Red 'paste' on electrical connections?

Di-electric grease

 

Whose purpose is maintain good electrical contact while preventing corrosion.

 

Andy- You can buy it in a spray can and I use it on battery terminals to prevent corrosion. Works great. Without it, you would probably have a bunch of fuzzy corrosion on those contacts. Works better than Vaseline, which we used in the olden days.

 

While you have the ignition parts out of the car, it's a good idea to replace the thermal grease between the BKL 1A ignition module and the heatsink as it is most probably gone by now.

 

Agreed, this is likely dielectric grease, there should be some beneath the module as well.
That Magnetti Marelli module sure looks like a GM "HEI" knock off. Those can be had stateside for $15, makes troubleshooting easy.

 

The paste underneath the ignition module is heat sink paste (thermal grease), it makes sure that the heat from the underside of the module is transferred to the heat sink. The paste on the terminals is silicone grease (also called dielectric grease), its job is to seal out humidity and to prevent corrosion of the terminals. Your ignition module can live without dielectric grease but not without thermal grease, at least not for very long

Marelli used GM OEM modules in early AEI200 ignition units (the heatsink/module/coil unit) and then later on used their own BKL 1A modules, part number Marelli 940038521.
Although the enclosure and terminals of the modules look identical to the standard GM units, the specifications of the different GM four terminal modules are quite different in terms of output power, current and dwell control. I've posted a list of compatible replacement modules here: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showpost.php?p=140835140&postcount=20

As example, the Hella 5DA module is around £29 in the UK, so no need to spend $100.

The ignition module (Amplifier), which is mounted on the large heat sink.

Best,
Adrian

 

I'll jump in, having had a Pantera years ago and say that the substance is not dielectric grease (which is specifically intended to be not only non-conductive, but to have a high dielectric constant and provide electrical insulation for things like spark plug wire boots).

instead, I think it is an electrically conductive paste intended to both prevent corrosion while at the same time helping make sure the connection stays sound.

An example of the material is here:

http://www.sanchem.com/aSpecialE.html

I don't have any of this stuff, but it did wonders for the crappy 70's era electical connections on that car.

 

It's fine to smear it on the connectors... most of it will be wiped off as the connection is made, but any that remains is going to be beneficial, because a semi-conductive state is better than a tiny arc. At that stage, we're talking almost the molecular level, but still. The fact that it keeps moisture out is also a benefit that outweighs any lack of conductivity to the tiny, tiny percentage of uneven surface area that might not be making full contact.

 

Heat sink paste, yes, sorry about that.
As far as those modules go, you might want to talk with an experienced(old) GM parts guy. The 466 could be a suffix that will be meaningful.
FWIW I'm pretty sure those modules covered a broad spectrum of vehicles and it would be hard to get one that wouldn't work.
This popped up with a "GM HEI ignition module" search. Note the long list of applications, including Fiat.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/GM-Chevy-Ignition-Control-Module-4-Pin-HEI-Distributor-/320635444061#vi-content
A Wells DR100 module ought to be in stock at your local parts house