Negative Cable Burning Up.

krazedstang

15 Year Member
Mar 23, 2009
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Streamwood
On my 88 LX Vert she will start fine when cold but when hot she acts like she's got a dead battery then the small wire coming off the negative battery cable burned up, I've replaced the wire with something of the same gauge and it happened again, I think the negative cable has some corrosion or maybe a loose
connection to where its all being ran thru the small wire (excuse me for not using correct terms its been a while since i was took an electricity class) thoughts? ideas?
 
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I had something like this happen on my 86. I replaced all the battery cables as they were probably the originals. I noticed that there were some that were actually split open so they could have been shorting out. Once the cables were replaced, no more slow starts when warm.
 
If the small ground wire is overheating, it means the large ground wire isn't doing its job correctly. The engine block ground for the starter is low enough to the ground to pick up lots of oil, dirt and moisture and start corroding.. Once it starts, it just gets worse, since corrosion is an electro-chemical process. The voltage drop across a bad connection increases the electro-chemical reaction and causes more corrosion. It's a vicious circle that grows worse with time and use.

All the ground connections need to be made to bare metal and clean bright shiny metal is the best surface for a ground.
 
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If the small ground wire is overheating, it means the large ground wire isn't doing its job correctly. The engine block ground for the starter is low enough to the ground to pick up lots of oil, dirt and moisture and start corroding.. Once it starts, it just gets worse, since corrosion is an electro-chemical process. The voltage drop across a bad connection increases the electro-chemical reaction and causes more corrosion. It's a vicious circle that grows worse with time and use.

All the ground connections need to be made to bare metal and clean bright shiny metal is the best surface for a ground.


That is exactly what i was thinking and will be doing this weekend if time permits!