Is this normal?

[TMoNeE]

I was testing some stuff out on the boat today and needed to start it up, so I put it on the fake-a-lake and connected the battery and fired it up.... well I happened to have the battery cover off and I noticed as it was cranking the positive terminal of the power cable where it connects to the battery was getting glowing red hot when was turning over? Now I assume because theres obviously a bunch of current going through it, but is it normal to get glowing hot?

 

[Bondo]

Re: Is this normal?

but is it normal to get glowing hot?

Nope,... It's Corroded, causing resistence, which causes Heat...

 

[Rocky_Road]

Re: Is this normal?

Only if you have some bad connections...high resistance.

You need to clean, and retighten, all of your connectons...with a focus on your ground(s).

Happy boating!

 

[Lrider]

Re: Is this normal?

You have something terribly wrong. !!! Don't do it again until you have it checked.

No wire, terminal, battery or anything is to turn red hot in any electrical system.

You were drawing a huge amount of current while cranking and you are D---n
Lucky the battery did not explode

You will get a lot of opinions whether the battery is too small, bad terminal connections and a myriad of other suggestions here.

I repeat, Take it to a dealer, boat electrician, someone knowledgeable about batteries and electrical.

"as it was cranking the positive terminal of the power cable where it connects to the battery was getting glowing red hot"

Is extremely dangerous

 

[BuzzStPoint]

Re: Is this normal?

I would say, before he shells out a lot of money at a dealer.

Pull the battery connections, Double check the battery connections. Make sure there is no corrosion and they are tight. A wire brush and/or sandpaper to clean them up..

If you can follow the both cables to make sure the sheathing isn't cracked or shorting on anything.

Next check the battery connections at the engine. Make sure those are clean and tight. Wire brush and/or sandpaper.

Test again. If it's heats up, then you might want to take it in.

 

[TMoNeE]

Re: Is this normal?

I would say, before he shells out a lot of money at a dealer.

Pull the battery connections, Double check the battery connections. Make sure there is no corrosion and they are tight. A wire brush and/or sandpaper to clean them up..

If you can follow the both cables to make sure the sheathing isn't cracked or shorting on anything.

Next check the battery connections at the engine. Make sure those are clean and tight. Wire brush and/or sandpaper.

Test again. If it's heats up, then you might want to take it in.

Will do

 

[mattb1974]

Re: Is this normal?

You have something terribly wrong. !!! Don't do it again until you have it checked.

No wire, terminal, battery or anything is to turn red hot in any electrical system.

You were drawing a huge amount of current while cranking and you are D---n
Lucky the battery did not explode

You will get a lot of opinions whether the battery is too small, bad terminal connections and a myriad of other suggestions here.

I repeat, Take it to a dealer, boat electrician, someone knowledgeable about batteries and electrical.

"as it was cranking the positive terminal of the power cable where it connects to the battery was getting glowing red hot"

Is extremely dangerous

Have you ever given ANY good advice ?????????

 

[Lrider]

Re: Is this normal?

In your HUMBLE OPINION I am sure I have never given any advice you would consider.

I am very conservative in what I do because my real life job deals with safety of people that like to pick up a running lawnmower and lose several fingers

 

[NYBo]

Re: Is this normal?

Have you ever given ANY good advice ?????????

Sounds like the right thing to do if the OP isn't comfortable/knowledgeable enough to do it himself.

 

[Woodnaut]

Re: Is this normal?

I do a lot of my own work so I would start by making sure the connections were corrosion free and tight. TMoNeE, check your private messages as I sent you a brief description on cleaning battery posts.

 

[mattb1974]

Re: Is this normal?

Sounds like the right thing to do if the OP isn't comfortable/knowledgeable enough to do it himself.

Its a battery connection problem, nothing that warrants taking it to a dealership right away. The OP probably has his connection clean and tight by now and on his merry way.

Read Lriders other 500 or so posts he has made in the last month. Mostly bad advice.

 

[TMoNeE]

Re: Is this normal?

WOodnaught PM'd me some some great advice that I am going to follow for extra care, but I went out and checked the connections.. under the postive cable there was some corrosion, also there was a seperate speaker wire that had some exposed wire that I think may have been arcing just to make matters worse. I sanded everything down to new clean metal, taped off the exposed wire, hooked down everything tight and fired it up and it worked just fine.

