Anyone ever try the old star type lock washers on the battery to frame connections? I would think they would cut into the base metal enough to eliminate this high resistance ground problem.
Bob Skinner
SIMPLY put, the best electrical connection that can be made, is between 2 completely clean, flat, conductive surfaces, where the complete connective "areas" are in contact. It's basic electrical engineering in practice. Adding a "star" washer does little, other than preventing the fastener, or lug, from rotating, and in fact when used
reduces the actual "contact areas" to "point contacts"; which will over time, reduce in conductivity via the electrolytic corrosion process (as these devices are either cadmium of zinc plated) even faster than 2 flat "clean metal" surfaces clamped together. I know it "sounds" like it would work better, but believe me, it actually in fact reduces the electrical capacity and endurance of a normal face to face connection of pristine and clean metal. It also ends up doing damage to an already small area, lets say the aluminum ground pad on the engine/frame and the flat copper ring of the lug involved, by digging 'pits" into the face, creating a starting point for entrapment of oxide producing elements, and compromising/making the actual surface even more difficult to further "clean" in it's life span.
Using a Star washer
under the head of a bolt however, can prevent it from loosening, which is good, but in reality again, a helical split lock washer with a flat washer also, provides much more robust retention of said fastener. Mnay manufacturers utilize this silly device to create a short lived contact area, because they find it too cost prohibitive to provide a clean, smooth contact area, on many items that have been painted...so it appears to be effective, but over time, isn't really... Keep in mind, in any mechanical electrical connection, the electron flow is always a factor of flow between the cable/end lug/lug mating surface when ratings are applied.. and the fastener is NOT considered as a conductor, ever...
the whole thing is about removing the "resistive connection" between 2 flat surfaces. scrub em, and reassemble.. then apply grease "
over the connection" to seal it...(greasing a connection or applying anything other to the actual mating surfaces other than No Ox-Id, or even never seize as a cheap substitute... is always a no-no) dielectric grease is something people just don't get... it's a
resistive grease, used to prevent water intrusion, and oxides, and only should be applied to the
external surfaces of a mechanical connection, as a prevention of moisture degradation... fact is, spraying an assembled connection that has been made using a laquer based clear paint,(or even hairspray) will seal said connection well, and provide this seal. and it can be easily cleaned off during a normal scrub-a -dub on the connectors next year/
I've argued this adnauseuim, with "egg-spurts", so called, about applying grease of this type to a connection during assembly... but as My job designing high amperage transfer switches for a decade or so, bewteen 30 amp thru 4000 amp capacity, utilizing massive amounts of Copper bus bar connections, I can truthfully tell you clean, dry connections are best.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicone_greasewe never applied anything to high amp connections, other than correctly torqued contact connections... and on some occasions when making ground connections to steel frameworks, a proprietary conductive compound...which contained a high copper, or nickle content.
http://www.sanchem.com/electrical-contact-lubricant.htmlor even this product... strangely its manufactured by the company that bought my original corporation...but we made emergency power quality devices.. not wire stuff...
https://www.specialized.net/cp8-tb-thomas-betts-kopr-shield-compound-8-oz.htmlI have an old can of Copper-Shield, made in the 40's, which my dad had in his garage... can is still half full, and the stuff still works.. which made it a better value product... I guess...
