Electrical contact grease

[Lojanica]

Hi. MY GPS has crappy connections from corrosion. Can anyone recommend a good grease or solvent to improve my connections. It's a garmin with quick disconnects (pin type) but the corrosion is making it worse as time marches on.

Thanks for reading!!!

[Reefmagnet]

I fix those sort of problems by firstly giving it a good clean with contact cleaner spray followed by a daub of either lanolin or silicon grease on the pins to protect from corrosion (I prefer the former).

[model 10]

Totally pack the connector with silicone grease. I would have thought this stuff would have made a connector, not a connector but it doesn't. We had a fully electronic aircraft engine in south east Alaska that would act weird. We packed the engine connector Cannon Plug with about 50 pins, full of the stuff and it worked great.

[JPA Cate]

There is specially made conductive silicone grease, available from places like Jaycar.

But, first, try cleaning the pins using a pencil eraser; use the contact cleaner spray on the socket side. Then the grease.

Good luck with it. Intermittents are so d--n frustrating!

Ann

[Reefmagnet]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

There is specially made conductive silicone grease, available from places like Jaycar.

But, first, try cleaning the pins using a pencil eraser; use the contact cleaner spray on the socket side. Then the grease.

Good luck with it. Intermittents are so d--n frustrating!

Ann

No, no, no! The conductive stuff is for heatsinks. You need stuff with high dielectric value (think resistance to arcing) for this job.

Sent from my SGP521 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[travellerw]

Yup, like suggested above, you will need to clean the pins first. An exacto knife (the hobby kind) is helpful here. Be very gentle and scrape what you can.

These last few years I have been using CorrosionX on all my stuff. It truly is a wonder product. After its clean, dip the connector in CorrosionX, shake off the excess and you will never worry about it again. Same goes for any connector on your boat (can you say ring terminals).

Its also pretty cheap when you consider a single bottle can last years.

Heres a video of some guys using it to waterproof RC electronics (yes salt water).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4z8QMgTEA4

[transmitterdan]

Corrosion X is a sticky insulating material. If you get it on the pins or in the sockets it will likely interfere with making a good connection. It's ok to spray on after you have mated the connector but I advise not spraying it on the pins themselves.

Garmin usually use gold plated connectors on their gear. They should not corrode. They may be dirty or there may be salt in the connector that is interfering with the signals. Look for CRC spray contact cleaner at any hobby shop or some Home Depot and Lowes stores carry it. If you can't find CRC cleaner you can try WD-40. It is a pretty good solvent cleaner but it doesn't dry up like CRC so you have to use a paper towel to dry the connector.

The silicon grease will keep the water out of the connector but it won't clean the contacts. So clean the contacts with a solvent cleaner then use the grease to keep the water out.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Guy

Totally pack the connector with silicone grease. I would have thought this stuff would have made a connector, not a connector but it doesn't. We had a fully electronic aircraft engine in south east Alaska that would act weird. We packed the engine connector Cannon Plug with about 50 pins, full of the stuff and it worked great.

Originally Posted by Reefmagnet

No, no, no! The conductive stuff is for heatsinks. You need stuff with high dielectric value (think resistance to arcing) for this job.

Sent from my SGP521 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

Totally concur with ^^.

Best practice (IMO) is clean contacts with DeOxit 05 contact cleaner and pack with DC4 grease.

The DeOxit 05 is simply the best contact cleaner I have ever used (and I have used heaps ). Expensive but a little goes a long way. If someone knows a better contact cleaner, please share!

DC4 is a Dow Corning silicone grease; again I don't know of any better but maybe there are some

[travellerw]

Originally Posted by transmitterdan

Corrosion X is a sticky insulating material. If you get it on the pins or in the sockets it will likely interfere with making a good connection. It's ok to spray on after you have mated the connector but I advise not spraying it on the pins themselves.

Garmin usually use gold plated connectors on their gear. They should not corrode. They may be dirty or there may be salt in the connector that is interfering with the signals. Look for CRC spray contact cleaner at any hobby shop or some Home Depot and Lowes stores carry it. If you can't find CRC cleaner you can try WD-40. It is a pretty good solvent cleaner but it doesn't dry up like CRC so you have to use a paper towel to dry the connector.

