NAALOX grease instead of gold kit connector upgrade? Preventative?

Awesome! Hope we agree more. We are like the movie "grumpy old men." Ha!!

 

Let me ponder that for a moment....
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We are all united in our sympathy and concern for those poor electrons having to fight their way through dirt, water etc in their determination to reach their destination.

 

I can't follow or interpret all the sarcastic comments in this thread. I can't speak for dielectric grease -- I have some but have never used it and am not a fan of the concept of using grease on electrical connections.

Deoxit, however, I have used for more than 15 years on a huge variety of applications from low current (microphones, turntables outputs, sensors, etc) to high current applications (charging docks, relays, etc.) to Ferrari fuse boxes/connections and it works miracles. It looks and goes on like a cleaner -- it is nothing like a grease and it does not attract dirt once applied. It comes in spray can or brush bottle. I recommend the brush for most applications because you can be very precise where you apply it. If you spray it on recklessly, then it's possible it could attract some dirt on the surrounding surfaces, but still very little because there is no obvious coating. If you apply it precisely with a brush, no Deoxit will be exposed once the connector is back together and there is zero chance of it attracting dirt. One tiny bottle lasts for many years.

If you use Deoxit on old connectors, they will conduct much better and they will stay that way. If you use it on new connectors, it will keep resistance low and keep the connection clean for a very long time. There are no downsides to using Deoxit that I have ever seen and it works very, very well at permanently restoring bad connections.

 

peterp, dielectric grease is silicone. couple things about silicone, it is a very good electrical insulator aka 'dielectric' material, being non-conductive and tenacious the stuff withstands high heat, refuses to wash away to the point where when in contact with bare metal it requires a acid wash to remove. it's non hygroscopic or does not absorb water, it will displace it actually. It's primary use under the 'hood' is on sparkplug boots for all the above mentioned properties and that it's electrical breakdown is very high (kV range). the word grease is simply to describe it's physical state, silicone can be an oil, grease or rubber.
Hope that helps.

 

But...I wouldn't have it any other way.
Yes, I missed the dielectric part.
Petroleum grease; will absorb moisture. NG for connections anywhere.
Silicone grease; while it will not absorb moisture, it will trap moisture. Also, I don't want an insulating product anywhere near something I want to conduct electricity.
I have been using DeOxit for years in the video and audio field.
While a connection in a car is very different than audio or video patch bays, keeping the connection clean, tight and moisture free is what it is all about.
We are talking about inconveniencing electrons. I want them moving when I want them moving.

Cool?

DavidJ

 

Hmmm... dielectric susceptance..
how do you feel about capacitors?

insulation is paramount in the operation of an electric circuit. without it...well it'll be "shockingly short".

oh and in the A/V field PTFE, silicone, etc.. are part an parcel for signal transmission, without it we wouldn't have coax.

All ribbing aside, silicone is used heavily in the electronics industry. Dow Corning is one major supplier. without it's use airplanes would have a tough time with corrosion from moisture due to temp and pressure swings at altitude, aerospace, etc...

even when moisture is trapped in the silicon matrix when the temperature of the matrix increases the water will migrate out rather quickly and easily. Also even at full saturation silicone has ~10x less water then epoxied or potted connections that can not diffuse trapped moisture. There is a mistaken belief that silicone will increase resistance or break the connection, it doesn't and can't short of terrible terminals that can not make physical contact.

Nothing wrong with DeOxit, wouldn't be surprised if it contains dimethyl polysiloxanes though.

 

I use Deoxit as well.

It has a companion product called "Shield" which is supposed to be applied after the Deoxit has been used to clean the piece.

My question: what is "Shield," and is it a good product for use with Deoxit to clean and protect electrical connections on F-cars?

 

That's specifically for aluminum power connctions, bussing, wire.
Not sure what that gains you on the tin plated connectors typical to our cars.

Anything is better than nothing I suppose.

The point of the gold plating is that thee is no oxidation at all.
Aluminum oxide forming really degrades the connection as it is non conductive totally...

 

Their products are a bit confusing. This sheet shows what each one does: CAIG Laboratories, Inc. - Product Comparison

And this describes each product: When do I use DeoxIT® vs DeoxIT® Gold, DeoxIT® Shield or DeoxIT® Fader?

In general, the D100L is the cleaner, which should be followed by either the "Gold" or the "Shield" for protection. Gold is better than Shield for conductivity because it has deoxidizing properties and improves conductivity and reduces resistance. Gold is much better in most ways if you look at the comparison chart, so it seems like Shield would only be useful if the environment was really dirty.

Gold has some light cleaning properties (0.5% cleaning in G110L vs 20% in the D100L), so it will do some very light cleaning in addition to conditioning. If the contact appears clean, you can probably use Gold (G100L) without the cleaner (D100L) first. If the contact is really dirty and discolored, then using the cleaner (D100L) first is probably a good idea.

Gold comes in 2 flavors: G100L is good to 240 degrees while GX100L is good to 310 degrees.

 

I've been wondering about using a DeoxIT protectant as a followup to their cleaner but haven't learned enough about its use in an automotive environment to come to any conclusion. smg2, if you have any comments I'd love to hear them.

As to Gold versus Shield, this quote from the description of Gold on the DeoxIT site has me thinking that Shield would be better for our cars unless a gold connector kit has been installed: "For plated surfaces (gold and other precious metals)..."

