>> It is possible that the Noalox had become separated in the bottle >> but as a long term industrial electrician who has never used >> the stuff before, I decided to use the tried and tested method of having >> bright clean (tight) connections.
That's always my first choice also, bright and tight. When working with aluminum conductors, and worse, mixing aluminum with other materials and alloys, some form of anti-oxidant is a good idea.
I stopped using NoAlOx for battery terminals quite a long time ago in favor of the NoOxID product. NoAlOx seems to "creep" from where it's applied, and eventually any excess gets spread around and catches the inevitable dirt and dust. NoOxID is a thicker paste-like compound that seems to stay put. It is also less likely to stain anything it gets on.
More concerning, I don't like the idea of grinding sintered aluminum, suspended in the NoAlOx product, into terminals and conductors. Seems counter productive to put any solid materials between conductive surfaces that are supposed to be making contact, especially if the total surface area of the contact is important. Drawing tension into the joint by tightening the fastener can only cause the aluminum to be pressed into the conductors, or else the conductors are held apart by the solid material. Neither is what I'm after.
I suppose NoAlOx is OK for it's intended purpose, protecting aluminum wiring that is used in circuit breaker panels and other service equipment, I still use it for that purpose. Most AHJ's (electrical inspectors) expect to see it and will not approve work that doesn't use it where required.
In industrial electrical work, circuits that pull the kind of current we see in EV's have large contact areas where conductors meet, perhaps with multiple fasteners and pressure connectors that can really be pulled tight. In an EV, we usually only get a single bolt and a flat mating surface the diameter of a nickle to make a successful connection. In building battery packs, we get to repeat that a hundred times over. Seems unfair, but I think I said it previously, we got to work with what we are given.
It also helps to pay attention. I didn't and I got a chance to do it over. That's luck at work.
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