Date:         Thu, 9 Apr 2020 23:38:23 +0000
Reply-To:     Richard Koerner <rjkinpb@SBCGLOBAL.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Richard Koerner <rjkinpb@SBCGLOBAL.NET>
Subject:      Re: Alternators correction!
Comments: To: David Beierl <dbeierl@gmail.com>
In-Reply-To:  <CAMOH8L+vhT-LO7QTKmDfzEsJPa-6Tk1FmBPM-nR6B8soArzqKQ@mail.gmail.com>
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 All I know David, and I genuinely accept you as a Vanagon Guru especially regarding electrical issues.  The issue was: the Horn Ring.12  years ago somewhere in Alabama, and that is a long way from San Diego.  Outside of a Laundrymat!  Yes, I  went to nearby AutoParts store for one of those little packets of di-electric grease.  Super Duper...my grinding noise went away!  Happy guy.  But, 6 months later...grinding noise on Steering Wheel came back.  Did the same repair...only...this time, I used White Lithium grease on Horn Ring.  Now, after 7 happy years...still silent and smooth.
No, I don't quite understand all the chemistry and stuff regarding grease and electrical conductivity; but, I wanted to tell you the story.
Rich
San Diego

    On Thursday, April 9, 2020, 4:25:15 PM PDT, David Beierl <dbeierl@gmail.com> wrote:  
 
 
a little "real" grease (like Vaseline or White Lithium grease that conducts electricity, NOT the coating known as di-electric grease which is greasy and great at preventing surface corrosion but is poor at conducting electricity)  


Richard, no ordinary grease conducts electricity, any more than oil does (and grease is oil mixed with a carrier which is a soap, often lithium soap).  So in that sense they're all dielectric grease.  But the silicone grease called that (and it's quite a lot like Dow Corning stopcock grease or high vacuum grease) is so called because it's *intended* to be used for waterproofing high voltage connections rather than as a lubricant.
Unless a grease is advertised as conductive (maybe loaded with metal powder) the only way to get electrical contact is for the two parts to directly contact each other.  This happens at nanoscopic peaks in the surface called asperities, and bolting pressure will normally accomplish this.
Yrs,d