After reading Jim Hediger’s article in this months MR on restoring trucks. His use of dielectric lube ( the same stuff one smears the inside of your automobiles spark plug boots, so that one can remove them later.
Im going to apply a little of this spairenly to some rail joiners that cannot be sodered. Then get out my old Simpson meter and see what develops.
Anyhow I thought Id toss this idea out to you guys …just for the giggles…I think this is going to work…do you? Take care…John
Not only will it make for better contact, it will resist corrosion like a big dawg. I’ve been using dielectric grease on every automotive electrical connection you can think of for years…even battery terminals. That’s a darn good idea.
I believe this is a good idea indeed for electrical purposes,but aren’t grease and trackwork a bad combination,traction wise ?Just wondering…
Electrically it may make sense but as stated above traction wise it is not as good. It will also collect dust and dirt and that will cause problems…
Then keep it of the top of the rail, duhhh.
I could be wrong, but here is how I understand the use of dielectric grease. The term dielectric means NON-conducting. Dielectric grease is used on spark plug wires for a few reasons - ease of removal, help keep moisture out, and help prevent high voltage arcing to the outside of the distributer cap or spark plug. It is used on other automotive electrical connections to keep moisture out. Its use assumes a tight metal to metal contact. It won’t help a bad connection to become a good connection, but will help prevent moisture from corroding an already good connection. The grease was designed to be noncorrosive to metals and to most plastics and rubbers.
In regard to a rail joint, if there isn’t a good, tight metal to meatl fit, then I think the dielectric grease won’t help. It may even insulate the joint.
Good luck with your layout!
I agree with bukwrm. I think a better solution would be to solder jumper wires or add feeder wires to the track if your worried about good electrical flow. IMHO, we get enough crude on our rails from lubricant from our loco’s, why add to it by adding grease to the rail joiners. On the plus side here, you would have a working flange oiler!!! Yeah, I know you said sparingly, but oil and grease have this tendency to creep and crawl. Ken
STOPP!!! Dielectric means INSULATING! Most dielectric grease is a silicone grease, and last I checked silicone does NOT conduct electricity.
If you’re looking for a conductive lubricant, they have those too, but they’re a specialty grease, and not as good as a metal to metal contact. For my conductive lubricant at the rail joiners, I use a 60/40 mixture of lead and tin, heated to the appropriate temperature and allowed to flow into the joiner.
Mark in Utah
Mark in Utah has it right! Solder a lead to every other rail joiner and solder the rail joiners to the 2 rails. Bullet proof electrical connections for the entire RR and by leaving a SLIGHT gap in the non-soldered alternate joints you provide for temp. change expansion.
I understand the expansion princapal, but is soldering every joint really a problem. I see where this would be bad for hand laid track or something where the rail is glued to the ties. Is it REALLY a problem for, say Atlas or Peco track? I’m going to have considerable temp change on my layout. Just planning ahead. I agree that die grease would not be a good idea.
Tell that to Ford Motor Company, of GM, or Chrysler. They’ve been using dieelectric grease for decades IN BETWEEN electrical connections. I worked for the local Chevrolet dealership a long time, and have done a BUNCH of harness campaigns. NOt only did the old harness coming out have the grease FILLING up ALL the female connectors, but the GM MANUAL said to fill the new one as well. I make it a point not to argue with GM designers. Somehow or another they are usually right. Now that said, there ARE two kinds of dielectric grease. silicone based, and alloy based. I don’t think I have to explain further which you use on electrical connections. If you have trouble finding it, any dealer or good aftermarket auto parts store stocks it.
Here, read this:
ok if you are “filling up” a wiring harness with the die electric grease and if the grease conducts electricity then wouldnt that short out the whole harness 
No. As they said earlier, the dielectric grease that I was talking about IS silicone based. That’s what the auto manufactureres use. It does NOT conduct electricity…but it doesn’t hinder it, either. Sorry I wasn’t clear on that. I was just trying to let yall know that there ARE several compounds out there that CAN work as suggested here. Here are two, from Permatex. I’ve used both these products about as long as they’ve been on the market. Here’s more info on them. They are the last two products on this page: Sorry for the confusion.
Sorry, I posted the wrong link the first time. I’m stupid. Here’s the right one. I think it’s a really great idea. I’m thinking it’ll work…like a big dawg.
http://www.caswellplating.com/permatex/permlubricants.html
Lastly, I said above that dielectric grease doesn’t hinder electrical flow. Let me clarify that. It will not hinder flow across ONE connection. It WILL insulate flow say, from one plug on a connector to another.
Solder and track feeders are the only sure methods of electrical continuity, as some of the previous posts have said. I’ve made it a rule that rail joiners are only to hold the rails in alignment, they are not for carrying electrical current. I either solder the joiners to the rail or where I’ve left them unsoldered for some reason (expansion joints, because they’re attached to a turnout, or whatever) then the sections get a feeder wire.
The sole purpose for dielectric lube in automotive connections is to prevent corrosion long term. Remember, under the hood and dash it’s a wet, steamy, and dirty mess.
As for worrying about the expansion of track from heat. It’s a non issue. Just look up the coefficient of expansion of the metals involved. What DOES happen is the swelling and contraction of track with humidity, which often accompanies the heat.
Solder the track, put in track feeders, leave the joiners dry at the turnouts. That’s what I’ve done and my longest length of soldered track is approximately 25 feet. I’m not worried about it.
Mark in Utah
Since you’re so keen on soldering track, what’s your recommendation for soldering Kato Unitrack? Kato says it doesn’t need soldering, as do a few people right here on this forum. Aside from that, how would you go about doing it, and not causing damage?
This is how I do it for flex track. Your track should be similar.
Easy track soldering 101:
Fill the rail joiners with paste flux before you put the track together. It takes very little flux to get it done.
Use a 100 watt soldering gun. Yep, one of those big ugly monsters. Keep the tip nice and clean by wiping it with a wet sponge when hot.
Use some of that skinny rosin-core solder you buy at Radio shack.
Melt a little blob of it on the tip of your iron. Get it really hot. It’ll probably even smoke a bit.
With the gun “on” and HOT, press it against the inside of one of the joiners. You’ll seeee the paste flux ooze, boils, hiss, etc.
Immediately apply some solder to the joiner/rail interface on the outside of the rail. 2-3 seconds after it starts to melt take the soldering iron off the joiner, and stop applying solder.
IMMEDIATELY wipe the rail down with a damp cotton rag. This will smooth down the solder, clean off the rail, and leave a nice shiny product.
This goes so fast that the plastic rails will not melt. From applying heat to wiping the rail should be 7 seconds tops.
The secret to limiting the heat effects of soldering track is to get it done FAST. The weaker and cooler the iron, the more time it takes to heat up the rail to apply solder, and the further down the rail the heat has traveled. By doing it this hot and fast you’ll be done before the track has time to even realize that it’s been soldered.
Mark in Utah
WOW! Info I could use. Thanks mark.