Ozalid

Hi, Ok so every other post or article ive seen on putting dielectric grease on fuse connections seems to contradict the previous one.
My under dash fuse box has corrosion around fuses .(see pic) Im going to replace all fuses, and I was thinking of using dielectric grease after cleaning the fuse box connections as best as I can.
What are our collective thoughts on this ?
Thanks

PatHenry

I loves me some Dielectric grease. I put that **** on everything.

Edit - That's the strategy I would use. Worse case scenario you still have issues and need to replace the box, but it's definitely worth a shot to clean and dielectric it and see if that's sufficient.

investinwaffles

I also put dielectric grease on pretty much every electrical connection I can find. Just make sure you don't put TOO much on. I do a thin layer on the contact surface and "rub" the contacts together to make sure I have good contact, and grease pack the outside to prevent any moisture from getting in

Some connections just dont like ANY on, like the inside contacts of the window switches (had to take the whole damn door panel apart because the switch would either "stick" on, or not work at all), and my windshield washer pumps just don't make contact no matter how I bend the pins.

But electrical contact cleaner takes it off quickly and with minimal hassle if you do put too much on

tech

Dielectric grease will help stop corrosion , and will help stop you from having a bad connection .

BlueRidgeMark

Ozalid, here's the deal. Some people do not understand the purpose and function of dielectric grease. They see the word, "dielectric", and freak out.

"Dielectric means it's an insulator! You can't put that on anything electrical!!!!"


Yes, a dielectric material is an insulator. True. But dielectric grease is made purposely to be used on electrical contacts to prevent corrosion. It works really well for that, too.

How can this be? How can an insulator be good for electrical contacts?

Simple. Other than a hard vacuum (like in deep space), nothing is a PERFECT insulator. Not even something like rubber, which is used for insulation on lots of high voltage products.

One thing that affects how well an insulator insulates is how thick it is. How much distance does it put between the two electrical conductors? Air is a good insulator, but get a couple of 10,000 volt wires close enough, and you'll have an arc. It's not insulating anymore.

Similarly, dielectric grease insulates LESS as it gets thinner. On electrical contacts, engineers talk about "contact pressure". That's the pressure exerted by one contact against another, and the actual numbers would surprise you. This contact pressure squeezes the dielectric grease into a film just a few microns thick, which is enough to keep oxygen away, but is providing almost zero insulation. You would need a very sensitive lab meter to measure the resistance. It's effectively not there.


So, use dielectric grease! It's a GOOD thing!


Here's an excellent technical article on dielectric grease vs. "conductive" grease. It goes into more depth than I have here.

(SPOILER ALERT: It turns out that "conductive" grease.... isn't.)

Ozalid

Thank you all for your responses !! I knew I could count on you.
Ill be going out to garage after dinner, changing fuses, WITH dielectric grease !!

Turbo X_J

Fix the leak?

DustyWagoneer

The grease is a good thing, but you have to get the corrosion off the contact surface area first.

jordan96xj

Dielectric grease is also formulated to produce very little carbon (soot) when electrical pulses go through it. Otherwise, on some applications, soot would build up over time on the contacts and create some of the same problems that corrosion can (high resistance, etc.)