Corroded connector in cabin causing warning lights to come on. FIX: relocate it

[Eggman]

Hey A-Aron do you think simple petroleum jelly would work the same? I've used it on battery connections (not for cars.)

[dspace9]

I would avoid the flex seal as it will trap any started corrosion in the connector.
A good choice could be a krown type products as it will creep up the inside of insulation protecting the copper wires.
Or dielectric grease, but not all dielectric greases are the same. Some have more anti corrosion properties than others.
As these appear to be non sealed connectors I would disconnect the connector and pack both faces with dielectric grease.

Interesting Krown products work to prevent corrosion on this, my Mirage 6 years old build date and Krown'ed by me every year, looks to be in far better shape no dash lights and underneath looks mint. Lots of salt on Ontario's roads during the winter.

Thanks for the tidbits on this thread! Glad to know my $129.99 every year (or so I stretch it with Krown) is worth the money.

[Cobrajet]

I would avoid the flex seal as it will trap any started corrosion in the connector.

I certainly wouldn't use this product with a car that has already seen a few seasons of snow and salt, and for the exact reasons you suggest. That is why I suggested it might be useful on a car that is new as a preventative measure.

A rubberized coating on these connectors right from the start should solve the problem before it appears. It would not need to be reapplied periodically as might be necessary with grease, etc, which I might be concerned about staining or discoloring the carpet if applied to heavily or too often.

[A-Aron]

Even sealed connectors are coated with corrosion inhibitors because air and water can actually travel threw the gaps between the strands of the copper wire and to the connector. If you choose to seal them with flex seal then I would still use a corrosion inhibitor on the male and female spades in the socket before sealing it up.
There's no one solution, no fix all. I have had cars and motorcycles where unprotected connector have corroded and failed, and have seen protected ones fail only past the corrosion inhibitors as the copper wire corroaded in two inside there sheathing.
Personally I really dislike electrical problems, intermittent electrical problem are the worst, in vehicles or equipment.
I kinda see this like most things on here, is rubberized undercoating better than oil or grease based???
Both have pros and cons. Either is better than nothing.
A quality dielectric corrosion inhibitor should only need be applied once. As I don't see it being constantly unplugged and plugged in.
I would personally shy away from petroleum jelly as I have better choices on hand designed for the job. And in warmer areas wouldn't it melt and run out of the connector? Just seems like the last tube of 1800 degree dielectric grease I bought to help install my block heater cost 2$. I wouldn't want to risk it for a couple bucks.

[MetroMPG]

Thanks again, Fummins!!

We almost should have a catch-all thread along the lines of:

"Specific maintenance you should do to your new Mirage to avoid these future problems."

It could be an index that points to threads like this one.

[Fummins]

It might not be a bad idea for people living with lots of road salt and/or snow to pull up their carpet and hose these connectors down with something like this while their car is new. Cheap insurance?

I thought that stuff was only for building boats out of old screen doors?

[Cobrajet]

I thought that stuff was only for building boats out of old screen doors?

No, that is just what it was invented for.

[Fummins]

Damnit I think I lost my own game! So far it's looking like either answer 1 or 5 is correct. I'll attempt to start a new thread with this problem.

[strawboss]

Just recently my 2015 started displaying the idiot lights for braking system (and the airbag I think).I could still shift out of Park.

I had some deoxit5 left over from my smart fortwo days and opened the DS kickpanel to get at the connectors Unplugged them and gave them a spritz back & front, no obvious corrosion but all is good ever since....2 months now?

[A-Aron]

So not really worried about this area in my car but love it so want to protect it as much as possible..
Today I removed the kick panel, carefully unplugged each connector. Hosed both sides of each with krown and plugged them back in.
In my car this area was very clean as I have always had weathertech mats in mine. I have also had my car krown coated each year.
So far I have been very impressed with this product.
I will continue to check and spray this area every couple years.
But what I wished to post about was that after un plugging and re connecting the plugs, it cleared all my trip settings.
By that I mean it set all my trips to zero, and even my service reminder for mileage.. but say I have 2 months left
If you need your trips or service mileage for anything you might want to document numbers before unplugging.