ford problems

those of you that own fords, check the hot lead that goes to the starter solenoid before you take your truck out next time, we've had two 99 f250 crap out within 13 days of each other,it seems ford knew that corrosion would be a problem here and put little plastic caps on the leads instead of beefing up the terminal ends they fall off and leave you stranded, check-em and change-em

 

I had the same thing happen a few years ago on my dodge. Thats why I never shut off the truck until I'm back home in the shop.

 

I've had similar problems with almost any electrical terminal I could think of. I found that coating them liberally with dielectric grease in the fall virtually eliminates corrosion. It takes time and gets messy sometimes, but it's worth the effort, if it will keep your wheels rolling.

Just my $.02

 

It seems with all of the corrosion from salt, dielectric grease is a necessity. I had a wiring harness replaced this AM that was ONE MONTH OLD. It had dielectric grease on it when purchased. I assumed that was sufficient. Guess not!

Every time out they say to hit 'em with grease. Salt and water corrode those tiny pins and they soon are a corroded mess.

Anyway, it would stand to reason that dielectric grease should be used on ANY connections that are vulnerable. Especially those tiny, thin, cheap connectors used on solenoids. I pictured a corroded connection on the solenoid, since I have seen many connectors in this shape in the past, not necessarily limited to solenoids.

Hope somebody is saved a break down or inconvenience due to this thread.

 

I learned a trick form a friend that was in the Navy. He showed me to spray the terminals with cosmoline before putting them together and then spray the completed connection afterward. I get it at an industrial supplier in spray cans by Spray-on (a Sherwin-Williams Company) under the product name PDRP. Haven't had problems since I started using it. There are times that dielectric grease is called for but on battery & solenoid terminals, this works great.

 

Now that you mention it, that would explain the large number of SuperDuty's I've seen on tow trucks. I hate that, one stupid little thing like that can ruin your whole day...

-Tim

 

Hey got problems croding up I have been using vaseline for years