The silicon grease will keep the water out of the connector but it won't clean the contacts. So clean the contacts with a solvent cleaner then use the grease to keep the water out.

I apply CorrosionX on all kinds of pins and contacts (I work in EE) and I have never had a problem with it "Interfering with the connection". Hhhmm its also not sticky (actually a lubricant), so I'm not sure if you might have it confused with something else.

They actually have an entire webpage dedicated to its use in electronics.
CorrosionX for use on electronics

[transmitterdan]

Most of the white heat sink compounds are not electrically conductive. They are a specialized silicone grease. They are thermally conductive but are insulators for electricity.

There are a few specialized heat sink materials with metal ingredients that are electrically conductive but they are esoteric and uncommon.

[transmitterdan]

Originally Posted by travellerw

I apply CorrosionX on all kinds of pins and contacts (I work in EE) and I have never had a problem with it "Interfering with the connection". Hhhmm its also not sticky (actually a lubricant), so I'm not sure if you might have it confused with something else.

They actually have an entire webpage dedicated to its use in electronics.
CorrosionX for use on electronics

It is non-conductive. It has to form an insulating film to effectively stop corrosion. It may be so thin and weak that it is easily scraped off when the plug is inserted into the contact. I know people spray connectors with it but I would not want to do it on my stuff. If you want to protect from water clean, dry, insert then seal the connector after it is mated. Keep the moisture out and corrosion can't start.

[transmitterdan]

Originally Posted by Wotname

The DeOxit 05 is simply the best contact cleaner I have ever used

Agreed on DeOxit. The stuff is amazing and somewhat hard to find these days.

DC4 is great for keeping water out and high dielectric strength. SuperLube markets a dielectric grease that I suspect is DC4 with a different label.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Wotname

... Best practice (IMO) is clean contacts with DeOxit 05 contact cleaner and pack with DC4 grease.
The DeOxit 05 is simply the best contact cleaner I have ever used...

To Prevent Electrical Connector Problems:

1.Avoid silicone sprays.

First: Use a good spray cleaner like DeoxIT D5 Connector & Contact Treatment. This breaks up the oxides and contamination. This is only a cleaner and the cleaning improves conductivity.

Then: Use an electrical contact enhancer like Stabilant 22 or Stabilant 22A. Initially it is non-conductive and then switches to a conductor in the presence of electricity (quantum tunneling). This switching ability is set so that the material will remain non-conductive between adjacent contacts in a multiple connector, and yet enhance the conductivity of each connector. It provides a tenfold to a hundredfold increase in connector reliability.
However, one word of caution is needed. Do not use a contact enhancer such as Stabilant 22 on a switch for an inductive load. In other words if the switch sparks when disconnection occurs do not use the stabilant as it would increase the sparking. However it is O.K. to use it on the wiring harness connections for these switches and circuits.

[travellerw]

Originally Posted by transmitterdan

It is non-conductive. It has to form an insulating film to effectively stop corrosion. It may be so thin and weak that it is easily scraped off when the plug is inserted into the contact. I know people spray connectors with it but I would not want to do it on my stuff. If you want to protect from water clean, dry, insert then seal the connector after it is mated. Keep the moisture out and corrosion can't start.

Again, you should read the webpage. It explains very clearly how it works.

I work in EE and have used it on 1000s of connectors and never had an issue. As have many of my collogues. Its a FAR better solution to using silicon grease as the next time you unplug the connector you are not left with a mess. I highly suggest you try it sometime, it will change your whole view of electrical connections in a tropical environment. Ring terminals and retaining screws look like new forever.

However, I do agree that sealing the connector in the first place is the best solution. I carry adhesive lined shrink tube of all sizes.

Just so we are clear.. I have absolutely no affiliation with CorrosionX at all. It just happens to do what they say and I'm happy for it.

[denverd0n]

Had never heard of Stabilant, so I looked it up. Whoa! Almost $50 for a 5ml bottle. That is some precious stuff!