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Hey there,

Anyone use dielectric grease on axles for lighted cars that do not use wipers, specifically AF passenger cars?  I thought of doing that in addition to wheel cleaning to help eliminate flicker.  Wondering if the grease would be too heavy for the axles.

Last edited by Kelpieflyer
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Nor really familiar with Flyer equipment, do these cars have any electrical items? It only takes a tiny bit for lubrication, pretty sure there is different types.

Dielectric would be great to make sure axle points are lubed yet no path for electrical conductivity shorting. Do "S" cars have plastic side frames or metal?

Last edited by BobbyD

I think you mean conductive grease rather than dielectric grease. I use conductive grease when assembling Gilbert track after cleaning the pins. A very small amount is best, it makes a difference. I have not used it on the axles of the lighted cars. Before putting the cars on the track for the first time after they have been off the layout I clean the axle ends with a spray of electrical contact cleaner. Then a drop of oil for low rolling resistance. I clean the wheels, both the pickup wheels and the plastic wheels. If the plastic wheels are not clean then they just re deposit dirt back on the track. I lay paper towels over several sections of track, soak them with contact cleaner and run the cars back and forth over them until the wheels are clean. This process is the quickest I have found when doing a large number of cars. The track must be completely clean as well.

I have not put the grease on the axle ends because I do not feel that is the source of the flicker. I have almost no flicker after doing the steps above. I also have less flicker on the layout with the SHS solid rail track than on the layout with the Gilbert track. This may be because the smaller, smoother SHS rail head makes better contact with the wheels. You could try using a small amount of conductive grease on the axle ends and see if it helps. It will not hurt anything. I use GB Ox-Gard, bought some at Home Depot. Its primary use is in joining copper to aluminum conductors in power circuits.

I agree that using dielectric on our trains isn't the best choice for conductivity. 

I do use it on electrical trailer connectors as recommended by our manufactures but there is enough metal to metal contact to allow current to flow without interruption. The purpose here is prevent dust and moisture from coming in contact with the electrical connections and eventually cause corrosion. 

I would hope that our indoor trains don't see this "extreme" type of conditions.
Curious, what do the Garden Railroaders use for outdoor applications?

H1000

That conductive grease and oil is generally safe to use on Lionel. Be careful where and how you use it on modern S gauge equipment. For example the insulators between the wheel and axle on AM cars is about 0.1". All the wheels are metal. It would be easy to bridge that insulator. No issue on original Gilbert because the entire non pickup wheel is plastic.

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OGR Publishing, Inc., 1310 Eastside Centre Ct, Suite 6, Mountain Home, AR 72653
800-980-OGRR (6477)
www.ogaugerr.com

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