 

I haven't used Shield, so I can't comment on it from experience. If you look at the product comparison though, Shield is missing a lot of the areas of what makes Deoxit work so well in terms of preserving conductivity. Shield looks a bit closer to Silicone Lube in performance. I imagine that Shield is better at sealing off dirt, but I am not convinced at all that any of the automotive connectors on a road car are that prone to dirt anywhere close to the contacts. The connectors may attract dirt if the outside of them are slathered with grease, but they won't attract any if Gold is precisely applied to just the contacts.
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I agree that the Gold GX100L has the most favorable characteristics as depicted on that chart, and if that holds true on non-precious metals it looks like the clear choice... assuming there are no drawbacks to applying it. The question of whether or not it would work okay on our (presumably) tin connectors could be answered with a call to Caig. But whether it's advisable to use on our cars is harder to answer. I'm interested in trying it on certain connections, but have been waiting for comments from folks knowledgeable about terminals.

 

The full data sheet (attached) provides more detail about their concerns regarding silicone. The detail also states that Deoxit uses petroleum naphtha as a thinner and, while safe for plastic, it can cause swelling of some types of rubber. It seems like they should have had a rubber compatibility column in their chart. I haven't noticed any issues with Deoxit swelling rubber, but they do suggest testing for compatibility when used near rubber.
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Since the chart comes from Deoxit is anyone surprised by the stated results?

 

Their conductivity tests were done by an independent leading (non-disclosed) automotive manufacturer. I'm sure the tests were paid for by Deoxit, of course, and I think they should have included rubber compatibility on the chart instead of as a footnote. That said, the stuff is magic and is significantly different and better than any other electrical contact cleaner or conditioner I have used. Unless a contact is physically broken, my experience is that this stuff permanently fixes any intermittent connections, even when other products have been tried and didn't work. If you have any intermittent electrical connections, or you want to prevent them in the future, using Deoxit to condition connectors/fuseboxes/sensors/etc will be the best $20ish dollars you ever spent by a very wide margin.

Read the text of the user reviews here: Amazon.com: DeoxITGOLD Liquid, Brush Applicator - Metal Contact Enhancer, Conditioner, and Protector: Electronics

If anybody tries this and it doesn't work, I will rebate half of my commission from Deoxit (although that, sadly, is $0)

 

I've been saying this stuff is the magic elixir for electrical contacts, for years.
However, as I understand it, the "Gold" formulation is for gold contacts.
Make sure you use the correct formula for the metals you are applying it to.

I have used this stuff to clean and condition connections for a long time, it has never failed me yet.
Try it, you will be pleasantly surprised.

DavidJ

 

I found the best price for it online, through Amazon.

Dave at SRI installed the gold pin connector kit in my F-car and banished the electrical gremlins which previously haunted it.

As they've not returned, I've decided to leave well enough alone and have not messed with any of the connections, i.e. I've not used Deoxit on them as part of a regular maintenance program as I don't know whether I should or not.

 

The absolute best environment for an electrical connector is a hard vacuum, not possible so the next best is one where there is no environmental condition present where 'electroplating' can occur. That gets tricky depending on the metals involved, the anodic gap between them and the voltage and current on that circuit. cleaners are trying to reverse and stabilize what a poor environment has done to that connection, making the connection 'weather tight' is the next step. However the other issue is now with all those chemicals in play what is the interaction between them all and how does that effect the metal and what happens at specific voltages and amperage draw?

That is why a silicone dielectric is used and why it is also very effective. However once cleaners and other chemicals are used I have no idea what is going to occur at that connection.

 

Deoxit doesn't do themselves any favors with regard to branding or product labeling because it is very difficult to tell the products apart even when they are sitting right next to each other.

The products that begin with "D" ("D100L" in the tiny brush/bottle or "D5" in the spray can) are the "cleaners" -- meaning that they have powerful cleaning agents with a little bit of conditioning.

The products that begin with "G" ("G100L" or "GX100L" in the tiny brush/bottle or "G5" in the spray can) are the "conditioners" -- meaning they are primarily a conditioner but still have a tiny bit of cleaning agent included.

When the connectors are brand new, you can definitely use just Gold without the cleaner. If the connectors are old or discolored, then it is best to use the cleaner first, followed by the gold. Regarding the color change, sometimes I see some brightening of the contact, but not always. It would be good to first determine whether you have the cleaner or conditioner. If you are going to use only one of the two products, then the cleaner might be better for old connectors (because it will clean the contacts more effectively and it still does include a tiny bit of conditioner to help preserve the connection over time).

That said, I've used the Gold without the cleaner plenty of times, and it usually still works really well, but in some instances it takes longer to work (the connection doesn't seem much better immediately, but it works perfectly a few hours later).

Regarding which metals work for the "Gold" product -- I've used it on all metal types and it works well for all of them as a conditioner. The deoxidizers may be optimized for certain metals, but as a conditioner it works well on all metals in my experience.

 

This just in: Parts Express has a crazy deal on Deoxit, a package including BOTH the "Cleaner" and "Gold" in 7.4m. bottles for $19.95: CAIG K-DG100L-2DB DeoxIT & DeoxIT Gold Electronic Maintenance Kit

I paid $24 for just the Gold a couple months ago and just ordered the Cleaner on for $15 on Amazon a few days ago. I've never seen this stuff go on sale (naturally it would happen just after I placed an order).

 

Thanks very much for the tip, Peter. I was planning to place an order for replacement caps for my speedometer anyway, so added this thanks to your timely post. I've had great luck with those products on my vintage AV components, so here's hoping they hold up as well in an automotive environment.

 

That's a great deal.
Thanks, got mine!

DavidJ