Electric work - cars or not...

[JHZR2]

Hello,

I replaced the headlight bulb on my car this evening, becauseit was out. It appeared to me that there was a bit of rust/corrosion on the contacts, and also on the end of one of the wires in the harness. I used a few products, and cant do anything about it now, but would like your opinion on them, for car use or not.

Electric cleaner (CRC product): spray on, very fast drying. A less stinky version of something along the lines of brake cleaner. Cleans stuff decently it seems.

Deoxit: red liquid claimed to remove oxidation, clean contacts and protect them from further corrosion.

Dielectric grease (CRC product): white goop a bit thinner than petroleum jelly.

For my lights, I used the deoxit, then used the spray cleaner to get any junk out, let it dry completely, then re-applied the deoxit. I then put some dielectric grease onto the two spades on the headlight, and slid them in.

Question is, what are the long term ramififcations of using these products? e.g. does dielectric grease turn into some sort of a terribly nasty product in time, and is generally best to clean out every time, or does one dab last and protect forever?

What is the best way to use these products, and under what situations should they not be used?

Thanks,

JMH

 

[The_Jeff]

Dielectric grease is great for what you want and meant to slather on the metal contacts. It's inert enough it will protect for a very long time.

Generally I like to use abrasive means to clean the oxidation off. Once greased, oxygen can't get at the contacts so they'll stay good forever.

The only thing I would worry about is headlight heat melting that grease and having it get somewhere it shouldn't. The glass part of the bulb should remain grease free.