Headlight Lubricants??/

JEDIYoda

Lifer
Jul 13, 2005
33,981
3,318
126
My mechanic told me that I needed to purchase some headlight lubricant!
Where do I get it and how do you apply it??
 

C1

Platinum Member
Feb 21, 2008
2,316
77
91
Three in One oil should work, but being able to access some of the adjusters would be the trick. Some possibilities are to use a small aluminum tube or gas line either of which can be found in a hobby shop.
 

EXCellR8

Diamond Member
Sep 1, 2010
3,982
839
136
Your mechanic should have been more clear on what they were talking about... I've never actually heard of anything referred to as headlight lube?
 

Joebklyn

Junior Member
Dec 27, 2018
8
2
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Dielectric grease around the rubber grommets works for me. I believe that is what he is referring to.
 

bigi

Platinum Member
Aug 8, 2001
2,484
153
106
I smear this all over my headlights so those don't squeak at night.
 

AMCRambler

Diamond Member
Jan 23, 2001
7,701
26
91
Blowing smoke up your keester. No such thing. Had morons at Autozone tried to sell me “bulb grease” last time I was in there. I laughed at them. Snake oil salesmen, all of them.
 

BonzaiDuck

Lifer
Jun 30, 2004
15,726
1,456
126
Initially, I thought this thread was some kind of joke. Would lubricant make for slicker lumens of headlight visibility? Does it grease the skids for light rays?

I wasn't even going to post here.

But I was replacing all my light bulbs this week, adding LED upgrades where possible. Top end LED headlight bulbs cost over $120 per pair. Then, I attempted to remove the Halogen headlight bulbs that had been in the car for 14 years.

I can see where a little 3-in-1 oil or Teflon grease would be helpful for a forthcoming bulb-exchange. My fingers are a bit stressed after fiddling with the bulbs and wiring harness.

But Joebklyn may have properly interpreted the mechanic's recommendation.
 

Ichinisan

Lifer
Oct 9, 2002
28,298
1,234
136
Initially, I thought this thread was some kind of joke. Would lubricant make for slicker lumens of headlight visibility? Does it grease the skids for light rays?

I wasn't even going to post here.

But I was replacing all my light bulbs this week, adding LED upgrades where possible. Top end LED headlight bulbs cost over $120 per pair. Then, I attempted to remove the Halogen headlight bulbs that had been in the car for 14 years.

I can see where a little 3-in-1 oil or Teflon grease would be helpful for a forthcoming bulb-exchange. My fingers are a bit stressed after fiddling with the bulbs and wiring harness.

But Joebklyn may have properly interpreted the mechanic's recommendation.
Dielectric grease is for the actual metal contacts. Not really for ease of manipulation. It's not clear how the dielectric it helps with conductivity other than keeping out water and air that contribute to corrosion. However, it is proven to prolong the reliable lifetime of mechanical electrical contacts.
 

CZroe

Lifer
Jun 24, 2001
24,195
856
126
Dielectric grease is for the actual metal contacts. Not really for ease of manipulation. It's not clear how the dielectric it helps with conductivity other than keeping out water and air that contribute to corrosion. However, it is proven to prolong the reliable lifetime of mechanical electrical contacts.
It’s also used for coating battery terminals so that they don’t corrode from reacting with hydrogen gas venting from the battery.

I’ve had brand new bulbs that just didn’t even come on without the stuff of come on when I plug them in but quit the next day. Once I get the grease on there it works great.

Faderlube F5 from DeoxIt is a dielectric intended for potentiometers like volume and brightness knobs. I use it when repairing old videogames (paddle controllers, analog joysticks, volume sliders, etc). Contact cleaner alone leads to jumpy pots, but dielectric solves that.