Silicon Dielectric Grease - Smoother running, more responsive & less smokey TDI!!

[beefy]

I managed to find a shop in my local town who stock it, although they had sold out. They are ordering some for me. It is just a standard electrical store. I tried halfords, a shop which sells spares for cars and another large store which must have sold every type of grease under the sun except silicone dielectric grease.

Some guy on TDICLUB also stuck it in the freezer overnight so we know its winterproof too

I think it works in any weather condition from -70f to 400f.

So unless u plan on driving round the north pole or adding a jet engine and some wings to fly to the sun you should be ok using this stuff

 

[OLDOILER]

Let me start by saying i wasnt experiencing any real bad problems, i had noticed my car had got a bit laggy which was annoying, but otherwise it was tip top.

well, i bought the tube of stuff from maplins on sunday :-

http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?TabID=1&criteria=DIELETRIC GREASE&ModuleNo=29006&doy=30m10

in a 50g tube. Cleaned the car and applied last night by putting in the female part of the connectorand plugging and unplugging a few times then refilling and finally plugging back in.

The results.....
A good improvement in the laggy problem, seems to have reduced it nicely in 2nd and 3rd, quite noticable.

Otherwise, performance etc all seem to be the same.

So another happy customer here [/QUOTE

Dow Corning also do dielectric grease part no. DC4 also known as MS4 @about £8.50 for a BIG tube
Buck and Hickman/Farnell do it for £3.70 part No. 537019 - unless you work in the aircraft/military business then its FOC!

 

[spons]

Sorry for the photo quality but it was taken for different purpose.

If I understood the instruction properly, you just needt to unplug the plug and put some grease in it, then pulg & unplug it several times, adding the grease.

 

[redcupratdi]

no offence that engine bay is a disgrace!

 

[spons]

Yes I know , the photo was taken while installing FMIC and this was just a try how to fit the pipes I didn't have any other suitable for the topic.

 

[redcupratdi]

okay quick guide:

Firstly locate your MAF

then push the underside of the plug in and pull plug toward you

picture of underside of MAF plug

then put 5 small blobs of silicon grease on

then insert back in and out i few time reapplying grease again on final push.

job done!! go for a drive and feel the smoothness..

Hope this helps

 

[muddyboots]

Hopefully my Perma-whatsit will have arrived in the post today

 

[Sisson]

SPONS...

You've highlighted your map sensor,

You want the MAF sensor..

 

[sssstew]

well im on day 2 now of having done it, and im pleased to report much smoother running, the laggy boost and then too much feeling has been smoothed out, not 100% but a good 90% fix

 

[spons]

SPONS...

You've highlighted your map sensor,

You want the MAF sensor..

Sorry, my mistake. I always get confused with those shortcuts : and it's so obvious air flow & air pressure

 

[craig-pd130]

Sorry to be daft here ..... but if dielectric grease does not conduct, won't that affect the electrical signals across the connectors?


(I apply Caig Deoxit contact enhancer on my MAF & MAP every few months and get the benefits noted above -- I just wondered why it also works, electrically speaking, with a non-conducting grease)

 

[EdButler]

It stops arcing (electrons jumping through the air from one conductor to another)

For example, if the entire earth was covered in a metre of di-electric grease, lightning would never strike the ground. The maf connector works in a similar way. There will be hundreds of these tiny sparks when the connector is no making a perfect contact. The grease stops this so the electrons flow though only the points that are touching each other correctly!

 

[slick]

Couldnt have said it better Ed..... except the one metre of grease all over the earth... thats just silly!! LOL

 

[craig-pd130]

aaaahhhhhhh, I see now

 

[muddyboots]

Ed

I know you were as sceptical about this as I am (grease hasn't arrived yet ) but the huge number of good reports means there is obviously something in this mod.

BUT I can't see how a system running only at 12-14v can suffer from arcing...surely you'd need a much higher voltage to force current across an air gap...?

I wonder if it's more a case that plugging/unplugging the connector cleans up corroded contacts and gives a more stable connection, and the grease just prevents them from getting corroded again. What do you reckon ?

 

[EdButler]

Muddy your correct that cleaning the contacts will be very helpful, however arcing happens on the microscopic scale of connected metals - this is how simple push toggle switches need de-bouncing circuits, as when you press it, the arcing of the connections throw the switch literally hundreds of times before you have fully depressed the button, the first spark starts to ionise the air and makes the contacts more prone to arcing also.

This happens to all voltage devices, and with our MAF's having a plug, this means there is no direct path for the current to go. There will be millions of nano-metre gaps between the copper and the grease prevents those being used.

The MAF measures air pressure by a system of cooling. A constant voltage is applied to the element - as the air cools the element, the resistance decreases and current increases. The ECU reads this current change. If there are ANY slight deviations in electron flow, the voltage will fluctuate and will corrupt the ECU's findings of what is really going on.

 

[wrc]

ordered my grease the day before yesterday & it arrived today, put the grease in & there is a vast inprovement, need to take it for a longer run.

very happy.

 

[muddyboots]

Muddy your correct that cleaning the contacts will be very helpful, however arcing happens on the microscopic scale of connected metals - this is how simple push toggle switches need de-bouncing circuits, as when you press it, the arcing of the connections throw the switch literally hundreds of times before you have fully depressed the button, the first spark starts to ionise the air and makes the contacts more prone to arcing also.

This happens to all voltage devices, and with our MAF's having a plug, this means there is no direct path for the current to go. There will be millions of nano-metre gaps between the copper and the grease prevents those being used.

The MAF measures air pressure by a system of cooling. A constant voltage is applied to the element - as the air cools the element, the resistance decreases and current increases. The ECU reads this current change. If there are ANY slight deviations in electron flow, the voltage will fluctuate and will corrupt the ECU's findings of what is really going on.

 

[BeezerDiesel]

Darn, after all these good reports you lot have got me on the trail of some of the stuff.....and I don't even think I've got a problem to start with!
I asked the engineers at work and they don't have any so bang goes my hopes of a freebie, gonna have to order some now.

 

[craig-pd130]

I remember reading somewhere (can't find it now of course) that on switch off the ECU puts a high current through the MAF wires to heat them up and remove residues and moisture .... but I'm not 100% on this.