Do these plugs look like corrosion that might cause a battery short or computer short? Trying to debug a short and stumbled on these two plugs that look noticeably different than all the other wiring harness connections. My battery keeps draining and shorting out.

(Note, this is for my Camry, but I'm an active 4Runner owner and poster on here as well.)

Thanks for any advice, Jason

Attached Images

   

Hard to tell from the photo, but does the plastic part of the plug appear to be melted or is that some type of grease?

Also what does the other part of the connector that the one you posted connects too look like?

It is grease but none of the other large connectors on that same pillar have that look. They all look clean and clear. The brown smears off and doesn’t appear to be melted. I can’t tell if the pins have corrosion based on the angle of their location. I’ll try to get more pics. Maybe I should put an ohm meter on it to look for a connection.

The clean grease was protected from dirt, the brown stuff is slightly contaminated with dirt. Perfectly normal.

It's most likely dialectic grease which is a non-conductive grease used to keep moisture and corrosion from getting into or forming in a connection, being a non-conductive material many say it can prohibit a good connection if applied to the actual contacts and should only be used for sealing a connection after it's been connected, I somewhat disagree with that because as long as the metal contacts/connectors are tight fitting the connection is there and the grease doesn't interfere with the connection because because the tight metal to metal contact is a good connection and any of the dialectic grease is squeezed out of the metal to metal contact.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to clean some of the grease from the connection if it is some other type of grease or Vaseline which are conductive and could cause a short between connectors, but if it is indeed dialectic grease I doubt it will make any difference.

Which connection exactly is this connector for?

Do you know the entire history of the vehicle?

If not it could of at one time been in a flood or submerged in water to some degree and whoever salvaged it used the grease to repel moisture.

Thanks for the solution. I have been looking for the solution from long time.

Your Vaseline claim intrigued me- so I stuck my high $$ Fluke DVM probes in a jar of Vaseline. Nope not conductive

Hmmm, I just use Vaseline as an example since it's a petroleum product I was sure it was conductive, but for a sure test try inserting a 120 volt hot wire into a jar of Vaseline and then stick your finger in there.

I did check and you're correct but I would still advise not to use Vaseline on electrical connections since being a petroleum product it could degrade the insulation on wiring.

I'll pass on the 120V finger stick in thing....

Oh..and good point about petroleum possibly degrading insulation.