Green Corrosion in Trailer Plug

Thanks Allan

Good to hear from you as always.

I thought about silicone except for the difficulty removing it - but then again, once the job is done it should not need to be disturbed for a while and not that expensive to throw away the connector and replace it should that happen - and there is a bit of slack also in the wiring to allow stripping the ends again.

Knowing the answer to the +ve corrosion and tinned wire will mean I will not bother re-running the 12V wire with tinned so that is a bonus.

Stay cool wherever you are - unless you like it hot ....

Ken

hi alan
the best stuff i have ever used is
---- crc electra shield ---
better than innox --
comes in spray pack about $18 dolars auto stores or bunnings
it leaves a soft waxy coating on what ever you put it on
you can spray it into electrical fittings and connection of all types and never have any more corrosion also use it on bolts etc
i have been using it throughout my vehicles and trailers electrical fittings/light fitting etc etc for years now does not impede electrical current flow
i did every electrical joint i could find on my mazda and vw golf when i bought it gr8t stuff
also good on battery terminals
if need be it can be washed off with solvent or petrol and a brush but never sets hard just remains waxy
it seems to me that you must dunk your electrics in salty water to be having problems like you have ?????
cheers
barry

sorry reply it was ment for
ken

G'day Ken,

Yeah, silicone can be difficult to remove if thoroughly applied. I would think twice about using it if disassembly was likely to be needed. But it sure is effective. Anchors the cables nicely too. But if you are needing to reconnect then the plug probably needs replacing and as you say, not expensive and if you have slack (as you should!). There are a number of products marketed for coating terminals and plug connectors but nothing beats silicone potting for 100% effectiveness and permanence. Just don't use it on the plug pins or sockets though!

In my 12v garden lighting with buried cables, for the junctions I used jiffy boxes filled with silicone. Not a problem in 10 years and easier than wrapping with self-amalgamating tape.

The advantage with tinned multi-strand cable is that the atmosphere does not cause oxidation of the copper thus it is easier to solder or crimp. If bare copper multi strand is oxidised it can be a real pain to scrape each strand to enable good soldering. Not so much of a problem with screw-type terminals though as the rotating screw scrapes through the oxidation. Unless of course it is a high current connection and the other side of the cable is pressing against the terminal tunnel but still with the oxidation.

Not bad here on The Coast today, only 30c. But you are copping it I read. I have worked in the gas fields of the Cooper Basin... I know what hot is!

All electrical connections we do that exposed to the elements we use Wurth Spray Silicone Grease.

Hi Barry,

Understanding that your reply was to Ken but yes, there are a few specialist auto and marine products to there that are sure to be better than Innox, and I sure have not tried them all.

In general, CRC seem to be pretty good products. I first encountered CRC-226 way back in 1962 when we were having heaps of electrical/water trouble on a petrochemical plant. Used to purchase it in 20 litre containers and each of my electricians carried a spray bottle (pre aerosol availability) Solved all our troubles.

My electrics, in fact the lower half of the Troopy, gets regularly dunked in water, fresh & salt, so loom connectors can be an issue. As I wouldn't want to encapsulate most of the loom connectors in the rather permanent nature of silicone, I have wrapped them with self-amalgamating tape for protection. Seems all good so far.

Thanks all so far.

Allan - yes - it is crap over here - around 40 Xmas day and still going until next Wed when meant to be a bit cooler (34 or so) - was nice and mild until Xmas then it decided to hit us hard.

Barry - good info and this looks OK - only that by spec it claims it is good for about 12 months in external applications - that may be conservative but it does have a life I guess.

olcoolone - I cannot find much local for that product but they do seem to list a couple on US sites like HHS-2000 - starts as a penetrant then sets to a clear grease - if that is the one. I am assuming you may get it in bulk from a distributor ??

The quick simple solution for me to get the job done today is the Silicone option and will pretty much be "set and forget".

The main issue I have with silicone grease is that it remains sticky to attract dirt and dust.
This "CRC Lectra Shield" that Barry referred to could be the go as it dries to a "soft waxy coating". I must give it a try.

hi you guys
as a follow up the electra shield
i sprayed in my mazda's components in 2002 before going on south section of CSR through the notoriously salty savory creek (10 times saltier than the ocean) which was reasonably deep with water splashing out of all corners from under the bonnet as i plooshed into it with still no problems encountered to this day
across to eighty mile beach upto broome and mt augustus /kennedy ranges etc
and its still as good as the day i sprayed it on and it doesn't gather dust ,dry out or crack and that was in every nook and cranny underneath chassis / inside engine bay and all other fittings throughout internal/external
cheers
barry

The Wurth Silicon Grease dries and the dirt it attracts is very minimal once dried. Part Number 0893 223.

http://www.wurth.co.uk/data/productdocuments/070086.pdf

We use this on all the heavy vehicles and earthmoving equipment we work on...... including stuff working in the salt fields, fertiliser and other corrosive environments.

You can get it from any place that uses Wurth products like mechanics and auto elecs, it's not cheap but it does work.

Most large companies we do work for use Wurth products and some specifies it.

The HSS2000 is a high pressure adhesive grease that remains sticky and is used in high pressure applications.

If a wire overheats it will melt the insulation.

Electrons (current) in a DC circuit flows from the negative to the positive and this may have something to do with it..... any resistance in the circuit may be a contributing factory.

The positive side pulls from the negative side..

Hi Scrubby

In this particular case the earth wire is 6mm but had not carried any current at all, so it was certainly not due to exess current.

So the "blackening" I saw was only due to whatever electrolysis current was happening between the + and Earth wires inside the cover of the connector.

As olcoolone says, if it is due to too much current you will generally see signs of melted / brittle insulation along with pretty horrible looking wire to some extent depending on if it was bare copper or tinned.

One thing I have done in the past to clean oxidised bare copper wire up again (without knowing if there are long term bad effects) is dip it in Hydrochloric acid (eg. liquid pool acid).

Ken