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Battery Vaseline??

Hi, I just had the battery replaced on my Saturn last summer. It suddenly died two days ago, and the tow truck operator thought it's a bad operator. But the mechanic is telling me the alternator is fine, and the guy who put the battery in had put vaseline on the terminals, which caused a bad connection. He said that "although they say to put vaseline on the battery terminals, that's the worst thing you can do, because it leads to a bad connection". Is this true??

Reply to
Shiquiliq
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I do that all the time and have been for years; never had a problem...

Reply to
BE

Many people put grease on it or those chemically treated pads. Vasoline seems a bit thin to me for the purpose.

Reply to
Art

No. It could have had a bad connection, but it wasn't from the Vaseline.

Reply to
Dana Rohleder

From the Facilities Engineer Branch of the U.S. Department of the Interior:

4.2.1. Petrolatum.-Petrolatum (trade the formation of oxides. However, when wet, name Vaseline) is perhaps the first- used joint compound. It aids in preventing oxidation and aids in excluding moisture from connections. It is still useful in making copper and plated copper connections.

4.2.2. NO-OX-ID.- This grade "A special" is a petroleum base compound with higher melting point, higher oxidation resistance, and better weathering characteristics than petrolatum. It is widely used for copper-to-copper or bronze-to-bronze bus connections

Basically, the Vaseline will prevent oxidation if the OUTSIDE of the connector is coated in it. Since it is also a poor electrical conductor, putting it BETWEEN conductors is counter productive. Since it will wear or "weather" off, it is only useful for a limited amount of time.

Reply to
Steve

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