Battery Cables Melted.

[byebye_sti]

Was out driving around last night, sliding around in the snow storm with a few friends, when suddenly the car completely died. No power at all.

I assumed it had something to do with the battery, so I popped open the trunk (poorly relocated battery from PO), and smoke started billowing out. Terrible smell of melted plastic.

Once the smoke cleared, it was obvious that the battery cables were completely melted - the rubber shielding was actually dripping from the copper wire. On site, I traced the wire up through the interior of the car and it was melted all the way up to the firewall.

Both the ground wire - which was grounded near the rear speakers - and the positive cable, were completely melted.

Little background info on the car; I picked up this car from a kid who only owned it for a few months. He purchased it from another kid who didn't know anything about cars and recieved the car in a trade. The owner before that was the person who did all the work - I've been in touch with him, have seen his build threads and his work was clean. He kept the car in great shape.

So, somewhere along the line of the past two owners, the car was HACKED. A wiring nightmare. Half ass wire tuck, that was attempted to be reversed. So, I've been trying to fix all the gremlins before modding.

Back to the melted wires. Upon searching, it had to of been a short to ground somewhere. Since I was driving in deep snow (8-12" of heavy snow), could snow have built up and pushed some wiring running to the alternator causing something to ground out - since it sits so low in the engine bay?

I've also read that the starter solenoid could be stuck, causing the circuit to be open and drawing excessive current?

Would a loose ground (to the radio or boost gauge), or a wire grounding out anywhere on the chassis cause this? Or would it HAVE to be related to the starter/alternator?

Thanks for the help guys. Going to pick up the car today, and will get started on it tomorrow.

 

[mnim15]

I would start by checking where the positive goes through the firewall and see if the shielding was rubbed through. If it wasn't fused...

 

[spyderdrifter]

Back when I was a noob to DSMs, and tuning, and was going through the retarded phase of wanting chassis lights, I threw some on the Talon I had at the time. The bumper light got ripped off some how without me knowing and we had a slight snow storm. The resulting ripped wires hung down in the slush on the road and was grounding them which caused a build up of smoke in the trunk.

 

[TSiAWD666]

Think about adding a circuit breaker next to the battery on the positive line, and a fuse or another circuit breaker in the engine bay on the alternator line, to help prevent this in the future.

 

[byebye_sti]

Back when I was a noob to DSMs, and tuning, and was going through the retarded phase of wanting chassis lights, I threw some on the Talon I had at the time. The bumper light got ripped off some how without me knowing and we had a slight snow storm. The resulting ripped wires hung down in the slush on the road and was grounding them which caused a build up of smoke in the trunk.

And was it the battery cables? What was your fix?

Think about adding a circuit breaker next to the battery on the positive line, and a fuse or another circuit breaker in the engine bay on the alternator line, to help prevent this in the future.

I definitely will. There is no fuse stock correct? So, would it only damage parts within it's circuit? Starter/alternator/battery/battery cables?

 

[freestylestt]

There should be a factory fuse for the alternator. If the charge line off of the alternator gets shorted between the alternator and fuse its possible for it to melt that specific wire while the car is running. So thats not your problem.
I would start at the fire wall, its usually the most common area to short because of the sharp edge left behind when drilling the hole, and combined with some people thinking the wire insulation is enough and don't use a grommets.

 

[WES_393]

^ I agree. Find where the positive goes through the firewall and make sure it's not getting sliced up. Also trace the wire into the engine bay, I'll bet the cable is poorly connected to the factory battery terminal.

I'd consider redoing the relocation correctly, or even reverting back to stock. It could have been much worse than some melted wires.

 

[byebye_sti]

There should be a factory fuse for the alternator. If the charge line off of the alternator gets shorted between the alternator and fuse its possible for it to melt that specific wire while the car is running. So thats not your problem.
I would start at the fire wall, its usually the most common area to short because of the sharp edge left behind when drilling the hole, and combined with some people thinking the wire insulation is enough and don't use a grommets.

Had AAA pick up the car yesterday, and upon looking for the ALT fuse - it's not there. What does this mean if there is no fuse? The system is just running with no safe-break in the circuit?

