Corrosion on wires and terminals

[duncan59]

I am new to wiring and particularly marine wiring. So I have two questions:

1) what do A4 owners typically do to limit/troubleshoot corrosion on your wires and terminals?

2) Do you use tinned wire or make-do with copper wire?

[msmith10]

The correct answer is that all wiring on a boat should be tinned. Now, in actual practice, the truth is that I sometimes use plain copper wire and I'm sometimes sorry I did so. My decision is based on the difficulty of the replacement (if it's a hard job, you better do it right the first time) and the criticality of the wiring, as well as my funds at the time. I would never use plain copper wire on my running lights, for example, and certainly not on wiring that would require me to go up the mast to replace. For wiring on an interior cabin light that never gets wet, I might scrimp (I'm a Great Lakes sailor, so we don't have the omnipresent corrosion that you brine sailors have). I'd say that all engine wiring is a critical component, not to mention that a single bad connection could take a lot of hours to hunt down. If you can afford to use tinned wire everywhere, you'll be happier in the long run.
As far as prevention, I use the battery terminal coating that you can buy most anywhere, and corrosion resistant or even dielectric grease on disconnect fittings. A can of contact cleaner is a necessity.

[bayareadave]

I try to use quality marine components. I'll put some of that battery terminal spray on it, and if I don't have that, some winch grease.

[baileyem]

Dave
Using winch grease on a battery terminal connection to prevent corrosion may be an effective, temporary solution, but if that connection heats up sometime when you crank a little too long on your starter the grease can liquify and get between the terminal and the connector and become an insulator. I can tell you from experience on automotive engines, that this type of a non-connection is difficult to diagnose and can be a real pain. You would be better off using a little spray paint instead of the grease.

Mike

[duncan59]

Spray paint huh? Who knew? Still it makes sense. But I think I will try to find some terminal cleaner.
My problem is that I have a radio out and a water temp gauge out. Both worked before I starting some overhaul on the motor, and now they don't. But I have checked my connections several times and they are wired correctly. There doesn't seem to be a lot of corrosion but there is a little. And the fuses are all intact. And I replaced the heat sensor on the head.
So do I just need a new temp gauge and radio? Or am I missing some kind of diagnostic check? Any ideas would be welcomed.

[Don Moyer]

Whenever something works on Monday, some maintenance work is done on Tuesday, and then A, B, and C, do not work on Wednesday, the most likely explanation for A, B, and C, relates to something that was done on Tuesday. This scenario seldom is a reasonable basis for spending money changing things.

Don

[duncan59]

Don,
I would agree with your logical assessment above. But my wiring was offline for 2-3 months while I was working on everything. So I am assuming that other things like corrosion combined with wires taped off to the side could lead to a disconnect. I am sure I can figure out with my multmeter.