I know this has been talked about before but I couldn't find what type of grease exactly.
I am swapping modules from one car to another and the person at AZ sold me Dielectric
spark plug protector. This doesn't sound right. Is this stuff ok to use on the bottom of the module?
Also how much do I put on? Is it like the bottom of a cpu, a thin layer?
Thanks
Shawn

 

It's thermal compound, the same stuff you put between your CPU and heatsink on your PC. The ignition module gets pretty hot, and it it uses the distributor base as a heat sink, the thermal compound just helps with heat transfer. It shouldn't take a ton of it, just enough to cover the aluminum part of the ignition module, and fill the gap between that and the distributor. Any computer store should carry thermal compound (might try radio shack too), I'm not sure how well the dielectric grease would work.

 

I went to another AZ and this person gave me something different. He gave me
Dielectric Connector Protector. This still doesnt seem right and I guess I will have
to wonder the aisles until I find it. Thanks for the info on how much to put on.
Shawn

 

I doubt Autozone would carry it, but Best Buy, Comp USA, Circuit City, Fry's, etc should. Just ask for 'thermal compound'. The dielectric grease stuff AZ is giving you is to seal electrical connections, like the stuff in your tail light bulb sockets, etc.

 

Thanks for the info. I never thought of using CPU thermal paste.
Thanks
Shawn

 

Avoid any of the "silver" compounds. They tend to either run or are really expensive.

Radioshack has plain-old white goop heatsink compound. I've always had good results with that stuff. Costs like $2 a tube, and one tube is good for quite a few applications. Just dab it on and smear it out. Apply a nice even coat and then screw the ignitor on.

My Honda used to kill ignitors. I'd just toss them on without cleaning the old compound off or applying new compound. After applying fresh Ratshack compound, I've not had a single problem.

 

Yeah, I agree that the plain white stuff is fine. I actually read a comparison of different thermal pastes a couple months back, when I was replacing my CPU heat sink. They test different thermal compounds (including the expensive arctic silver stuff), and they all pretty much perform the same.

http://www.dansdata.com/goop.htm

 

Take that "review" with a grain of salt. He wasn't properly cleaning the heatsink and CPU between applications, and was running the AS3 immediately, with no burn in. AS requires a burn in period.

Anyway, outside of a computer, or maybe higher end audio, I'd just stick with white goop. It does plenty well for automotive applications, and it's cheap.

 

that dialectric grease should work fine, most modulals are actually shipped with a small pack of it.