem with shorting out, tought I am carful not to just smear it on the two connections - just a drop on them. Sometimes use it on 120V house plugs that carry max current to help the conduction. Connections get HOT if there is a poor connection. The heat takes the spring out of the outlet prongs so they do not grip as well - making a poorer connection - making it hotter - making.... you get the idea. It is a down hill slide! Until they can get so hot they catch FIRE!! Had one do that in a computer room where I worked. Melted the plastic around the cord end, chared the outlet! NOT GOOD!!!

I would not use the dielectric grease you found since it sounds like it is intended for high voltage connections i.e. spark plug wires. AND that even makes me suspitious that the grease is NONconductive! That is what we called the greases used for space applications when we DID NOT want connections to carry current. The stuff you found may be intended to keep moisture out ONLY, and also help cut down on leakage of the high voltage spark current. That would work this way. As a dielectric (nonconductor - see dictionary) grease coating on the spark plug wires going into the distributor, it would prevent moisture build up that would allow the spark plug firing current to sneak out. When you have some leakage of the spark current it slowly creates a carbon path - from the plastic being burned a little at a time - that then allows more current to flow allowing greater burning of the plastic, allowing... Said this before - down hill slide! Now because the spark voltage is high enough, it just BLASTS it way through the grease that is in it way going fron the coil to the plug on the first firing and them it is gone from in the path so from then on it is as if the grease is not there. But it is still coating the wire and protecting it.

We KNOW that the aluminum wire grease is a conductor. So I would stick to that for all your low (be it 6V ro 12V, that's low) voltage tractor connections.

Regards,
Larry

Whenever I do ANY control wirin that will be on the outside of a buildin' , regardless if copper or anything else, and, regardless if the connections are contained in a "rain-tite" box, I always insist that an "ANTI-=OXIDENT" compound be pur on the BARE wiring. We use a GREASE. I just don't know what it (the grease) is called anymore. Seems as though the change the names, depending on the times. You migjht check with your local UTILITY company.

RTV compound works for me.

Hope this might help git the week GOI'n. :}))

Tim Daley