Positive Terminal/Cables Melted?

[TheBroken6.5]

I have a 1994 Chevy K2500 6.5TD

It used to start fine when cold but took 10 cranking attempts to get it going after the truck was warm
it drove fine and ran fine after it was started
it would occasionally blow the 20amp gauges fuse
when trying to restart the truck it was very sluggish to turn over
i was driving home and it bogged and stalled
i found that the positive terminal on one of my batteries was melted as was the insulation on the positive feed wire going to the other battery
i went under the truck to inspect the starter and found that the lead going from the starter to the starter solenoid was white from arcing and burnt all the way through the wire.

what do you guys suggest i do?
is this a matter of a new starter/solenoid as well as new battery cables or is it something trickier?

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[Burning oil]

Welcome. Just saw your post. Did you figure it out? Try just a new cable first.

 

[tanman_2006]

Racedaymechanic makes a nice set of heavy custom cables. The cables corrode over time and I would guess the resistance from the corrosion could cause things to heat up with alot of hard starting. Id get the starter checked out/rebuilt just for the warm fuzzy feelings. I WOULD NOT buy a reman starter or a china starter.

 

[TheBroken6.5]

i figured it out, the air filter was actually shorting on the positive terminal causing all the destruction, i bought a new starter and battery terminals and built a new intake tubing/filter, now everythings good to go, thanks though guys