battery terminals are getting super hot

[rbridges0713]

Does anyone know why my battery terminals would be getting super hot.....is this normal or should i be worried???? thanks

 

[Alpheus]

Re: battery terminals are getting super hot

1) On what? (year,make,model)

2) While you are starting or all the time??

3) What type of terminals are you using?

4) Is the starter having trouble turning over your engine?

 

[rbridges0713]

Re: battery terminals are getting super hot

its on a 1988 seaswirl tahoe 16.... just when im starting it. i just bought the bought so i havent even got it to take it out. the starter seems to be turnin over fine.

 

[boat127]

Re: battery terminals are getting super hot

get rid of those wing nuts your using and put on real nuts with lock washers under the nuts. they get hot when the battery terminals are loose i see this all the time.

what kind of condition are your battery cables in?

 

[Don S]

Re: battery terminals are getting super hot

As stated, loose the wing nuts. Finger tight won't work.
The connections have to be clean and tight. If they are, the the ends on the cable may be loose or the cable inside the terminal end is corroded.
Any way you look at it, the connections have to be clean and tight, and the cable must be in good shape or they will get hot.

 

[rbridges0713]

Re: battery terminals are getting super hot

alright thanks guys

 

[Bondo]

Re: battery terminals are getting super hot

Does anyone know why my battery terminals would be getting super hot.....

Ayuh,... It's because the termials are dirty, corroded, 'n causing Resistance...
Remove 'em, Clean 'em, reinstall,+ Tighten 'em....

 

[sea flower]

Re: battery terminals are getting super hot

As Bond-o says and the wire could also be corroded. I'm an electrician and know that the wire can corrode and cause resistance. and another area is the switch. I've found that the contacts get bad too.... Good luck

 

[wire2]

Re: battery terminals are getting super hot

If you want to dig into the problem deeper, place a voltmeter lead on the battery post, the other lead on the cable. On a low DC scale, you should see just a few milivolts. If there's 1 volt or more, and the alternator is feeding, say, 40 amps to the battery, there's 40 watts of heat produced at that connection. That will get quite hot after a while.