Postmortmen. Starter direct short?

[harringtondav]

This is "what happened" question. My pal's 1988 twin Cruisers port engine and starting battery had a complete, smoky cook down. B+ and B- cables at the battery and engine were fried at the terminals.

He had new cables made up, checked the starter which was bad. New cables and starter and all is now good.

I don't know much about that vintage GM 350 starter, but my theory is the bendix/pinion engage/high amp contacts solenoid got stuck in start and he drove a hybrid engine until things melted down.

...any other theories?

 

[Fed]

Did you see it with your own eyes?

Without seeing detailed pictures it didn't happen as described.

That would be 4 fried connections & a cooked starter motor.

 

[Grub54891]

Seen that happen on a relatives truck. Apparently the starter stayed engaged and he didn't hear it over the loud exhaust. Melted the battery posts right off, and cooked the starter. It was ugly. Got it put together then the alternator died.

 

[Chris1956]

A lot of those SBC starters have a "plunger" inside the starter solenoid that is pulled into a cylinder when the solenoid is energized. When the plunger hits the bottom of the cylinder, the starter contacts are connected.

I have seen those plungers jam while being pulled in. It is not too far-fetched to think they could stick after starting the motor. A little rust can go a long way to "gum" things up.