Hi Can anyone with experience in electronics please advise if using a lubricant such as the following in an excavator is a good or bad idea? Reason I’m asking is that I have the cab somewhat apart due to removing and cleaning the air conditioning system and I had to disconnect a few wiring lines. The whole compartment behind the seat is thick in dust and debris so I was thinking of coating the exposed connections with this lubricant.
Yes, if you pull apart electrical connectors and they have no grease, then add something like that or cual gel, or noalox, or dielectric grease, silicone grease. Are there boards and or lots of relays back there that you're going to coat with that spray? I'm not familiar with that spray specifically.
It is a mineral oil and petroleum 'lubricant', similar to WD40. As a spray it will likely clean whatever it is sprayed on. Other than from being cleaner it will not 'improve' an electrical connection. If you want something to 'protect' an electrical connection from moisture you should use a silicone product. Silicone will 'exclude' water from a connection. An example of silicone use: Should you need to repair an underground power line, the wire is spliced with a bolt on splice. The splice is then covered in silicone paste protected from being wiped off and reburied. Water will not penetrate the connection.
Yes there are a heap of relays and connections, no open boards like in The video Lachau posted. This stuff really seems penetrate like normal wd40, just was concerned about it getting into the computer board.
Interesting and confusing, the product doesn’t state that it cleans, has no silicone but improves electrical connections and propels water.
The 'improves electrical connection' is 'puffing', you cannot 'improve' it by adding a non-conductive lubricant. But like WD40 (Water Displacement 40) it will remove moisture. From a 'wire connection' standpoint putting oil, which is what the product is, may be beneficial if the connections are tin and not copper/brass or are in an acidic area . .. but it will also collect dirt. From a 'circuit board' standpoint, having worked for many years in electronics and on circuit boards I would opt out of putting oil on them. Circuit boards are coated with various products that keep moisture out/off the board and connections, they do not need any 'additional help'. Not being familiar with exactly what the coating on the particular board is, a 'penetrating oil' may not be advisable.
Copy, I’ll steer clear of the board. Thanks for the advice. Texture wise it feels like a combo of wd40 & silicon spray.
A final word- silicone paste is the best thing you can put on an electrical connection to keep it water and corrosion proof.
It seems as though you are intent on doing a good job. I don't think that a single product is going to do the job adequately. I'd use three different products in the following order to achieve the objective you have in mind:- 1. Compressed air, either dry from a compressor or canned, to blow off all the dust. 2. Aerosol electrical contact cleaner (because it evaporates after use) along with something like an old toothbrush to clean all the electrical connectors and circuit boards and whatever. 3. As you're in Australia, Senson Electroguard grease and amalgamating tape on every connector. http://sensontek.com.au/senson-kits-for-mining-industry/prokit-100-start-up-kit-small/ I'll also send you a proper copy of this document which might help you. https://www.coursehero.com/file/47902846/Electrical-System-Preventive-Maintenancepdf/
I think it needs to be mentioned that dielectric grease should be used as a lubricant to help "connectors" slide together as well as for sealing out moisture. However dielectric grease should not be used on electrical "terminals" as dielectric grease is not a conductor. You could end up creating a problem with using it in terminals themselves. At least that was what I was taught.
Cat as a manufacturer has flip-fliopped on this for the past 20 years. At one point dielectric grease was fine, then after we mentioned at a Service Conference in (I think 99) that we were using it with success in Africa it was specifically prohibited under a Service Magazine article that Mark250 referenced at one time IIRC. Then a few years ago Cat published a "Best Practice" document which uses a vapor corrosion inhibitor dielectric grease and amalgamating tape to seal electrical connectors. I think it's a similar sort of VCI to what would be used to protect components for long-term storage, although I am not 100% certain. I will upload it here, maybe it will start some discussion. All I can say is that the BP is exactly the procedure we use (using the same Senson products) and it's the mutt's nutts for keeping damp out of electrical connections - and compartments if Senson's vapour pads are also used. In tropical climates moisture ingress and corrosion in electrical/electronic components are all but eliminated.
IMHO That's exactly the type of product that should be used. Clean the connections thoroughly and then apply the silicone liberally. The vulcanizing tape is something I have used for many years, it does an excellent job of sealing a connector when applied correctly. (When applying the tape you can't get any oil or grease on it or it won't vulcanize.) It may be easier to use shrink tubing on a -very small size- connection as the tape is somewhat difficult to apply and get it to 'vulcanize' on a small wire/connection.
I figured I'd just add another 2 cents. My opinion: No matter what a product professes to do - there is no liquid product - that will make an electrical connection ‘better’ when 'applied to a current connection'. The ability of an electrical connection to supply current is based upon ‘the physical contact’ and not anything applied. Excluding environmental conditions, the ability of an electrical connection to maintain good electrical/physical contact is determined by the material the connection is made of, the strength/force of the connecting fastener and the ability of the connection (coating/covering) to prevent oxidation. For example: Computer circuit board ‘plugin’ connections are gold plated. Why. . because gold doesn’t require a lot of force to make a good contact and doesn’t need a coating to prevent oxidation. Hard connections are copper etched in the circuit board, then silver soldered and coated with an air/moisture elimination coating to prevent oxidation. High amperage connections are different. If it is a quality high amperage wire it is made of copper. But in today’s world there are a lot of cheap wires made of tin or CCA (Copper Coated Aluminum) My preferred high amp wiring connection is copper wire with copper/brass connection and the entire connection should be covered with silicone and appropriately covered/sealed. IMO - Aluminum material wire is not advisable due to the dissimilar metal reaction and the weakness of the wiring material. (House wiring in the middle 1970’s went thru this aluminum wiire phase) There are connectors now that are said to connect aluminum and copper with no ill affects.