Thanks Richard.  I still don't know how it is different, though.  mcneely

On Wed, Jun 14, 2023 at 3:33 PM Richard Koerner <rjkinpb@sbcglobal.net>
wrote:

> Dielectric grease would work just fine.  Maybe better.
>
> On Wednesday, June 14, 2023 at 03:27:43 PM PDT, David McNeely <
> davmcneely40@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> So why not dialectric grease?  I know the price would be greatly
> different, but the dg is made for the purpose.  So, why vaseline?  How is
> the DG different from vaseline?
>
> On Wed, Jun 14, 2023 at 12:41 PM Richard Koerner <rjkinpb@sbcglobal.net>
> wrote:
>
> I've recently been discussing microscopic corrosion that occurs on metal
> electrical contacts (with 2 engineer buddies, one at Apple, one at H/P).
> You know how sometimes something funky and unexpected happens to something
> electrical in your Vanagon?  Might be a light bulb, might be a spade
> connector, might be a speaker connection, might be a door switch, might be
> an Emergency Flasher switch.  I boldly surmise that in general, the
> component itself is not the problem.....it's getting electricity back and
> forth from it.  Why?  Microscopic surface corrosion....and it doesn't take
> much.  When building a car or some electronic device, everything is bright
> shiny new, just attach things and everything works just fine.  Over time,
> humidity in air and even worse when near an ocean, starts to attack this
> nice shiny metal.  Corrosion.  Increased resistance at best, failed
> connection at worst.  Now, given that things need to be built quickly and
> most cost effectively, there is no corrosion prevention applied.  Mostly,
> these situations are very easy to deal with; you clean them up, with
> varying degrees of intensity, and then apply a nice protective coating
> before connecting again.
>
>
> Vaseline.  A most marvelous thing.  Just a tiny smooth wipe.
>
>
> Yes, I've taken fuses out one by one and used steel wool to shiny up and
> then a very thin wipe of Vaseline on contacts and they glide right back
> into position.  Every time I deal with some spade or barrel connector I do
> the same.  Light bulbs?...yes, same treatment.  Worried about shorting
> something out with grease?; nope, has never happened, and I just recently
> did similar corrosion fix on my Samsung smartphone battery and also HDMI
> connections on back of TV.   I mean, I used a toothpick and magnification,
> didn't slather it on, but it fixed things immediately.  Flashlights,
> battery operated wall clocks, remote controls, room thermostat....you name
> it.
>
>
> In cases like the Emergency Flasher Switch....well, you can't readily get
> inside....but spray Electrical Contact Cleaner and 50 times exercising does
> the job.  Similar with other enclosed things.
>
> This is my opinion, and I'd love to hear comments pro or con.  I'm a big
> believer in preventative maintenance; even if something isn't broken, if
> I'm in the nearby area I do everything I can to preserve it's life.  It's
> always so easy to do at home, and always so discouraging to try to fix when
> on the road.
>
>