Electrical Connection Corrosion

[pescador]

I'm looking for the best solution to help reduce /liminate the issue of electrical connection corrosion on my boat and trailer. What do you spray on your connections to reduce this? I know there is a product called "Boeing" something to reduce the progrssion of corrorsion. Are there other products? My trailer elec winch has ongoing issues with corrosion which is a pain when I'm trying to winch the boat onto trailer.

 

[staying alive]

I use fluid film on everything I don't want to corrode

 

[Hookin'up]

clean & pack all the connections with die-electric grease, if the air cant get to it it should stop the corrosion
at very least it will keep it clean and repel any water

 

[fish stalker]

I was watching a show and the guy was using maretes that had a little blister pack of silicone that broke when you poked your wires in and made a watertight seal around the connection.

I also bought some stuff called liquid electrical tape at Princess Auto. It was gas resistant I think, not sure about saltwater.

 

[scott craven]

I use fluid film on everything I don't want to corrode

Yes ! it works

 

[Derby]

clean pack all the connections with die-electric grease, if the air cant get to it it should stop the corrosion
at ver least it will keep it clean

X2 works great

 

[Fish Assassin]

Yup best thing going.... I now buy cheap trailer lights, coat every thing including the bulb in the stuff. They last for years without even needing to replace the bulb.

 

[Rockfish]

I'm looking for the best solution to help reduce eliminate the issue of electrical connection corrosion on my boat and trailer. What do you spray on your connections to reduce this? I know there is a product called "Boeing" something to reduce the progrssion of corrorsion. Are there other products? My trailer elec wich has ongoing issues with corrosion which is a pain when I'm trying to winch the boat onto trailer.

Boeshield - I understand it was developed to clean and protect connections and metal on aircraft which is even more important than on boats because failures are even less forgiving.

http://boeshield.com/

 

[Rum Buddies]

heat shrink everything and don't use automotive connectors. Its crazy the kind of crappy connections guys try to get away with on boats. I've never seen a proper connection with heat shrink go bad.

 

[sly_karma]

Crimp
Solder
Heat shrink

The holy trinity of electrical connections. Waste of time/money using those Radio Shack colour-coded plastic coated crimp connectors, get uninsulated connectors from auto electric or electronics supplier, good heat shrink tube does the rest. Plus you see if the crimp is solid.

If you must use some kind of removable connector like bullet or spade, di-electric grease is your friend.

 

[gungadin]

Use a connector that has the heatshrink built into it. Before crimping, dip the exposed wire (marine grade) into diletric grease. Use a quality crimper, one that ratchets tight and is colour coded for each terminal size. If you are making multiple connections at one point, that you may want to disconnect at a later time, use a waterproof connector such as Sure-Seal, with dielectric grease on both the pins and cavities.

 

[Sculpin]

On my trailer I used proper marine tinned connectors with the heat shrink ends. Heat shrink tubing on top of that. Liquid tape on top of that. Sounds over kill but on a trailer it's all about keeping the water and air out. I went with the newer LED lights as well. Kind of like having double sealed lights.

I like the dielectric grease as well on all plugs for electronics and Scotty products etc. Another good product is Ship to Shore's PLID. It is dielectric and perfectly safe for electrical connections. I spray it on bus bars etc. I spray it on my engines once or twice a year as well. I used to use Boeshield until I found out about this stuff. http://www.ship-2-shore.com/plid.htm . If it's good enough for the Navy, I think it's good enough for me lol!

Like others have already posted. Stay away from the automotive connectors. Use only proper tinned marine connectors and good quality tinned marine wiring. Sure it costs more but way less headaches and problems in the long run.

 

[pescador]

great input guys. I'll try the dielelectric...

 

[calmsea]

I always assumed dielectric is a bad conductor, used to kind of insulate....?

 

[bigbruce]

I always assumed dielectric is a bad conductor, used to kind of insulate....?

You're right...

Following is from Wikipedia:

Dielectric grease

Dielectric grease is electrically insulating and does not break down when high voltage is applied. It is often applied to electrical connectors, particularly those containing rubber gaskets, as a means of lubricating and sealing rubber portions of the connector without arcing.

A common use of dielectric grease is in high-voltage connections associated with gasoline engine spark plugs. The grease is applied to the rubber boot of the plug wire. This helps the rubber boot slide onto the ceramic insulator of the plug. The grease also acts to seal the rubber boot, while at the same time preventing the rubber from becoming stuck to the ceramic. Generally spark plugs are located in areas of high temperature, and the grease is formulated to withstand the temperature range expected. It can be applied to the actual contact as well, because the contact pressure is sufficient to penetrate the grease. Doing so on such high pressure contact surfaces between different metals has the advantage of sealing the contact area against electrolytes that might cause rapid galvanic corrosion.

Another common use of dielectric grease is on the rubber mating surfaces or gaskets of multi-pin electrical connectors used in automotive and marine engines. The grease again acts as a lubricant and a sealant on the nonconductive mating surfaces of the connector. It is not recommended to be applied to the actual electrical conductive contacts of the connector because it could interfere with the electrical signals passing through the connector in cases where the contact pressure is very low. Products designed as electronic connector lubricants, on the other hand, should be applied to such connector contacts and can dramatically extend their useful life. Polyphenyl Ether, rather than silicone grease, is the active ingredient in some such connector lubricants.

Silicone grease should not be applied to (or next to) any switch contact that might experience arcing, as silicone can convert to silicon-carbide under arcing conditions, and accumulation of the silicon-carbide can cause the contacts to prematurely fail. (British Telecom had this problem in the 1970s when silicone Symel® sleeving was used in telephone exchanges. Vapour from the sleeving migrated to relay contacts and the resultant silicon-carbide caused intermittent connection.)

 

[pescador]

I'm looking for something that reduces the corrosion but allows for conductivity to still occur. Its the corrosion that effects conductivity negatively.

 

[Charlie]

I'm looking for something that reduces the corrosion but allows for conductivity to still occur. Its the corrosion that effects conductivity negatively.

If you don't want to use dielectric the first you want to is properly clean all your corroded connections by cleaning them with a agent such as baking soda and water. Let all connections dry, then you can cover them any water repellent. If you also don't want to use any type of grease... I highly suggest something that prohibits corrosion on 12 volt battery connections, such as "Battery Corrosion Guard."

FYI... it you seal in corrosion, air, and water - they can actually still continue slowly corrode. You need to start with clean, dry connections and then protect them from air and water!

 

[ReelSlim]

I'm looking for something that reduces the corrosion but allows for conductivity to still occur. Its the corrosion that effects conductivity negatively.

A product I have used a lot is Copper Cote.......but I believe its spelt KopRKote on the tin. I don't have any around the house at the moment but left a can out at the cabin. I believe they make two versions of it. One is used commonly for lubrication on bolts and studs and there is another one that actually contains Copper in the mix and is a good conductor and anti corrosion agent. The one without the Copper in it does not conduct very well at all.