balky 7 pin

Dielectric grease is for low current application. When you mate the connection, the metal scrapes thru the grease and makes contact while the grease prevents corrosion. It should never be difficult to connect a trailer plug. If it is, as others have mentioned, look for damaged pins.

I did some web searching on the question "Should I put dielectric grease on electrical contacts?", and uncovered quite an argument. One side says "No, it's an insulator". The other side says "Yes, it prevents corrosion, and it gets squeezed out of the actual point of contact." There are knowledgeable people on both sides.

Since I put the silicone spray on the outside of the connector, I have plugged it in 5 times and gotten good connections each time, so I think I will let it be.

Dielectric grease, or tune-up grease, is a silicone-based grease that repels moisture and protects electrical connections against corrosion. ... Since dielectric grease is a silicone grease, it should not be used on silicone-based rubbers or plastics, as it will break them down over time.

Super Lube® Grease is an excellent lubricant that prevents wear between metal, plastic, and rubber parts. It is compatible with Buna, Nitrile, Viton, Neoprene and Silicone rubbers. Super Lube® Silicone Grease is also available for compounds that are not compatible with hydrocarbons.

D.E.Bishop wrote:
I'm not trying to be a wise acre but what do you think dielectric grease is?

Silly cone maybe?

Dielectric grease is simply non-conductive grease. It may or may not be silicone based. It's pretty hard to find a grease which isn't dielectric. I use SuperLube, which is silicone based. Mostly, because it stains less than many alternatives and doesn't dry out.

Technically, there's a difference between a non-conductor (insulator) and a dielectric - permittivity. But that has exactly zero effect on this application.

People call it "dielectric" just to sound smart, without knowing why they're calling it that, which definitely isn't smart.

I'm not trying to be a wise acre but what do you think dielectric grease is?

Silly cone maybe?

Now that was a smart answer, phony boobies were silly cones.

I found some wire brushes for my Dremel tool and at least once a year clean the sockets holes with the little brushes. I use a different brush to clean the male parts.

Changing the entire socket and plugs are easy but a little cleaning and silly cone grease goes a long way. Oh sorry, I just have a six pin hook up, seven pins or blades takes two minutes more.

troubledwaters wrote:
Replace both ends, it's an easy fix.

Ditto. Replace both before you tear something else up. They are no trouble replacing. Do them one at a time and match the wires back.

Dielectric grease goes right on the pins inside the tow vehicle side. The only problem is that grease will also get on the trailer half of the plug and probably on your clothes in the end.

I also had intermittent connection issues and messed with it for a whole season. I finally replaced both sides of my plug in the last year and now everything works.

PaulJ2 wrote:
Mine was very difficult to push all the way in also. Had two bent pins which i straitened, helped a little. Silicon spray on the outside plastic of trailer plug (not on the pins) seemed to solve it.

thanks, the Silicon spray made a big differnce. The pins all look OK, but I will probably try some dielectric grease when I figure out where I put it.

I vote for bent pins,


Fix then and than put some dielectric grease on them....

Replace both ends, it's an easy fix.