So, I'm trying to secure my grounds a little better, but I'm confused about the purposes of different electrical greases:

Dieletric grease is good for such mating surfaces as the sparkplug wire boot to the ceramic portion of the spark plug. This keeps dust and moisture out whilst preventing the spark from 'leaking' past the boot as it is non-conductive.

And I thought I once read that conductive grease should be used for electrical grounds so as to prevent moisture/corrosion, but ensure good contact and electrical flow.

However, when I search for information, I find lots of people using dielectric grease on their grounds, battery posts, and everything else. Their main goal is always corrosion prevention, which both kinds of grease can accomplish, but dielectric doesn't seem appropriate in most of these instances.

Observations or experience? If I should indeed be looking for conductive grease for my grounds, what's a good choice?

_________________
J.R.
Tucson, AZ
'68 Dart 270 with a '76-'80 engine

I use both a number of speciality greases in different places on my cars;
generally I follow the FSM; however, newer lubricants have come out since some of the FSMs were written.

The dielectric I use inside the spark plug wire boots; as you said it's to keep water out and prevent arcs and keep the boot from sticking. (Ford specifies a little atop their rotors too.) I generally don't use it anywhere other than on the secondary ignition system. I only use Lubriplate-brand white grease inside the distributor (seems to hold up much better) on the advance mechanism.

There is a very special heat transfer grease for GM HEI, Ford TFI, etc. and in general between power transistors and their heat sinks (in radios, computers, etc.) - it is claimed to improve heat transfer ~10X.

For low voltage connectors that tend to corrode, I pack them with white grease just to keep the water out (a trick from my Fords, but works well on Mopars too). I often use it on problematic light sockets.

For all rubber hose and boot connections, I use a little silicone grease designed for that; keeps the rubber from welding itself to the nipple and
makes assembly/disassembly much easier.

For high current or corrosion prone connections, like the power leads at the bulkhead feedthrough, I use a little Eastwood's welding grease. I also use it on the starter motor stud, battery clamp bolts, etc. and especially the ammeter studs - it prevents the nuts from getting nearly welded in place.

For almost every bolt or screw where I anticipate corrosion, I use a little antiseize grease. (It may not be a good idea for the long alternator screws... that's another story.) It makes life a lot easier the next time you take something apart.

On drum brakes, I use white grease as specified in the FSM. On disk brakes, I use the grease specified - usually a graphite base for sliding surfaces and/or silicone inside of rubber boots sliding on guide pins.

Generally, a little specialty grease goes a long way.

Thanks for the reply, KBB. So, to specifically address my question about the conductive vs. nonconductive kind of grease for covering bare metal grounds, you would recommend......?

_________________
J.R.
Tucson, AZ
'68 Dart 270 with a '76-'80 engine

For inside all grounds between the screw, lug, and other metals I highly recommend a little conductive grease (Eastwood's is copper colored).

For the outside, for example battery clamps, any non-conductive grease ought to be fine to prevent corrosion - dielectric ought to work well. I tired a special spray for to prevent corrosion on battery clamps; it gave a rather sticky redish-transparent film I didn't like so I leave the outside of the clamps bare and put felt anticorrosion disks under the clamps. Some batteries and cars seem far more corrosion prone that others, and if I had a special problem I'd just use any good silicone grease I had on hand.