khalloudy

Just got back from Lebanon and got to hang out with my car finally again. Ok so i know it sucks i have only put 1,400 kilometers on it in the past 2 years... and now i get electrical problems, and vacuum leaks (fixed) blah blah. I checked the ground connector in the trunk with the screw connecting to the battery and the screw was white from oxidation (lebanon is humid). Here is my question, would gold plating all the electrical connections in the car help against corrosion and the cleanup required to keep the cars running well? I know all new luxury cars have electrical connections all over (Lexus had them since 1989)... just a thought.

LightStriker

Of course, since gold actually rust really slowly in a different way. Gold actually need a catalyzer to rust. (Like sweat from some people skin)

But wouldn't that expensive as hell to do custom gold plating?

Rick Carter

I think he may be able to afford it.

LightStriker

/sigh

Sometimes...

khalloudy

i thought gold has really good corrosion resistance. Now since i am thinking of doing a full restoration for my car.... maybe i will just plate all connections... just tired of gremlins.

jpitman2

Somebody here (Sharkskin?) has posted about a treatment you can put on to help restore conductivity where it should, and non-conductivity where that should be.....Its expensive here in Oz (A$100 for 15mil IIRC), but forget its name right now....check out Sharkskins own pages on rennlist.
It is common practice to lubricate battery connections with grease or vaseline to prevent such corrosion.
jp 83 Euro S AT 52k

brianrheffron

Here in the UK I have had great success over the years using a product called WAXOYL.
Runny enough to apply using a cloth, a brush or even by spraying, the solvent base
evaporates leaving a dry clean transparent waxy coating that stops corrosion for a very long time.
Its main use is for underbody protection and chassis cavity injection but I use it on electrical
connections, battery posts, etc. and finish off many jobs by giving a coat to nuts, bolts and
so on so that things come apart easily the next time.

WallyP

I have used three different "contact enhancers" with some success.

"Corrosion Block" Earl Gilstrom turned me on to this one. It comes in a 4 oz pump or 12 oz spray can. The best place to find this is at a good chandler (marine supply shop).
http://www.nocorrosion.com/corrosion-control.htm

Caig Labs "Pro Gold G5" Caig recommends using this after using their "DeoxIT D5" cleaner. The combination really does a number on corroded contacts.
http://www.caig.com/

"Stabilant 22" This is from D. W. Electrochemicals Ltd in Canada. It is a liquid that is non-conductive over larger gaps, but conductive over smaller gaps (in the one-mil range). It is expensive, but it works. I used it a few minutes ago on a one-gig memory board and saved an RMA. It is available in some electronics and audio stores, some VW dealers, and NAPA.
http://www.stabilant.com/techt02h.htm