Dielectric grease

this thread could vanish if Honda would just use Deutsch connectors on everything instead of radio shack spade terminals. But I digress... and our bike's would probably cost an extra 1K.

 

You're not wrong !!! Oh, well ... Mr. Honda must still make a good product despite these flaws since we all keep buying them. Haha.

 

I think I will stick to good clean metal to metal contact for maximum current flow, and protect the contacts from atmospheric contaminates. It's not logical to have a non-conductor between the contacts.

 

There's other options too besides replacing spade terminals and glopping with silicone grease or soldering.

http://www.posi-products.com/positite.html

 

DG has worked for me for 20 to 25 years.
Never had any problems with connectors cleaned properly and then coated with DG.

 

It seems to me that these two solutions are both compromises. There is no objective truth.

The sad reality is that the vast majority of vehicle owners (cars, motorcycles, etc.) are reactive and not proactive. They put the absolute minimum effort into maintenance and wait for catastrophic failure. Given this, I can see the OEM maker using the solution that lasts the longest with absolute zero maintenance. Maybe this is why the industry uses grease, they figured out that grease protects for a longer period of time than bare contacts.

But then fast forward 10-15 years when the bike is in a completely failed state due to having had no maintenance, and it is sold off. What then for the buyer? If I am a proactive person then I may choose an alternate solution when refreshing the bike.

I think the ideal solution is to wipe clean all switches and contacts on some interval, perhaps every five years. I suspect the people here who choose the grease-free solution do this, and thus never have a need for grease. Perhaps this is why some cannot fathom the promotion of dielectric grease as a protective solution: They have never had a problem with bare contacts.

The corporate decision of saving a few dollars and not sealing connectors is moronic. High quality connectors bought in bulk are much cheaper due to economies of scale. So I must conclude that the OEM decisions are made as part of the planned obsolescence philosophy. To state what should seem obvious to the civilization, this is thoughtless, irresponsible, and bad for the environment in many ways. Aside from the well-known sins, I think God is going to hold people accountable for this.

 

Posi-Tite looks interesting, but NO current ratings anywhere on their website. Stator wires and connectors need to carry 30 amps.

 

I solder on 3mm bullets and fill with grease, then heat shrink as well. They handle up to 60A and make a far better connection then those crappy spades.

 

Soldering is the best method, no contact resistance. Make sure wires and solder get hot enough to flow completely around all the strands.

 

When you bulletproof (no pun intended) the weakest link in the system you shift the stress of an overload condition to another component in the system. Should we have any concern with this? I am just asking the question.

 

I've used vinegar to clean copper contacts of corrosion, then neutralize it with baking soda and water. Works great on older connections. Especially the UJM era bikes. Then I coat it with the dielectric and its good to go. Anyone see a problem with this method?

 

Yup, not just around them, but through ... watch for the solder to get sucked up into/around the wire strands and not just coat them. It's obvious when it happens. They should be pre-tinned as well.

No. The idea with electricity to provide less resistance so it produces less heat / stress. Think of it like a water pipe ... the less bottle necks the easier the water flows through it and the less stress on the whole system.

Not a fan of this method, but it's workable if you're too cheap to buy a bottle of contact cleaner for $5-6 - have you seen what apple cider vinegar does to a rusty fuel tank? Even after you neutralize with baking soda and rinse with water, you still get surface rust forming afterwards unless you treat it immediately. A good contact cleaner is best and it will evaporate quickly.

 

You are addressing normal operation, not an out of bounds condition. To illustrate this: If a short occurs, which would you prefer burned out on your bike, the stator-rectifier wire link or the rectifier? If your wire link is now more robust than the rectifier, the rectifier fries first. (Not an accurate example I just picked these two components.)

Every system has a known weak link when designed. This question has to be asked before beefing it up, as that can create another weak link down the line. A link which may be much more expensive than the link you just beefed up.

On the other hand, and to your point, the stress generated by puny connections stresses the entire system over the life of the bike, a definite plus for this upgrade.

 

3 yellow wires are not the weakest link, they are #12 rated at 30A. It is the connector that is the weakest link, and it will deteriorate with time and corrosion. Connectors fail because the corrosion creates heat which melts everything, not because the stator failed or the R/R failed. With a soldered system, everything is working as designed. If the stator fails, windings short to ground when there is a breakdown in the enamel coating on the windings, for what ever reason, poor craftsmanship or cheap construction, then the R/R doesn't get the juice it needs. DC outputs of R/R and battery are all fused at some point. If your worried that the R/R will fail and cause the stator to go, then you could fuse output of the stator with 30 amp fuses on each leg, but then you have put connectors back in the path!

 

I'm not too cheap, I bought the contact cleaner and it didn't touch the corrosion on the connectors like vinegar does. I still use the contact cleaner unless it's super corroded.

 

It really sounds like you're suggesting the link should be considered a "fuse" of sort. Which is definitely not the case. I don't think you're introducing any more stress into the stator when you make the connections cleaner to the r/r. Also the r/r is more likely to burn out, THEN take the stator with it. On air cooled bikes YMMV though.

 

Thanks, I agree with your responses. I especially like Allyance's statement "With a soldered system, everything is working as designed." That truly sums this up.

 

This ... well explained!

 

Honestly, you're better off pulling the spade out of the connector and lightly sanding it, but if you're happy with the way it works and it's been working for you, then bonus!

 

Another thing to add to the dielectric grease story, they are exclusively made from silicone base oils. Silicone oils don't interact with any commonly available rubber so they are safe to use nearly anywhere. Use it when you put hoses on barbed fittings, on every o-ring, and especially put it on your carb boots. I buy Dow Corning 111 grease. Using petroleum based greases, including Vaseline, is risky if you don't know the o-ring material. They will destroy EPDM o-rings in your cooling system and swell buna-n o-rings in mostly everywhere else which can make disassembly difficult.