cnmrosko

I have a 98 4runner v6 limited 4 wd. with about 260k mi.. that began to have intermittent starting difficulties.

The symptoms seemed like maybe a short somewhere. I would turn the ignition key and just hear a click. After repeated attempts the starter would engage perfectly, not an indication of poor contact within the starter or brushes (replaced brushes and internal solenoid parts on the original starter last year.) The problem would show up every once in while, sometimes up to a month between showing up but after a while seemed to occur more frequently.

I suspected contact issues so I cleaned battery and all contact connections as best I could including the lead wire and clip connector on the outside of the solenoid without having to resort to removing the starter ( a pain in the a--) The problem still showed up so I put some conductive grease ( ) on the connector plug and the issue hasn't showed up at all since. Starts right up as it should.
See; http://www.mgchemicals.com/products/...e-grease-8463/

I hope others find this info helpful.

Odd that I couldn't find anyone locally who sold conductive grease, even electrical supply warehouses. I ordered it online, pretty pricy stuff but a small amount is all that's needed and it would probably be a good thing to use on any connectors that are subjected to exterior weather or corrosion.

*NOTE(dialectic grease is NOT conductive grease, it's the opposite)



*

mattbatson

do you think that the grease is just concealing a bigger problem?
like a worn starter solenoid bushing or rusty wiring ground somewhere?

I'm curious to see how long your fix lasts...or if it is just a six month kind of fix?

does Toyota put this special conductive grease on all their electrical connections from the factory?

has anyone else on this board tried this stuff and had it work?

cnmrosko

It's been more than a month since I cleaned the plug and added the conductive grease and the starter fires right up with no hesitations AT ALL in every kind of weather...I rebuilt the solenoid & replaced starter brushes about 18 months ago.

Considering that there are more than 260,000 miles on this vehicle being exposed to northern Ohio winters the addition of a waterproof conductive lube to electrical plugs that are exposed to weather and are located on the lower part of the engine makes allot of sense to me, especially now that my problem is solved.
To be honest I really don't give much of a crap if anyone tries, has tried or attempts to try this fix or not.
Take it for what it's worth...

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

Glad it worked and solved your problem.

After all that is the bottom line is it not??

To be up and running.

It is so expensive because of the Silver that permits the conductivity .

It works in your use because it is a single wire plug trying on a multiple plug could result in interesting things to say the least.

That is why Dielectric grease being non conductive is much more common for weather proofing connections .

cnmrosko

I think it depends on the design of the plug. I wouldn't hesitate to use the conductive grease on multi pin trailer plugs and other plugs where the contacts have a good degree of separation. The grease should be used sparingly. I would not recommend smearing it all over the place. Even a single pin plug could short to ground in that case. I can see where a dielectric grease could cause contact problems. I don't remember for sure but there is a good chance that I may have used dielectric grease on this same plug that gave me problems later on.