Melted battery terminal

[treegump]

I was running my "for sale" chevy truck with a 350 in it when it died, and when I tried starting it, I ran the starter for say....30 sec or more. Then, nothing...lost all power. I got out and the positive terminal bolt melted out of my redtop's inset battery terminal.

My buddy chuck told me that there must be a leak somewhere...maybe where the positive cable runs to the starter...or somewhere where the positive might be hitting a ground somewhere. Could it be that I was cranking for too long? Thankfully I have top posts on the redtop, so I'm still ok, but still...this sucks.

 

[83GMCK2500]

I would lean towards a bad ground. Something is adding a boatload of resistance on the system.

 

[Mad Maxx]

I'd say a Loose Main + Connection somewhere.

Trying to Pull too much Current through too Small of a Connection would def. Heat things up.

 

[treegump]

I'd say a Loose Main + Connection somewhere.

Trying to Pull too much Current through too Small of a Connection would def. Heat things up.

so...if i just hand tightened the bolts holding the terminal on, instead of cranking on it with a wrench...would that do it?

 

[Mad Maxx]

Yea, that could do it. The Vibration from everything could Easily Loosen things up enough.

 

[treegump]

ok...so what about the terminal. Anything that I could get in there that would stay? Or will I just be using the top posts from here on out.

How would I test for extra resistance? I really don't want to melt another post, if you know what I mean.

Thanks again!!

 

[Mad Maxx]

How come the Screws for the Terminal won't stay Tight if you put a Wrench on them?

 

[treegump]

How come the Screws for the Terminal won't stay Tight if you put a Wrench on them?

I didn't put a wrench on them - I hand tightened them. I just needed to get a couple minutes of the truck running and then I was going to pull the battery out. No need leaving a red top battery in a truck that's parked in my front yard for sale. I sure don't need anyone walking away with that expense, haha.

 

[trouttrooper]

why did the truck die in the first place? Is the alternator going bad?? It takes quite a bit to melt a battery terminal. Melted terminal and truck dieing may be related. Not getting spark?

 

[treegump]

why did the truck die in the first place? Is the alternator going bad?? It takes quite a bit to melt a battery terminal. Melted terminal and truck dieing may be related. Not getting spark?

I don't know why its dying. There's a knock in the engine, but I don't think that's it. I'm wondering if I'm flooding it, due to it being a 350ci motor with an Edelbrock 650 (that's what the PO told me). So...I don't know. Also, the alternator belt broke, but the battery isn't/wasn't dead. It just wouldn't start. here's the link for this latest round - http://s590.photobucket.com/albums/...y Mud Truck/?action=view&current=Video013.flv . There's a bunch more w/ pictures too of the truck. I'll probably end up changing the battery to starter cables...

 

[just a number]

I'd be checking the starter to make sure it's disengaging or you may be grounding out just buy the starter itself. not alot of air space in there.

 

[treegump]

well, it sounds like the starter is stopping whenever i turn the key off. I'm going to check the wires first and see where that leads me. Side note, would any of you buy a truck with a rusted bed leaning to one side, or no bed (but you can see what shape the frame rails are in) but a wooden box holding the fuel tank against the cab....

 

[GenBiltstein]

From my experience every time a battery post melts it is because the connection at the battery was loose. I have seen quite a few amps flow through a battery post without a problem when they are tight.
One arc from a loose terminal means melting if the amps are passing through.

 

[Franko914]

I would lean towards a bad ground. Something is adding a boatload of resistance on the system.

This used to confuse me but after some thinking...

If you introduce more resistance in a circuit, less current will flow, so less power would be available to the load (in this case, the starter solenoid/motor) -- symptoms will include slow or no crank, solenoid clicking away, starter motor burning out. A very loose or a corroded connection at/from the battery or at the battery ground can cause this.

If the connection is not too loose or too corroded, i.e., solid contact but decreased contact area, there should still be very little resistance, right? If measured with an ohm-meter, the answer is "yes."

With the starter solenoid/starter motor drawing a few hundred amps through that smaller contact area would be like pumping the amps through a smaller gauge wire, i.e., more resistance... hence, more heat, hence, the melting.

So, the moral to the story: clean contacts/connectors thoroughly and tighten thoroughly because not-too-loose and very-loose will damage something. Thanks for listening...