Running around in the challenger today, stopped to do some banking, came out and "click" damn it, no starter, nothing but a click. Checked the battery ground, no value, so I grabbed the positive terminal and the danged thing came off in my hand, The lead battery terminal was hot, so hot it melted the fitting and actually dripped molten metal onto the battery.
We quickly fitting a steel one and viola, started up just fine. Seems the resistance from this fitting was pretty intense, after I drove home the steel fitting was actually cool to the touch.
Just weird...
Not weird at all. Resistance converts electrical energy to heat. Your starter could easily draw 100 amps. That through 1 ohm would be 100 * 100 * 1=10KW. 10KW of heat will melt lead in a short (ha-ha, a pun) time.
YaNi
Reader
6/12/09 9:03 p.m.
Was there a break in the wire at the connector?
Was there any corrosion on the battery terminal?
Battery terminals don't just all of a sudden melt.
That is what I didn't get, but I suspect it was building up over a period, I will monitor the new fitting for excess heat. The terminal was clean and in good shape and the wire is newer and solid although long as it is mounted in the rear.
I hate those damn terminals that bolt to the wire with two bolts. I always buy cbles with cast on ends and then cut the other end and solder a ring fitting on. Use anti corrosion spray and those boots over the terminals also.
