dielectric grease on the contacts INSIDE distributor cap?
 

I told my "helper" to put dielectric grease on the distributor cap contacts. Now that its all back together, he tells me He put it on the contacts INSIDE the cap. Anybody know if this is bad!?

I use poor-man's dialectic grease on all electrical connections...petroleum jelly (like in Vaseline). And I do use it on distributor cap contacts, spark plug wire connections, etc. Whether there is any actual value in putting it on dizzy contacts, I don't know. It apparently does no harm.

So you don't think it would cause a stumble or anything? I wouldn't think it would. I've heard of people doing this before but since I've done this full tune up I have a stumble upon acceleration that I spoke of in a separate post that I did not have before tuneup. so I'm trying to eliminate possible problems

Clean it out. You will have a goopy mess inside that will allow cross firing

It won't hurt a thing.

In fact, its used in production to reduce RFI emissions.

Would a light coating actually help reduce oxidation of the terminals?

It wouldn't hurt...that's what I think. I don't use gobs of grease...just a light film.

before goo : engine ran fine;
after goo : engine not running fine;
remove goo: check results.

Another common use of dielectric grease is on the rubber mating surfaces or gaskets of multi-pin electrical connectors used in automotive and marine engines. The grease again acts as a lubricant and a sealant on the nonconductive mating surfaces of the connector. It is not recommended to be applied to the actual electrical conductive contacts of the connector because it could interfere with the electrical signals passing through the connector in cases where the contact pressure is very low( in this case, no contact pressure at all ... a gap must be jumped ... goo preventing said jump). Products designed as electronic connector lubricants, on the other hand, should be applied to such connector contacts and can dramatically extend their useful life. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphenyl_Ether, rather than silicone grease, is the active ingredient in some such connector lubricants.

Where the wires connect to the cap and the plugs, yes. But never inside the cap. ~Bill

thanks for all the replies I found the problem... I wish I could upload a picture easily from my phone. the rotor is destroyed not sure how or why

Did you use the right rotor? there's two of them

I don't know I gotta take it back to the auto parts store tomorrow what does the correct one look like or what is the difference

Clip cap uses different rotor than screw cap. One uses a round rotor, the other uses an oblong rotor. I think the screw down cap uses oblong one. I'm guessing the grease didn't help it at all either ~Bill

I was using correct part. Whatever the reason, it runs great now. Even with a little dielectric grease on the internal cap contacts ;-)