Importance of Dielectric grease and cleaning connections

[Jerre Heyer]

Difference between, Hey my plow works great and my plow won't work.

Two of the three have a problem. Guess which ones.

:feedback

[SNO]

Ok,
What do you do now?

Any tips?

Mine is looking similar I noticed this year.

[Jerre Heyer]

Cleaning the plugs thoroughly with brake cleaner and or electric contact cleaner and blowing out with air is the start. Make sure you don't have any broken pins. Fill the hollow pins with dielectric grease and then fill the holes in the other half of the plug. Plug them together all the way and unplug them to check that you are getting a good coverage of grease on all the pins and holes.

If you leave the plow on the truck for an extended period of time unplug them once a week or so and clean and check that the grease is keeping things from corroding. On the BOSS and BLIZZARD plows be sure to do the same for the headlight connections also.

If you have broken or missing pins........Pay the fee and get a new plug end.

I tell guys it's $6.00 of grease a year or $40-100 per plug end to replace

Jerre

[Snowboy]

I Got problems with my Fisher Controls. I have blasted the Shi_ out of them with brake cleaner a few times since getting the plow on. 1st I used Fluid Film once the connection was clean then I started having problems again so I blasted it again. This time I used Grote or Trucklite Grease and squeezed it into each little hole plugged in the cables re greased worked good. I took the plow out this week and the stupid thing was acting up and I was getting pissed off.

I figured I had too much grease and maybe it wasn’t making contact so I wiped a bit off. Same problem, press the buttons and it didn’t want to do anything, after unplugging a few times I left a little slack and didn’t push it all the way in but later on it started to fail again, Just the other day I pressed left it just shook side to side by maybe an inch. :fuming :headwall


Whats the prob here? Pins look good and clean.

[wyldman]

Dave - like I said before,it needs a new connector.It's the female side of the pins causing the problem.

[4evergreenlawns]

I learned a leasson to about washing when it is cold. After a pressure wash I had parked the truck over night only to come out the next morning to find the plow dead. After chipping away about 1/4" of soild ice around the plug I cleaned it out with some starter fluid and applied a nice thin even coating of die-grease. Has worked great since and not one sign of that green monster.

Side note on the plug: The truck end has a nice cap with a full rubber strap. The plow end however it attached with some wires and it has already broken off on one plow and just about ready to fall off the other one. No way to wire tie or anything to attach to really. Any suggetions, Jerre???

[Lazer Man]

Ron what I do is plug both caps together, work great of course this is after I was negligent of the dielectric grease and had to replace the plow side harness. Jerre now you tell me. LOL Aw its my fault as I should have known. My plug prob resembled the top plug the one was green and actually broke off plow just would not work I wonder why.

Bob :greenange :greenange plowing!

PS BTW Jerre thanks for all your help on my other problem we got it solved.

[Snowboy]

Dave - like I said before,it needs a new connector.It's the female side of the pins causing the problem.


Ahhhh sooo.. I dont remember you telling me that chris, but oh well. It was really testing my nerves that night. Guess if I ditch that plow ill throw the wires in as well.

[snowplowjay]

We have a few casualties of war that will be getting replaced come spring time...........


Salt and road grime are a killer............


Jay

[BWhite]

I grease the heck out of them constantly . Especially the backplow connector

[4evergreenlawns]

I always plug them togather I am talking about the fact that the plow end blank plug it now no longer attached to the main wire and I am thinking is it just a matter of time until it end up lost. Than the chance for that grime to start up is more likely.

Thanks.

[Jerre Heyer]

For all my preaching I guess I should take a pict of the front of my truck and the plug with no cover on it. Points down to the ground and hasn't had a cap in several years. However the plow side is a different story. I keep it well greased and put it under the plow pump cover when I take it off, Points down and doesn't get any thing in the plug on this half either. Only time I have a problem is if there is a heavy frost and it builds up on the grease in the female side.

Ron as far as a nice cap for the plow side goes I've been trying for a plug like the cap on the truck side for years. Plow and truck side used to be like the plow side. PITA IMO. The cap on the truck side is nice and we need something like that for the plow sided but Blizzard hasn't done it yet.

On the Fisher plug you are having problems with you may want to take a small prick punch and put it beside the pin and use it to make the socket side smaller. If the wiring is the problem you will have to replace the plug end but usually we find it's the socket has opened up and the pin won't make contact anymore. The fisher has solid pins so you can't spread them open like the western/////we usually spread the western pins and bring the socket size down.

Jerre

[Jerre Heyer]

Another good pict. One of these shows what happens when the alternator goes bad and overheats the plug ( pin melted off the harness and out of the plug )

[Jerre Heyer]

Plugs with corrosion and dirt / garbage in the plug keeping them from working or going all the way together.

[SNO]

Thanks Jerre,
Appreciate the tips and time on the pics.

[business]

Jerre, the time spent teaching us how to take care of our equipment is priceless, including helping a couple of us with trucks and plow isssues.

Your pictures are awesome and clear. They show and remind us what will happen if we dont use that dielectric grease! The same happened to me! I simply got lucky, my plow was still under warranty. They had to replace the harness on both sides (male and female) The big female positive plug had vanished due to corrosion, the other plug wasn't looking good either. It took the Blizzard dealer 3 hours to replace the whole harness. I even got the grease for free! I felt pretty bad!

Save yourself a lot of money! Clean, check and re-grease accordingly!
Just my opinion! :canada

[bud16415]

Jerre great post and ditto to the above.

