Battery Post Melting!

cucuman

Cadet
Joined
Jul 30, 2002
Messages
8
I have a 76' 85hp johnson motor that has been sitting up for 2 years in a shed. Ran perfect last use and ran it out of gas before storing. Tried to run motor and while cranking, the positive cable hooked up to the battery melted the lead post of the battery. What in the heck would cause this? Is there anything that I should do to the motor since it sat for so long? All wiring looks good and motor only had dust on the outside. Very clean on inside.
 

sloopy

Commander
Joined
Jul 12, 2002
Messages
2,999
Re: Battery Post Melting!

what type of battery and how were they hooked up!?
 

sloopy

Commander
Joined
Jul 12, 2002
Messages
2,999
Re: Battery Post Melting!

what type of battery and how were they hooked up!?
 

cucuman

Cadet
Joined
Jul 30, 2002
Messages
8
Re: Battery Post Melting!

Sorry! The battery is a deep cycle Everstart. It is a brand new battery that I took off of my 40hp motor. It was hooked up red from startor to + and black from ground to -.
 

KCLOST

Commander
Joined
Jun 22, 2002
Messages
2,095
Re: Battery Post Melting!

Did the motor ever turn over? If it did turn over did it sound like it was under strain?<br /><br />Just askin....
 

cucuman

Cadet
Joined
Jul 30, 2002
Messages
8
Re: Battery Post Melting!

Yes, at first it was slow at turning, then after about 4 turns, it took off turning normal but never fired up. I tried to crank it for about 15 sec, then let it rest for 2 min. after the fourth attempt at this, thats when the cable came loose off the battery and noticed the bolt from the battery post was still on the cable and the lead had melted off the battery causing the bolt to come out.
 

wilde1j

Vice Admiral
Joined
Apr 15, 2002
Messages
5,964
Re: Battery Post Melting!

Loose connection or high resistance connection causes heat with a high load (Starter draws a ton of amps).
 

cucuman

Cadet
Joined
Jul 30, 2002
Messages
8
Re: Battery Post Melting!

Thanks! I checked my cables and was bending them when I heard cracking. Cutting them in half, I noticed the copper was green. I will begin by buying new cables for her. What size should and how long should these cables be? I have some 4-awg pvc coated cable rated for 600 volts. Is this sufficient enough to handle the current drawn from the starter?
 

grandx

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
May 21, 2001
Messages
383
Re: Battery Post Melting!

4 AWG will be fine for you.
 

Trent

Captain
Joined
Nov 17, 2001
Messages
3,333
Re: Battery Post Melting!

Deep cycle?? You need a starting battery for the engine.
 
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