Am I potty?.

[Nick]

Caig - that make DeOxit, also make something called FaderLube specifically sliding contacts arrangements in pots. I haven't tried it, so I cannot vouch for its effectiveness. However, with old carbon track pots, often the track is just worn out, and if so needs to be replaced.

Old Jaguars used to have a carbon track throttle pot that fed into the ECU. These sat in the stinking heat above the engine, and every time you used the accelerator the slider moved over the track. So they wore out. And the only way you knew was the fuel consumption got worse. IOW less than the usual 18mpg. These were a completely sealed unit naturally.

Of course, being a Jaguar, the replacement pot was a king's ransom.

Much the same with Volvo V70 cruise control - the sensor is a semi-sealed linear pot connected to the throttle pedal. However it's located directly below the clutch fluid reservoir which always has a slow leak, so over time, the track is destroyed.

Getting one replaced by Volo is over 100 quid, but you can buy the new part online for about 35 quid and it's a no-tool 5 minute job to whip the old one out and install the new one.