Battery fire

[dbutler_05]

My father-in-law recently bought a 1999 Four Winns 220 Horizon(5.7 GXi engine). We replaced a dead battery in the boat this weekend and ran into a bit of a situation. After hooking up the battery and turning the switch(dual battery system) to '1', the negative terminal caught on fire. I immediately turned off the switch and the fire went out. I tried turning the switch to '2' and both the battery and switch started to smoke. Obviously, we have an electrical problem somewhere. Just not sure where to begin to look. The battery was installed correctly. This boat was last started at the end of last season while it was being winterized. It hasn't been started since. Any suggestions?

 

[magster65]

Re: Battery fire

Recheck your battery installation again and follow the wires. Usually if there is a short the smaller offending wire will melt or blow a breaker.