Dielectric Grease on Battery Terminals: Is It Ok? (Explained!)

If you’re looking for a tool to prevent corrosion in electrical connections, you probably hear about Dielectric grease and thought about buying one. However, you may wonder what it will do if you put some on your battery terminals. Thus, you may ask:

If you got some dielectric grease on battery terminals, is it ok? It’s not a big deal to have dielectric grease on battery terminals. This grease can prevent corrosion and are safe for electrical connections. However, it’s only ideal for low-current connections. Thus, it shouldn’t reach your battery terminals which are high current.

To keep in mind, this type of grease is an optional tool, which means you don’t need one to maintain your battery terminals or keep the other parts protected from corrosion. In general, you can find better alternatives that are safer to use on battery terminals.

In this article, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about dielectric grease and its benefits and risks to your battery terminals. This way, you can understand what it means to use it on such a part of your car. You’ll also see some other alternatives aside from this product.

Without further ado, let’s get into it!

Dielectric Grease on Battery Terminals

What Is Dielectric Grease?

If you’re not familiar with dielectric grease, it’s a type of lubricant that is silicon-based to repel moisture, preventing corrosion on electrical connections of cars.

Now, while this grease helps protect electrical connections, it’s still not an electric conductor, which means it won’t improve the flow of electricity in your car. 

For this reason, this product is not something you’ll want to apply directly to the pins and sockets.

Another thing is that it is only conducive to use in low-current connections. Since a battery terminal is a high-current connection, it’s not ideal for putting this grease on it.

Of course, since it’s a safe product to use, it won’t harm the terminal as long as you don’t put it in between the said connection.

In general, dielectric grease offers excellent protection against corrosion if you can put it correctly in your electrical connections.

Is It Ok To Put Grease on Battery Terminals?

It is ok to put extraordinary on battery terminals, but make sure not to put it in between those connections since these release high-current electricity.

The thing about battery terminals is that they are an essential part of the engine’s main electricity works. Thus, if the grease blocks or minimizes such connections, it can lead to lesser power output and some electricity flow issues.

As always, you’ll need to remember that this grease, while it offers excellent benefits, is still optional. In short, you can run your engine without using such.

Of course, if you want to prevent possible corrosion from happening in your battery terminal, you can always put this product to good use. However, if you want to make sure that it won’t affect the power flow, you’ll want to avoid putting it in between battery terminals or look for better alternatives.

Should You Use Dielectric Grease on Battery Terminals?

Since dielectric grease is an optional product to use, you won’t need to use one on your battery terminals.

As mentioned earlier, the battery terminals produce a high-current flow which can get affected if the dielectric grease reaches such.

Since this grease is not an electric conductor, it may affect the flow, resulting in shorter battery life and poor connection.

Ignition coil wires, high-energy ignition systems, trailer electrical connections, bulb plugs, headlamp wires, battery terminals, and spark plug boots are just a few of the accessories and parts for dielectric grease.

Now, as I mentioned, this product isn’t a necessity in your engine. Thus, you won’t find any problems should you refuse to use it. It’s not something like a coolant or engine oil that you’ll need to run your engine.

This lubricant isn’t required, but it may help extend the life and quality of your car and its components.

Is Dielectric Grease Good for Battery Terminals?

Since dielectric grease isn’t an electric conductor, it won’t help improve your power flow. The grease works well by preventing corrosion in your electric connections. However, it’s not something you’ll need if you want to improve your batter terminals’ output.

As I said, this product is optional, and you can use other products as an alternative to this one. Here are some of the products we recommend.

Anti-corrosive spray

The anti-corrosive spray is better than dielectric grease for corrosion protection. It goes into areas where your fingertips can’t reach. 

In between wiring, dielectric grease can be utilized, but only with low-current links. Again, it is because the battery terminals have a large voltage rating.

An anti-corrosive spray may not be an electrical conductor as well. However, it’s still better protection since it won’t likely affect the flow of your battery terminals’ output.

Lithium grease

Another product you can use as an alternative is lithium grease. This product is available at automotive shops, and it’s a great alternative since it won’t affect the connection.

Also, it does well in preventing future corrosion since it displaces air and moisture in the surrounding space. As a result, it gives protection from such problems.

Petroleum jelly

The final product you can use is usually available in every household. For example, if you have petroleum jelly, you can use it on the battery terminals before reattaching the cables. 

You can do it by rubbing some amount in the terminals before reattaching the cables. Then, once you dried the terminals, you can dab a small amount of petroleum jelly on them. 

A small amount would be enough to give proper lubrication, preventing it from suffering from corrosion and helping it strengthen the connection.

Where Do You Put Dielectric Grease on Battery Terminals?

If you use dielectric grease on battery terminals, you can use it in the area away from the terminals. This way, you avoid it reaching the connections.

It will do well in preventing any moisture or air from reaching the connections. However, as I mentioned earlier, it will be safer and more ideal to use other alternatives.

If you use this product, you may accidentally put it between the terminals and lessen the power flow. Also, since it won’t conduct electricity, it may affect your electricity flow if it reaches the links in your battery terminals.

Summary

In a nutshell, dielectric grease is a great product that protects your electrical connections against corrosion. The only downside is that it’s only ideal for low-current connections. Since battery terminals produce high-current connections, you may want to find better alternatives to use.

In general, a dielectric grease is an optional tool you can use, which means you will do well even without using such. However, if misused, it can even reach your electricity flow and shorten your battery life. Thus, you’ll want to use it on low-current connections rather than on your battery terminals. 

Also Read:

Resources

Image credits – Canva

Share on:

My name is Hank, and I've been in the automotive industry for 27 years. I've been working in my own auto repair shop for the last 13 years, and now I want to help you here, on my blog. Let me know if you have any questions. Read more