in addition to generally helping prevent corrosion on electrical contacts,
dielectric grease also makes it easier to remove wires from spark plugs,
and helps prevent leakage of high voltage electricity through gaps between
boots and wires/plugs/distributor terminals. occasionally, electrical
interference can be reduced by applying a small amount to the central
contact point and tip of distributor rotor.

dlk

On Thu, 12 Feb 2004 07:53:32 -0800, Mike D. <md03@XOCHI.COM> wrote:

>While investigating why my 85 runs poorly, I was making sure the
>spark plug wires were all seated properly, and I noticed that when I
>put my finger on the coil wire and left 1/8 in between my finger and
>one of the cylinder wires, a spark would jump across from my finger
>to the wire.  I could barely feel or see it, so I don't think it was
>a significant portion of the coil's output.
>
>This did not appear to affect the running of the engine at all.
>
>I had recently replaced all the wires  with the  "super premium" kind
>(from FLAPS).  I also put some dielectric gel around the boots when I
>installed it to keep water out.
>
>I live about 100 yards from the ocean, so it is very likely that
>there is a fine layer of salt covering every part of my engine.  In
>fact, the local utility companies routinely come by and wash the high
>voltage wires with distilled water to prevent noisy arcing that
>occurs from the salt deposits.
>
>So I'm thinking this is from the salt, but I would also be open to
>the idea the the wires I bought are crap, and/or putting the
>dielectirc grease on wasn't a good idea.  Stupid question:
>Dielectric grease is an insulator, not a conductor, right?