melted battery ground?!? why?

[JonnyBoost]

hey everyone,

the black ground wire on coming off the (-) negative battery terminal seems to have melted all the insulation off of it. aka when i crank the engine over the wire gets crazy hot...... so what gives?? ever happen to you before?



this occured after my car wouldnt turn over....same symptoms of a dead battery. except i have 12.7 volts at the battery and the alternator.

is there a short somewhere? or maybe the ground isnt any good

any help would be apreciated as, i have have a 50/50 shot of the car turning over every time i turn the key!

thanks,
jonny

 

[Nick Micale]

Check the main ground cable where it is "supposed" to be connected on the pass side head.

 

[Sleeper-6]

BTDT, Definately do as Nick said. There is a heavy ground strap that attaches to the pass. head by the turbo bracket. I left mine off once and scared the crap out of myself when I cranked the car over and the little wire started smoking.

 

[JonnyBoost]

hey thanks guys, ill check it out

do you think its just not connected? or should i diconnect it and clean it off?

 

[salvageV6]

Definately clean and reattache securely the other end of the cable.

Then you probably will have to redo the connection at the battery with a new terminal as the heat has compromised that connection as well.

 

[Jimn8or]

Being a contrarian, I have one other thought...check every inch of the positive cable from the battery all the way to the starter solenoid. I'll bet you find an open casing somewhere around the headers that gets you every time you advance the throttle and the engine rocks under load.
HTH
Jim

 

[FreddieWilliams]

Jim,

Good point. The starter shield is notorious for contacting the positive cable connection underneath it.

 

[TurboDave]

Dirty or corroded connections, even on the ground wire, causes higher resistence. This results in much more heat buildup, which is what you're experiencing. The Battery connections, at the battery, and the other end (both wires) MUST be inspected and cleaned at least once a year to keep them corrosion free, and the connections clean.

 

[JonnyBoost]

man i love this board.. you guys hit the nail right on the head!

the negative ground wire was just dangling, not attached to anything. the only prob is i can figure out exactly where it connects to the block. is the connection on the side of the block or on the front??

its hard for my fat hands to get in there and feel around


jim, def a good point. checked the pos. wire and it was intact but very pretty darn close.

 

[Sleeper-6]

Mine is attached to I think the top bolt that holds the turbo bracket on.

 

[TurboDave]

Originally posted by JonnyBoost
man i love this board.. you guys hit the nail right on the head!

the negative ground wire was just dangling, not attached to anything. the only prob is i can figure out exactly where it connects to the block. is the connection on the side of the block or on the front??

its hard for my fat hands to get in there and feel around


jim, def a good point. checked the pos. wire and it was intact but very pretty darn close.

There are two bolts that hold the turbo bracket to the block. Your ground attaches to the BOTTOM one.
Let me repeat that so there's no mis understanding. The two bolts that hold the turbo bracket to the engine, one of which goes into the head (top one) and the lower one into the block. THAT'S WHERE THE BATTERY GROUND WIRE ATTACHES.

 

[JonnyBoost]

thanks for the clarification dave

 

[tom h]

and here's a pic that might also help:
http://cards.webshots.com/c62907997adqjou

 

[Taffy]

Here is yet another picture for you:

Click Here

It is kinda hard to see, but the terminal is in the bottom center of the picture.

 

[JonnyBoost]

tom and taffy

thanks for the pix, they def helped

i got the new cable and its back to normal...no more burning wire when i try to start the car