On the topic of dielectric grease. How many of you guys use or recommend it’s use on spark plug wires? Both at the plug and cap or coils?

Bud

[PSDF350]

thanks to this thread. when my ARB air locker wasn't working, instead of costing me $ on a 5 prong plug. I decided to try some dielectic grease just becuase this thread came to mind as I was about to head into parts store.

[festerw]

Jerre great post and ditto to the above.

On the topic of dielectric grease. How many of you guys use or recommend it’s use on spark plug wires? Both at the plug and cap or coils?

Bud

I've been using it for awhile with no ill effects, besides actually being able to get the plug wires off when I need too. If you go up to Autozone you can get a can of it with an extension to fill plug boots.

[wyldman]

It's always needed at the spark plugs boots,as todays vehicles have enough coil potential to blow the spark right past the boot.It also helps keep water and corrosion out.

I use it on both ends of the wires,it can't hurt.Just make sure you relieve any built up air in the boot,or it may pop off when it gets hot.This happens more on the distributor cap\coil ends,as they don't snap on as tight as the plug wires.

[Snowboy]

So what’s the maintenance schedule on greasing and cleaning the connectors? How often thought the season should it be done?

Dave.

[Jerre Heyer]

Every time you pull the plug apart and see a lack of grease....Add it.

If you don't take the plow off all winter...At least once a month check it

Jerre

[nsmilligan]

I got 7 years out of my Fisher plugs, by keeping them well greased with di-electric compound, also ANY electrical connection on a plow truck will benifit from the liberal use of dielectric grease saves big payup! The trailer plug whether you use it or not during the winter should be greased, and if anybody is running an electric spreader Snow/ex, etc, greasing the plugs will save a lot of :headwall :headwall

Bill

[Snowboy]

How does fluid Film work for this purpose? I use the Truck-Lite stuff on my plow. But on smaller connections i use fluid film.

[wyldman]

The best stuff is the NTK anti-corrosion compound.I imagine the Truck-lite stuff is similar.

Silicone dielectric grease doesn't do a lot ot stop corrosion IF water gets it.It does act as a sealant,but if water gets in (when disconnecting) it will start corroding.We don't need the dielectric properties either,as the voltage is too low.I think thats why a lot of guys who use silicone dielectric grease still get corrosion.

I imagine Fluid Film would work too.

[nsmilligan]

Fluid film is great as a rust preventive on exposed metal, but it doesn't have the same qualities as dielectric grease on electrical connections. Di-electric grease prevents the conduction of electricity. The corrosion on electrical connections is speed-ed up a 100 fold by the presence of salt and moisture,and the electrical current flow it allows between ground and live (positive) poles, the same as metal will corrode a lot faster when dissimilar metal are in contact(aluminum and steel), because they set up an electric current between themselves. All boats and outboards have sacrificial anodes that will corrode ( Zinc) before the rest of the metal (steel) because of the electric fields generated by the motor (usually ground) and the charging/ ignition system (+). The blue stuff in Jerre's pictures is copper oxide the result of the anode being eaten by the electrical current flowing between it and a + pole.

Bill

Ps Chris, I think you'll find the other products are silicon based dielectric compounds, ther whole point in life is to prevent electrical current between the contact +&- poles, if enough moisture gets in then the current will find a path, something like a young guy a beautiful girl, if both are willing it takes a lot to keep them apart :shades

[bud16415]

Basicly a dielectric is a measure of a material that is a poor conductor or a good insulator of electricity. And if you want to really dig into this most substances have been tested and given a dielectric constant number that measures its ability to not conduct.

Dielectric grease has several functions. First is to produce a film over the electrical conductive point that increases the electrical insulation between that point and ground. Air will conduct current, moist air better, water better, salt water even more. They also have other properties as well even when no current is being applied the metal in the connector is subject to corrosion the grease coating is made to resist common water and salt sprays. It also has thermal properties it has to be able to sustain some level of heat without drying out or becoming liquid and running out as in the case of spark plug boots. Another property it has to have is lubrication on connector pins it eases assembly and in things like switches prevents wear. The last thing it has to do is be compatible with the other materials in whatever you put it on rubber and plastic safe etc.

I talked to fluid-films chemist about this once and they do advertise its dielectric properties in their printed information its numbers are as high as most dielectric greases listed as nonconductive. Excellent on salt spray, doesn’t dry under heat, good heat and cold rating. Good lubricity and compatible with rubbers and plastics. The stuff in the spray can use a propellant that will not change the properties of the bulk material.
Its thinner than the greases and that could be good or bad if what you are looking for is packing something full. On the other hand it migrates well if you had a larger area you wanted to spray down for basic corrosion protection but it also contained electrical stuff. (like the inside of a door)

Keep in mind I don’t sell this stuff or promote it I have just been experimenting with it for about a year and the information I have has come from the manufacture.

Bud

[Jerre Heyer]

Keep in mind I don’t sell this stuff or promote it I have just been experimenting with it for about a year and the information I have has come from the manufacture.

Bud


I do sell the stuff and like other products I have, wouldn't sell it if I didn't use it or test it to be a good product. I spray down the pump/manifold unit and valves and coils, hose connections on all new plows. Also spray down the battery terminals on the truck and the relays and Solenoids. Eases service and reduces/eliminates rust/corrosion failures.

Jerre.

[EZSnow]

When I (in my plowguy infancy) asked my installer "how much should I use?", he told me;

"If you don't get it on your hands, you're not using enough.!"

...words to live by- I don't have any green pins.