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Steering Wheel grease?

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Old 01-30-2015, 09:07 PM
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pugface
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Default Steering Wheel grease?

So, I removed my steering wheel to clean and redye, and fix my horn. There was some nasty grease on the copper ring at the bottom, so I cleaned that off. I've reassembled, and the wheel looks much better, and now the horn works!

The problem is that it is making a little noise while turning - I assume the grease was there for a reason? Can I just put some dielectric grease on the ring, or do I need some special 'Porsche Steering Wheel Grease' ?

Thanks!
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Old 01-30-2015, 10:17 PM
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Van
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Dielectric grease is just the ticket.
Old 01-31-2015, 11:18 AM
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Thank you very much! I can follow instructions, but I'm a bit lacking in much automotive "common knowledge"
Old 01-31-2015, 11:29 AM
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Van
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And you don't need much - just a thin coating.
Old 02-04-2015, 12:21 PM
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Jerry Feather
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Wrong. Dielectric grease is non conductive. You need to use a conductive grease so the horn will make contact. Dielectric is probably what was on it that you cleaned off and that is why it didn't work.
Old 02-04-2015, 01:18 PM
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HICKS
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Dielectric grease works just fine.
Old 02-04-2015, 05:15 PM
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Wheel bearing grease also works fine.
Old 02-04-2015, 11:00 PM
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MB968
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OK, what's the consensus conductive, or non-conductive grease. Haven't been into that area of the car, but from the description, I assume the device is question is a slip ring. If so, seems like we'd need conductive grease.
Old 02-04-2015, 11:22 PM
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pugface
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OP here - thanks for all the input! I'm getting tired of pulling and reinstalling the wheel, especially in this weather - just had a little blizzard in Chicago. Can't answer the question myself, but I can report a bit:

It is currently working with dielectric grease. I can see the point about using a conductive grease, if you can find one, although you'd want to apply sparingly, so you don't create a short and have the horn stuck on. There is a copper ring at the back of the steering wheel, which is a pressure fit to a copper tab on the steering column. The ring is connected to the horn pad via jumper wire. This should create a constant connection to the horn pad, and pressing the horn pad completes the circuit.

It would appear my problems were due to dirty and corroded copper and dirty grease on top of it. Cleaning them up fixed the problem, but the wheel would sometimes squeak while turning, so now I know what the grease was for!

I would conjecture that about any grease would work, once your copper surfaces are clean and shiny. The pressure fit should cut through the grease, and the grease is just there for lubrication. Dielectric makes sense to me, as I believe it should protect the copper. However, if it goes out again, I'll look for something conductive. Probably over-thinking this!

I had the wheel out to redye with the Leatherique kit - my skill are limited, but it was pretty beat on top before. Even with my amateur prep and redye, it looks 100% better! I decided to forgo the clear cote step, as it ended up with a nice semi-gloss look that I felt looked Porsche-y.

Thanks
pf
Old 02-05-2015, 07:44 AM
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Pics?
Old 02-05-2015, 09:59 AM
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From the Wikipedia article about dielectric grease:

Dielectric grease is electrically insulating and does not break down when high voltage is applied. It is often applied to electrical connectors, particularly those containing rubber gaskets, as a means of lubricating and sealing rubber portions of the connector without arcing.

A common use of dielectric grease is in high-voltage connections associated with gasoline engine spark plugs. The grease is applied to the rubber boot of the plug wire. This helps the rubber boot slide onto the ceramic insulator of the plug. The grease also acts to seal the rubber boot, while at the same time preventing the rubber from becoming stuck to the ceramic. Generally spark plugs are located in areas of high temperature, and the grease is formulated to withstand the temperature range expected. It can be applied to the actual contact as well, because the contact pressure is sufficient to penetrate the grease. Doing so on such high pressure contact surfaces between different metals has the advantage of sealing the contact area against electrolytes that might cause rapid galvanic corrosion.
(bold emphasis is mine)
Old 02-05-2015, 08:54 PM
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Originally Posted by HICKS
Pics?
Here you go! I didn't say it looked great, just a lot better than it was before! I messed up a bit in prep and applying the dye, bu a few brushstrokes and such are much better than the worn top starting to look like suede.

I'd recommend the Leatherique kit - I think someone with more patience that I would do an even better job.
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Old 02-05-2015, 09:57 PM
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Looks good, good job!



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