[bcsman]

So I have my carb off for rebuild on my 98 450ES and see a number of connectors that I can easily have access to clean. When taken apart they are very dirty inside both sides, what do you do to clean inside the small areas by the pins? I do have contact cleaner but think it needs to be scrubbed to make it right. Also after the cleaning I will fill with white lithium to waterproof them. Eventually will do all of them but doing what I can get to first.

 

[mac102004]

Fill with dielectric grease when you're done cleaning them to waterproof them. The best you can really do is use contact cleaner to clean them unless you have the correct tools to take them apart and clean the pins individually. Or maybe have teeny tiny brushes and the patience of a god, that would work also....

 

[bcsman]

How about swabbing with q-tips to get in the small areas?

 

[Goober]

I use these little plumbers acid brushes and contact cleaner

 

[bcsman]

Oh used those exact brushes at work a few years ago. Not sure where you get them tho but can't be hard to find. I still think q-tips might work ok also, just have to make sure part of it doesn't get left....

 

[retro]

Contact cleaner and compressed air is what I use, unless corrosion is found. Then I shine pins up with a tiny chunk of scotchbrite pad glued to a stick. Corroded sockets are cleaned with baking soda & warm water then flushed with contact cleaner and air. As Mac said... takes a lot of patience.

Don't use lithium grease in the connectors, it absorbs water and degrades the seal packs. Dielectric grease only.

 

[Goober]

Oh used those exact brushes at work a few years ago. Not sure where you get them tho but can't be hard to find. I still think q-tips might work ok also, just have to make sure part of it doesn't get left....

I saw those brushes at menards in plumbing. I use them mainly to dislodge/wash the dirt out of the connectors. Especially old dielectric grease.

Oh yeah Mac mentioned the backshell pin removal tools; I’ve used them to replace backshells and reset pins when the anchor tab gets bent

 

[bcsman]

My bad, instead of lithium grease I meant to say dielectric. I do have a tube of it I bought for this particular reason on the advise of the more learned here. I think the contact cleaner and compressed air sounds like the way to go, have both of those on hand also.

There are going to be a couple connectors I may need advise on how to disconnect when I get there. Most look pretty straight forward but a couple have my head scratching. I will ask at the appropriate time, just want to get my carb back and get running again soon.

 

[retro]

There are a few connectors that must be removed from their frame attachment brackets before they will open. Use a small thin bladed screwdriver (or bend a stiff wire and flatten one end with a hammer) to release the clip behind the connector and slide them down to remove. Once removed depress the remaining retainer to separate them.

 

[bcsman]

When I get there I will post a pic of any connectors I have questions on. I can also look them up in the service manual to find out what they power.

 

[dyna_rider98]

Fill with dielectric grease when you're done cleaning them to waterproof them. The best you can really do is use contact cleaner to clean them unless you have the correct tools to take them apart and clean the pins individually. Or maybe have teeny tiny brushes and the patience of a god, that would work also....

Do NOT put dielectric grease on the electrical contacts as the grease is an insulator.

 

[Goober]

Fill with dielectric grease when you're done cleaning them to waterproof them. The best you can really do is use contact cleaner to clean them unless you have the correct tools to take them apart and clean the pins individually. Or maybe have teeny tiny brushes and the patience of a god, that would work also....

Do NOT put dielectric grease on the electrical contacts as the grease is an insulator.

I understand it’s an insulator but check out these instructions on the grease Pak

 

[mac102004]

I’ve always filled the connectors, never had an issue, will continue to fill them until I do have an issue. Most people I’ve talked to that regularly snorkel machines do it the same way I do.


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[retro]

^^^Same here^^^ I began to use dielectric grease on everything electrical in the late 1960s. Its film strength is way too weak to be an effective insulator. Pay no attention to the old wives tales repeated by those having no experience with it.