Snake oil?

[tref]

Gentlefolk,
With more than a few miles on the clock, and a fair passage of time, the electrical system on my daily 944 is not what it once was. Sure, I can keep cleaning up connections every time the car is left idle for more than a couple of days, but some things, like for dashboard bulbs, take an awful lot of dismantling to clean up. There is also the fact that certain connectors were only ever intended to be made and broken a couple of times, and every time that action is repeated, it as damaging yet another connection. I have had it in my head that if a small dollop of something liquid and conductive could be put at the point of contact, then capillary action might hold it there, and the electrical connection be maintained far better. Mercury was the obvious thing to me, but that would probably (!) be frowned upon.
A quick trawl of the net suggests there are substances available, one was what looked like £125 for a tiny bottle, but also something much cheaper (£30). So, does anyone have any experience of these kind of products? Good for connectors, but not for switches? Do work? Don't work? ruined some-ones hi-fi with them?

I would be interested in your experiences.

Thanks,

Tref.

 

[Waylander]

I have a strong suspicion that you might be the Guinnea pig here

 

[scam75]

Indeed! I have used De-Oxit over the years with decent results. On earthing points and in multi plugs etc. Its only about a tenner. Not sure about its capillary action right enough but it sorts out poor contacts and oxidation.

Stuart

 

[944Turbo]

At work we use(d) something called (thomas and betts) Contax which is a type of conductive grease, We use it for buried earth connections before wrapping them up in denso tape. I say 'do' we haven't actually done any earthing for about 15 years, all covered by the civils guys now. Pretty sure I have some either in the garage or my unit, I will dig some out if you want to try it, a thimble full will probably cover your collection!
However I have never used in on the type of contacts you will encounter and don't know how conductive it actually is - it is designed for a thin film on both conductors prior to connection, but I have a suspicion it may be for high amp stuff. If you are still working in Ringwood, I will be passing on the way too/from the unit either this week or early next if you want me to drop some off for your experimentation!
Tony

 

[Frenchy]

It certainly won't do any harm, 30 odd years of wiring looms being in place will see a few of us with problems in the next few years.

 

[vitesse]

I use a cheap & cheerful contact cleaner spray -let it dry-then use Vaseline ( or any brand petroleum jelly) on re-assembly -seems good enough for battery terminals as it is electrically conductive

 

[tref]

I had forgotten about vaseline on the battery terminals, and I have a pot dedicated to that very job!
It sounds like there could be something in this idea then.
Tony, that would be wonderful, although I am only in Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday next week. I will also be at Porsche Centre Bournemouth Thursday evening for our monthly meeting though.
Thanks,

Tref.

 

[Diver944]

Sitting here at my desk I am wondering if 'Copperslip' is conductive?

 

[vitesse]

Certainly conducive to preventing striction??

 

[944Turbo]

I had forgotten about vaseline on the battery terminals, and I have a pot dedicated to that very job!
It sounds like there could be something in this idea then.
Tony, that would be wonderful, although I am only in Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday next week. I will also be at Porsche Centre Bournemouth Thursday evening for our monthly meeting though.
Thanks,

Tref.

Hi Tref,
I now have a small pot of contax in my car, will be driving through Ringwood tomorrow about 10.30 and again around 17.00 (traffic willing), I will try and make the Thursday night meeting too, I haven't made it to one for about 5 years! is it open to all or do we need to reserve a spot?
Cheers,
Tony

 

[944Turbo]

Details

 

[944Turbo]

And the health and safety info, dont eat it! (Tref I messaged you my phone number)
Tony

 

[944Turbo]

Sorry double post!

 

[944Turbo]

Sitting here at my desk I am wondering if 'Copperslip' is conductive?

Probabky but maybe not consistently,
Tony

 

[tref]

Thanks Tony, I have sent you an sms.
Thursday is free for all.. We have a "bring a buffet" thing, but not essential, as some people bring more than enough, and much more important is seeing old friends and new faces along to the club.

 

[PhilKent]

Vaseline gets my vote. It provides a thin film to prevent oxidation of the joint, I use it on all ground points, not used it in the instrument binnacle though. Interested to hear if you use other products and their effectiveness.

 

[tref]

I have a plan... I have three gloops to play with, so I am planning to 3d print a holder to hold my multimeter probes to a set distance apart, and to a controlled depth, and measure the resistance of each. Lowest resistance wins (oh to be back at a previous place I worked with all sorts of fantastic four-wire contact measuring equipment and such-like!).
Anyone see a flaw in this plan?

 

[Waylander]

I not an electrical engineer, but nonetheless interested in the results

 

[tref]

Neither am I! I was hoping there might be one knocking around here somewhere that already had the definative answer to save me the trouble!

 

[Waylander]

Ah the grasping failed, just have to try now