Problem: My accessory positive terminal is getting exremely hot! Help!

[1994RedVert]

Anyone have this problem before? My accessory terminal is getting so hot that it is heating up my fuse box that it is screwed to. Also it is getting so hot that it is smoking a little bit. Please help!

[RobertISaar]

do you have anything non-factory attached to it?

[1994RedVert]

No. Everything is factory. There is nothing even screwed to it except the cable from the battery.

[kaptnjack]

well now....thats different...sorry but cant help

[1994RedVert]

Man, I am wondering what the hell could cause that? I think I might just change my battery and the ground and positive cables and see if that helps.

[95 vert]

See which relay/fuse is staying hot all the time. May have a short in one of the power supplies there. Pull relays/fuses till it stops smoking and/or cools off to trace which circuit is causing it.

[1994RedVert]

Ok, if I find out that it is a relay, what do I do just change it out and that should fix it?

[mhildebrand]

By pulling the relay, you are killing the power to the circuit being controlled by that relay. What 95Vert is saying is that when you pull 1 relay/fuse at a time, you can narrow it down to that particular circuit and can look for a short there instead of looking at every single wire in the car.

[1994RedVert]

Right, but if it is staying hot all the time, the relay could be staying closed so that it is always making a connection. So, if it is a relay I just change it and it should fix it right?

[tornado_735]

If the relay is the problem, then yes, replacing it should fix the issue.

 

If it's not the relay, it's something in the circuit that the relay controls.

[RobertISaar]

<-- highly doubtful of the relay being the issue.

 

if it were the relay, the only current the relay itself draws is the ~1/6 of an amp used to switch the load portion. it shouldn't draw significantly more than that on it's own, but whatever is switched by it's load portion, that is where i would start looking.

[1994RedVert]

I am not sure what would cause the positive battery cable to get that hot. But, I am going to do some checking tonight.

[carkhz316]

Either you have a poor connection at that spot, or your cable going to the starter (or possibly the alternator) is shorting out via something chafing the insulation on the cable or puncturing it. Dare I say that I'd bet money on this, as I have encountered this exact same problem before. In my case, the cable rubbed through on the side of the starter and was shorting to ground that way. There is nothing else downstream of the auxillary box/ junction that powers anything else in the car that would short that much without making a smoke/ fire show elsewhere in the car.

Edited July 16, 2012 by carkhz316

[1994RedVert]

Ok, I will have to check it all out. Thank you guys so much. Have to tear the damn thing apart.

[Crazy K]

POSSIBLE SOLUTION:

 

The cable has come loose on several different cars I have from there. First things first, if you have the thin copper/brass washer... GET A REAL NUT. real nuts were used on that power contact starting around 1995, that is where I have source all replacement nuts on every vehicle I've touched. DO NOT USE A "CRUSHED" NUT, such as the ones used on the strut tower: though they are the right thread pitch they can snap your power stud off. The proper nut will spin freely on the stud. Once/if you have a real nut, add a stainless steel lock washer between the nut and the cable end and tighten snugly.

Edited July 18, 2012 by Crazy K

[1994RedVert]

Thank you sir. I will give that a shot also.