[ARC5] Lubing Connetors- Round 2

Sun Apr 6 17:04:48 EDT 2014

Hi John and all,

I can speak to the proper connector lubricant which should be used. This 
is a subject to which I have much experience and knowledge. I work in 
the automotive industry in Product Development Engineering for our heavy 
duty diesel engines used in the _big_ trucks. My specialty is in 
interconnect technology and wire harnesses on our products.

The material recommended is Nye Lubricants Nyogel 760G.  It will work 
rather nicely as a lubricant for threaded shells. It will be excellent 
for application to pins and sockets to both reduce insertion force plus 
act as a preservative. That's mainly why it was developed.

In North America, at least, one can buy the Nyogel lubricant from their 
local General Motors dealer. It comes in a small 2 oz jar branded with 
the GM label and part number. I bought a couple jars for US$15 each. The 
GM part number is 12377900. Google it with an online supplier named 
"autoplicity" and you should see a nice photo of the container and their 
'sale' price (at this date) of US$12.18. Figure it would be a lot 
cheaper by stopping at a GM dealer and buying it over the counter and 
just adding tax instead of 12+ bucks plus shipping (& tax?). A little 
goes a long way, so the 2 ounce jar (~50 ml) will last a long time 
unless you have a lot of threaded connector shells.

You can learn more at http://www.nyelubricants.com/products/nyogel.shtml 
. 760G is second in the list on that page. I have a slightly more 
detailed Product Datasheet than the one found on their website.

Nyogel is made using a synthetic base oil (which is Polyalphaolefin 
-same as the pure synthetic motor oils used in motor vehicle engines), a 
fused silica thickener and some proprietary copper antioxidants. 
"Silica!!!",  you say, "....that's sand!!" Yes, but the particle size of 
fused silica is very tiny. The silicone oxide and dioxide particles 
measure in the nanometer size and will not be abrasive to any connector, 
even gold. It falls between the asperities (microscopic bumps and 
striations) found on the contact surfaces of a pin or socket.

I very strongly suspect the well respected liquid material, "DeOxit", 
which is meant for switches and connectors, is simply just a 
Polyalphaolefin with some sort of secret antioxidants added.

Delphi, who is a major automotive connector manufacturer, strongly 
recommends the Nyogel 760G in place of any other grease-like material to 
be used with any of their connectors. Virtually all the other automotive 
connector manufacturers use virtually the same materials. Our electronic 
connectors found in our old and new equipment are much the same except 
many do not need to use silicone elastomer sealing systems because of 
the generally less harsh (damp, wet) environment they live in. Old WWII 
vintage mil gear will have some of the rubber-based seals and this stuff 
will be safe with them.

Silicone oil-based greases should be strongly and firmly avoided because 
some types of silicone oils are not compatible with connector seals and 
other materials of which connectors are constructed. Plus the 
surrounding components which may get into contact with silicone may be 
affected.

The so-called dielectric grease one can buy from their local auto parts 
store is usually a silicone oil-based material and can be used on _some_ 
non-silicone elastomer materials found in high-tension ignition 
components. Silicone oils and greases are very hydrophobic, thus the 
popular usage in ignition systems.

Silicone oil also presents an often significant problem in which it 
migrates over time thus contaminating areas which must be kept clean for 
painting, dust free or other reasons. I just ban it from being present 
_anywhere near_ my radios and other electronics and I insist the same be 
done in our dealer network worldwide.

Petroleum oil-based lubricants, such as Lubriplate ES-DS which is touted 
as an electrical lubricant, will be a problem for older, natural 
rubber-based seals and components in our older mil connectors and other 
old components. It will also varnish out over time. That means the 
lighter volatiles will evaporate away eventually and leave a sticky, 
gooey mess. Sometimes it leaves a hard residue which is mostly just the 
paraffin filler left behind. You've seen this on old mechanical devices 
which have not been cleaned/re-lubed in many decades such as geared dial 
drives in our beloved boatanchors for example. I use Nyogel on every 
auto radio restoration I do.

Hope this helps.

    -Chris F.

On 4/4/2014 8:51 AM, J. Forster wrote:
> I've had several suggestions to use a silicone grease. I'm not so sure.
>
> Consider where a connector can bind up:
>
> The outer Acme [square] thread - silicone grease or perhaps Lubriplate
> would be fine here, IMO. In fact I've cleaned something greasy off old
> connectors, especially those with a fine thread, like MS. I'm good w/
> this.
>
> The mating shells - There is usually enough clearance so binding is not an
> issue. ie: Don't use bent/deformed connectors.
>
> The pins & sockets- This is the crux of the matter, IMO. I'm loath to use
> silicone grease here, because this is current-carrying hardware. I'm
> concerned that the silicone grease will impair the conductivity of the
> connection and, if so, silicone grease is very hard to remove.
>
> For the last issue, what do people think of tuner cleaner/lube? It is
> basically mineral oil and a solvent as a thinner. Worst case, it can be
> removed pretty easily.
>
> -John
>
> =================
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>>> On Apr 3, 2014, at 8:32 PM, "J. Forster" <jfor at quikus.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Does anybody lube connetors and, if so, with what.
>>>
>>> My immediate oncern are the cirular Cannon types, used on the ARB,
>>> MN-26,
>>> RA-10, and other Benxix and similar gear.,
>>>
>>> The larger sizes are very hard to mate, even w/ clean contacts. And even
>>> harder to unmate. The main issue is the pins and sokets, rather than the
>>> shell Acme thread.
>>>
>>> Any wisdom or suggestions?
>>>
>>> Best,
>>>
>>> -John
>>>
>>> ================
>
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-- 
========================================================================
Christian R. Fandt
email:  cfandt at windstream.net
Jamestown, New York   USA

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