Will copper grease do the same job as dialectic electrical grease?

[daverclasper]

Hi.  Old school mechanics used copper grease on battery terminals, will it be ok on other connections (dialectical grease a lot dearer and I already have a couple of tubs of copper)

Ta

[Nigel Clark]

Copper grease or even Vaseline will be fine on battery terminals. 

Nigel

[daverclasper]

Thanks. Wondering about the rest of the loom connections, for protection, as car is parked outside 24/7 and prone to winter damp

[Peter Truman]

Must admit when replacing the 50 year ol bullet connectors use copper grease to help push the male into the female joiner amd it stops corrosion of the joint

[ed.h]

Not sure if copper grease intends to be conductive, but dielectric grease by definition is not conductive.

Ed

[Iain T]

Interesting posts, my horn pencil scrapes round the column brass disc. Can I smear copperslip round the ring in an attempt to minimise the noise? 

Iain 

[johny]

Think only very specific greases (silver based?) are actually conductive but on fixed electrical connections its not necessary as the main advantage is to stop the ingress of moisture/air and reduce corrosion. The grease will be moved out of the way as the connection is made so allowing good conductivity however the same is the case with a moving connection like the horn push so although I think a little is a good idea the track itself will still become exposed...

[Morgana]

Grease used on electrical connections is pushed out of the way by the action of the connectors mating (think male-female Lucars, bullets etc. - the joint itself is 'gas tight'). Any grease is just going to ease assembly, and afterwards limit oxidation of the joint by preventing air and water ingress. It won't have any electrical effects unless the grease is conductive.

Vaseline is the easiest to clean off later and unproblematic. I used to use silicone grease, but it migrates and causes problems with some insulations, and of course paintwork... I've recently bought some of Lanocare's products which have the advantage of being OK on the skin, and rather nicer than petrochemical greases.

I wouldn't personally use copper grease on electrical connections, as it's formulated to prevent galling on threaded connections for easy dissassembly rather than for its electrical properties. None of the electrical system apart from the HT circuit is a high enough voltage to be concerned about esoteric electrical properties of grease like flashover resistance, so it would likely be fine, just not my idea of a proper application.

[Morgana]

5 hours ago, Iain T said:

Interesting posts, my horn pencil scrapes round the column brass disc. Can I smear copperslip round the ring in an attempt to minimise the noise? 

Iain 

My partner had a problem like this on an MGB. The solution was to polish the horn pencil and the ring so they were nice and smooth, and grease sparingly (probably vaseline, can't remember). No noise no more.

[Pete Lewis]

ian make sure the pencil is the right way up 

copaslip is an anti seize compound not a lubricant 

Pete

[Iain T]

2 hours ago, Pete Lewis said:

ian make sure the pencil is the right way up 

As its a non standard boss I've had to use a spacer to get the pencil to contact the ring. Perhaps I need to take another couple of mill off the spacer. 

Iain 

[Pete Lewis]

i only say this as one end is soldered  the other end has the longer brass brush to wear on the column ring  

use it solder down and that wears quickly ad the thing flies apart 

Pete

[Iain T]

1 hour ago, Pete Lewis said:

only say this as one end is soldered  the other end has the longer brass brush to wear on the column ring  

The gap between the brass ring the back of my boss is bigger than with a standard boss. It's down to offsets in the die casting hence the need to have a spacer but perhaps it's pushing the plunger in too far so I'll add reducing the spacer length to the job list. 

Iain 

[Gully]

I had to replace the multi-way bullet connector for the dipped beam headlamps on my GT6 recently. I squirted the new (and existing) connectors with this spray to hopefully ward off corrosion for a little longer:

Edited September 19, 2023 by Gully
Spelling

[Pete Lewis]

reminds me of the hospital !!!!

Pete