Fuses and electrical

["Steve Rubano" <srubano@xxxx>]

Since all the talk about fuses and electrical conatcts came up and 
how to keep them clean I figured I would throw in my 2 cents..:). 

All major Automotive makers apply a small amount of dielectric or 
equivelent grease to all connectors that are outside the car (head 
lamp conectors, tail lamps, etc). Some may go as far as applying it 
to some connectors under the hood going to sensors, fuel injectors, 
ect. 

I would suggest the following: take out the fuse and reinsert it, do 
this a few times to clean the fuse clips in the fuse block. With a 
fine grit sand paper clean off the contacts of the fuse (or simply 
replace them with new ones. Before putting the fuse back into the 
fuse block, apply a SMALL amount (I stress small amount) of non-
conductive Dieletric grease onto the fuse clips (both clips) then 
plug the fuse back in. This will protect the contacts from future 
corrosion. When you plug the fuse back into the block it will wipe 
the dielectric grease away from the metal (so it can make contact) 
but it will remain around the outer edges of the connector and clips 
making sort of a "barrier" from the elements. I would not suggest 
using Kopr-Shield only becasuse it contains copper in the grease. If 
the fuse gets warm enough for the grease to run a little, you then 
have a risk of a short.

Take a look at Permatex's dielectric grease, says it can be used on 
fuses and a wide variety of other electrical connectors: 
http://www.permatex.com/news/00/pr001104b.asp

Steve
"Seasons Greetings"
www.dmcman.homestead.com