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Old 02-15-2010, 10:00 AM   #1
cartervt2k
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Member#: 43198
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Arlington, VA
Vehicle:
02 WRX

Default Melting Battery Terminals, Smoke Everywhere(!!)

I'm having some big-time battery problems. The Yellow-Top battery I used for a few years got to the point where it couldn't start my car in cold weather. So, I replaced it with an EverStart from Walmart last winter. This past December, my negative terminal shorted out and the battery went down in smoking ruins - outside and inside the cabin. It happened at 8PM on a Sunday while I was out of town, so Walmart was the only thing open and got another Everstart. Needing to get home, I twisted together the remnants of the negative ground, wrapped it in electrical tape and picked up another Everstart. No problems getting home.

The next day I went to Sears and got a new heavy duty negative ground wire. I thought I was set, but unbelievably just yesterday while I was out running errands, my car died again - smoke filled the cabin again. To my amazement, the end of the wire where the screw goes through to connect to the negative terminal snapped off, and thus the ground wire came loose. I had a tool kit in my car and figured I could still get it to reconnect to the negative terminal in order to get me home. So, I pulled off the positive terminal and went to work on the negative, which I was able to get fastened securely enough that I felt comfortable driving the 10 miles back home. But, when I started putting the positive terminal back on, I got some small sparks and the positive terminal started melting!! I called the wife and told her to go pick up a Die Hard from Sears and bring it out to me, which she did. That got me up and running again without any drama, but now I'm left wondering - are these Everstart batteries s*** or is there something else going on here with my car? Is it going to kill my Die Hard now? It's hard for me to believe these batteries are that faulty, but I never had any problems with my Yellow Top (besides the low CCA's toward the end of its life).
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Old 02-15-2010, 10:55 AM   #2
cartervt2k
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Member#: 43198
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Location: Arlington, VA
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02 WRX

Default

Nevermind, I found the problem - there was a short in the positive cable. Specifically, I used to have an inverter a while back, and the contact going in to the in-line circuit breaker came loose and made contact with the chassis.
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Old 02-15-2010, 12:19 PM   #3
Bluefoton
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Join Date: Feb 2007
Chapter/Region: E. Canada
Location: Quebec, QC
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2022 Crosstrek Sport
6MT

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Glad you didn't fry anything beyond the battery..could have been much more of a disaster!
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Old 02-16-2010, 12:40 AM   #4
Uncle Scotty
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you REALLY-REALLY N E E D to replace ALL the battery/starter/alternator cables!!!!!!!!!!
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Old 02-16-2010, 02:15 AM   #5
fuji6
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Location: CA
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Dark Grey

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You definitely want to check out your wiring before your burn your car to the ground. Fixing the original source of the problem is a start, but you may have melted the insulation on power wire in some other spots and it could be on the verge or shorting out. Next time you might not be so lucky.
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Old 02-16-2010, 03:54 AM   #6
Cone Klr
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Join Date: Oct 2004
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WRB squared!

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check your charging system, sounds like your voltage regulator could be bad and the alternator is over charging cooking ****. your batteries could be getting majorly overcharged fusing them internally than overheating the wires on the outside!!
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Old 02-16-2010, 10:14 AM   #7
ProdriveDreams
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Chapter/Region: NESIC
Location: Boston / Ipswich, MA
Vehicle:
'02 WRB VF-39'd WRX
W/06 STi Drivetrain swap

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cone Klr View Post
check your charging system, sounds like your voltage regulator could be bad and the alternator is over charging cooking ****. your batteries could be getting majorly overcharged fusing them internally than overheating the wires on the outside!!
he already found the short...
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