Thanks for the advice gang, im loving iboats.

 

[Lrider]

Re: Is this normal?

Its a battery connection problem, nothing that warrants taking it to a dealership right away. The OP probably has his connection clean and tight by now and on his merry way.

Read Lriders other 500 or so posts he has made in the last month. Mostly bad advice.

mattb1974, you Flatter me , I bet you are the only person here that has taken the time to read my 500 or so posts.

You are now my new best friend

 

[seabob4]

Re: Is this normal?

Gentlemen,
Advice is simply that, advice. Relax, all, we are just trying to help...

 

[mattb1974]

Re: Is this normal?

WOodnaught PM'd me some some great advice that I am going to follow for extra care, but I went out and checked the connections.. under the postive cable there was some corrosion, also there was a seperate speaker wire that had some exposed wire that I think may have been arcing just to make matters worse. I sanded everything down to new clean metal, taped off the exposed wire, hooked down everything tight and fired it up and it worked just fine.

Thanks for the advice gang, im loving iboats.

If you would have taken Lriders advice you would have;

1. Disregarded the connection problem that others suggested.
2. Taken your boat to a dealership or electrician.
3. Waited 2 weeks for diagnoses.
4. Waited 1 week for the work to be done.
5. Paid $300 or so dollars.

Not only did you fix your problem for free but you learned some valuable lessons here.

 

[wyocobra]

Re: Is this normal?

... taped off the exposed wire, hooked down everything tight and fired it up and it worked just fine....

It's not a good idea to leave a live wire lying around. Even the best electrical tape will eventually come off or wear out. I would remove the wire or at least cut it off of the battery terminal.

 

[Lrider]

Re: Is this normal?

If you would have taken Lriders advice you would have;

1. Disregarded the connection problem that others suggested.
2. Taken your boat to a dealership or electrician.
3. Waited 2 weeks for diagnoses.
4. Waited 1 week for the work to be done.
5. Paid $300 or so dollars.

Not only did you fix your problem for free but you learned some valuable lessons here.

TMoNeE I am happy that you were able to resolve you problem without any damage to you or your property. I apologize not only for my odd posts but for mattb1974's posts too. Have a great day, I will

I suspect only in Maine it would cost that much money and time. Last night I took my boat over to the Sears battery store (I have interstate batteries) asked them if they could check my batteries and connections.

They removed the terminals, cleaned them, ran both batteries through their test equipment, announced that although my batteries should be put on a charger, they were fine.

It took all of 20 minutes and didn't cost me a dime.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Is this normal?

Ayuh,.... I don't have a dog in this race,...
But,....
iboats is a Self-Help forum, for the advancement of Boating....
I realize that many folks aren't as Handy as I am,...
But until I know better, I try to give info for Fixin' yer issues, By Yourself...
And,...
While I'm Sure there are folks out there that could Easily screw-up a simple a process as Cleaning battery terminals,...

I'll continue to give All posters the benefit of doubt, til they prove they're Not capable...

Personally,... I think Lrider's tag-line is probably crossin' the line in pizzin' matches....
But that's up to the Mod.s,... Not me....

 

[roostonu]

Re: Is this normal?

Have you ever given ANY good advice ?????????

Not BAD advise at all. Having it checked out by someone (And he didn't just say a dealer) may not be everyones choice but the advise he offered was not wrong. If the original poster didn't know if his battery terminals should glow red hot or not, it is safe to say he should have an extensive block of instructions on battery safety before working on it. IT IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SITUATION THAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN GONE BLIND OVER. Some people will take the time to teach someone like that the basics and that's OK too but don't flame someone for giving different advise than you, just because his advise will cost a few bucks. Both fixes have the same end result, but only if the do-it-yourself guy doesn't hurt himself or the boat, and the risk is high if you have no understanding of the system.

Just my opinion. People will disagree.

 

[TMoNeE]

Re: Is this normal?

It's not a good idea to leave a live wire lying around. Even the best electrical tape will eventually come off or wear out. I would remove the wire or at least cut it off of the battery terminal.

The exposed wire is just between the wire cover and the terminal, about an 1/8th of an inch, just wrapped it with electrical tape and it should be fine, but ill check it before i go out from now on. It is not just a wire laying around as I can see how I wrote that it may have come across that way.