What to lube window switches with

Hey guys, I'm refurbishing a whole lot of window switches. There's two ball bearings inside of each one that had nasty grease on them when I disassembled them. Now that they are clean, what should I lube them with? My first thought is a teeny drop of this stuff: https://lucasoil.com/products/grease/white-lithium-grease

What would be long lasting yet wouldn't collect a bunch of gunk immediately?

I use WD-40.

A little smearing of white lithium just on the spring and ball bearing is all you need.

more diet coke.


di-electric grease is the correct for the job.

You want a dielectric lubricant. Best one that inhibits corrosion. Yet the action and bits inside the power windows switches may enjoy a good slathering of a dielectric silicon grease such as the SuperLube brand NLGI-1 or (stiffer and more common) NLGI-2 grease.

Though the factory may have slathered some lithium soap complex originally. Not white lithium. Even better to use a silicon spray (and not WD40) if no disassembly. Spray some silicon lube with the red straw secured to the spray can nozzle. The carrier (solvent) departs (evaporates).

Yet if heavy pitting prevents window action at the switch, you need to disassemble. Else, at all bonded wire harness connectors, (specifically and only) DeoxIT!

(Not to be contused with the electrically conductive, corrosion-inhibiting greases lile NooX or De-OX-IT, meant for high voltage, high current DC and AC industrial applications.)

Hope that helps.

+1 dielectric grease

Thanks guys! I'll definitely get some dielectric grease then.



I went ahead and fully disassembled them a year ago, finally go around to cleaning them now. I sprayed them down with a ton of DeoxIT D5, and scrubs them clean as best I could. I'll be using a little 600grit sandpaper to remove the most stubborn carbon deposits and then greasing them and reassembling. Thanks again!

Picked up some dielectric grease today. Total noob question but - this should stay OFF of the contact points, aye?

No, cover them as well; when metal touches metal enough scrapes off to allow an electrical connecton.

I found that dielectric grease wasn't a good enough lubricant and caused binding in switches, that was 700 series dash switches I was cleaning up. I switched to wheel bearing grease I had on hand and that worked fine. Dielectric grease is designed to prevent high voltage flashover, it's not necessary in low voltage switches.

^ +1

You guys are way over thinking it as usual, clean with a not rusty spring and ball bearing is where it's at.

Too much goo will just attract dirt and debris where you don't want it.


240 Power Window Switch R&R

Redwood Chair said:

^ +1

You guys are way over thinking it as usual, clean with a not rusty spring and ball bearing is where it's at.

Too much goo will just attract dirt and debris where you don't want it.


240 Power Window Switch R&R

Click to expand...

^This
Just clean the contacts nice and pretty like, get rid of the corrosion and reassemble. If you feel the absolute, burning need to apply a lube, go with what you've got. I always have white lith and dielectric. YMMV

stiligFox said:

Thanks guys! I'll definitely get some dielectric grease then.

I went ahead and fully disassembled them a year ago, finally go around to cleaning them now. I sprayed them down with a ton of DeoxIT D5, and scrubs them clean as best I could. I'll be using a little 600grit sandpaper to remove the most stubborn carbon deposits and then greasing them and reassembling. Thanks again!

Click to expand...

Had to quote the picture -- just too unusual not to show it twice.

I admit to doing exactly what you did -- disassembled a whole car's worth of switches, divvied up the parts and washed them just like this. I'm not yet at the point where I need to put them back together, but when I do, I'll grab the tube of Sil-Glyde I keep in the tool tray. Only because it sorta kinda looks like what came out of the switches.

Cheaper than therapy.

I agree there, just apply a bit of grease to the ball bearing and spring assembly and put it together. Window switches in particular are prone to getting crud in them since they are installed face up.

Okay - update time!

Don't put dielectric grease on the contact points!

I know you guys told me so, but I did it anyway - and the switches stopped working within the space of two weeks. The grease has burned up and all the black soot stopped the windows from being able to go up again. Took them apart, removed the now blackened grease off of the points, and they work great again!

Cheers everyone!

kittysgreyvolvo said:

You want a dielectric lubricant. Best one that inhibits corrosion. Yet the action and bits inside the power windows switches may enjoy a good slathering of a dielectric silicon grease such as the SuperLube brand NLGI-1 or (stiffer and more common) NLGI-2 grease.

Though the factory may have slathered some lithium soap complex originally. Not white lithium. Even better to use a silicon spray (and not WD40) if no disassembly. Spray some silicon lube with the red straw secured to the spray can nozzle. The carrier (solvent) departs (evaporates).

Yet if heavy pitting prevents window action at the switch, you need to disassemble. Else, at all bonded wire harness connectors, (specifically and only) DeoxIT!

(Not to be contused with the electrically conductive, corrosion-inhibiting greases lile NooX or De-OX-IT, meant for high voltage, high current DC and AC industrial applications.)

Hope that helps.

Click to expand...

No offense, but your post is so very detailed, but uses silicon in place of silicone.

stiligFox said:

Okay - update time!

Don't put dielectric grease on the contact points!

I know you guys told me so, but I did it anyway - and the switches stopped working within the space of two weeks. The grease has burned up and all the black soot stopped the windows from being able to go up again. Took them apart, removed the now blackened grease off of the points, and they work great again!

Cheers everyone!

Click to expand...

Redwood Chair said:

^ +1

You guys are way over thinking it as usual, clean with a not rusty spring and ball bearing is where it's at.

Too much goo will just attract dirt and debris where you don't want it.


240 Power Window Switch R&R

Click to expand...

Told you so, but did you listen?



Nooooooo you didn't.

Late to this thread, but... Do you have CRC products in the USA? The first time I did this job, I took the switches apart like in the pictures, cleaned everything with a soft cotton rag and my home made glass cleaner: 50% methylated spirit, 50% white vinegar. (Be aware though the white printing was already missing on all my switches, and if you want to keep what is left, this spray might remove that. So water with a little dish soap might be better.) Then a little silicone spray - but just like above - switches stopped working and opening #1 showed full of black stuff again. So I too found it was pointless lubricating the internals. Their surfaces are highly polished and so are still very slippery when clean.

So on switch 2-4, I just squirted a large dose of a CRC brand product called "Electrolube" into the switches to wash out the silicone spray. Had the car for several months and had no trouble from the switches in that time. It's an electrical cleaning spray used in things like electrical contactors. It cleans, lubricates, but turns dry.

Doing this was far quicker and easier than pulling them apart again. Just hold the switch in your hand, fill it with spray, click the switch back and forth, spray again - did it about three times until no more dirt drips out.

Sounds like good tips haha, thanks!

And yes Redwood, you did tell me so...