Amazing how you watch these videos and read the grease labels. You get two diametrically opposed opinions. Some say NEVER put them on the contacts. Others say smear it all over the contacts. Even had one guy say NEVER put it on the contacts and later in the video he said he was going to contradict himself and make an exception for his trailer harness. LMAO!!!

 

The grease is keeps the contacts from oxidizing and keeps moisture away. I used it in the plug box in my sump which I redid last summer. I had a problem with moisture causing the wires to short and trip the breakers. I used a GCFI plug and filled the box with it and once I had it sealed I squirted some into the holes where the plug goes in. It hasn't given me a problem since.

 

I saw one tip that made the most sense to me. On connectors, slather up the backs of the connectors where the wires go in. And also around the seal. This ensures no air, moisture, or dirt enters the inside where the contacts are. It's probably one of those things where it's fine to put on the contacts but if you don't have to then dont. One vid had a mechanic showing an old wiring harness that had old dielectric grease in the plug. It was pretty nasty. That's why I think the best approach is to seal it so crap can't get into the contact cavity in the first place. Short of that, putting it on the contacts themselves is not that big a deal either.

 

Hey bronze
click on my name and look u der the threads I've posted. Look for the one about rebuilding the engine harness.
However I had an idiot moment and wrapped my entire harness in electrical tape.
I had to unwrap the whole thing and re wrap In harness tape because the regular electrical tape will get hot, then get gooey and make a mess.
When I'm done with the body and frame work on my truck and get it put back together I will be installing the harness with new convoluted tubing.
Check out summit they have some convoluting tubing kits that you can get in different colors and come with t connectors that are pretty cool.

 

Thanks A. I'll take a look at that over the weekend. Actually, I am about done with my harnesses and connectors. Tedious work to be sure. Especially working in tight/blind spaces. But it has turned out well so far. I used Tesa tape and avoided electrical tape for the reasons you point out. I was also able to reattach harnesses that fell off their anchors. For most connectors I was able to smear some dielectric grease around the seals and avoid going direct to contacts. But in some cases I needed to go direct to contacts...especially on those that showed corrosion. For those I used fine sandpaper and/or small wire brush to clean them up prior to greasing. Amazing how many wires and connectors there are on a truck. The whole time I'm thinking, it's gonna be a miracle if this truck fires up again and everything works. But it did. I have a little more to go but I'm 80 - 90% done. A few connectors are just impossible to get to without tearing half the truck apart. Not worth messing with those.