I followed the cable from the battery (in the trunk), melted through the on-off switch, and is melted under the carpet (along the passenger side door sill), all the way up to the firewall. I believe the hot, melted cable took out a few little wires with it, but I'll have to triple check. The pos. cable is definitely melted right up to the fire wall.

Once I get the car in the garage, I will start tearing into the harness in the bay. I will make sure to check and see if the firewall rubbed the cable, but I don't believe it did.

Snow was caked up in my lower bay (from it being so deep), and was up to the alternator. Do you think the snow touching a live line would have caused any problems?

^ I agree. Find where the positive goes through the firewall and make sure it's not getting sliced up. Also trace the wire into the engine bay, I'll bet the cable is poorly connected to the factory battery terminal.

I'd consider redoing the relocation correctly, or even reverting back to stock. It could have been much worse than some melted wires.

WES,

I will trace the wire to every location it goes to (straight to the starter and alternator, correct?).

The POS battery cable definitely could have been connected to the terminal better. When I replace it, I will look for marine grade brass connectors.

I agree - I will be redoing the location the correct way, or reverting back to stock. It could have been MUCH worse. I'm very happy I did not have to stand there and watch the car burn to the ground.

Another question; if the cable was not rubbed through, by the fire wall, would the snow have any effect on live cable if it touched the ALT? The snow was built up pretty heavily in the bay when the car died, as I was trying to get back up friend's driveway (8-12" of heavy wet snow). I really need to get the factory undertray back on the car.

Thanks for the help guys!

EDIT:

Taking a look at this thread; http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/newbie-forum/430038-alt-fuse-100a-question.html

It seems to be the same issue. So, if the battery is directly wired to the alternator with NO fuse in line and the alternator were to overcharge the battery, would this cause the cables to fry and melt?

 

[Blurred Talon]

If there is no circuit breaker or fuse close to the battery, considering adding one. It's a big safety concern as most issues happen close to the battery.
A circuit breaker is nice because you can open it when doing work on the car to disconnect the battery rather then pull a cable.

 

[byebye_sti]

If there is no circuit breaker or fuse close to the battery, considering adding one. It's a big safety concern as most issues happen close to the battery.
A circuit breaker is nice because you can open it when doing work on the car to disconnect the battery rather then pull a cable.

I will be adding an inline fuse when I redo the battery relocation/cables.

Any insight on the "no alt fuse"? Upon searching, I've read that running the POS cable straight to the alternator is bad, especially if the ALT becomes faulty.

If the ALT were faulty, and start "overcharging" normally this would pop the 100amp fuse, correct? But with no fuse in line, it would overcharge the battery and cook the cables?

Let me know if this sounds right, or if I'm on the right train of thought! Thanks guys.

 

[TSiAWD666]

Not sure what kind of insight you are looking for. If there is no alt fuse AND the alternator was functioning then the fuse was bypassed, and yes you could have melted cables because of it as that is exactly why the fuse is there in the first place.

 

[EGLTAWLN]

galants came with a fuse block that attached directly to the positive terminal in the engine bay. there are 3 or 4 fuses in it including the alternator fuse.
when you relocate a battery on a galant to the trunk, you have to deal with this fuse block removal problem. you must relocate the fuse with some other setup, or hotwire it in.
i'm guessing yours was hotwired.

in a rather bad coincidence, i just caught this problem in my galant this weekend.
i relocated my battery and added a car audio inline fuse with upgraded wire to the alternator. the plastic car audio caseing broke somehow and the wires touched ground. blew the fuse and melted the wire enough to break contact and stop the battery dead shorting itself to death.

i dont have any lingering problems with the car, just the few voltage hiccups i noticed before i caught the problem.
i don't want to admit i am hotwired right now until i find a circut breaker.

 

[Blurred Talon]

You need a fuse online to the alternator.
I have bypassed the stock alternator wiring due to my alternator and fuse box relocation, however I have a 200 amp fuse in line.

 

[byebye_sti]

I relocated the battery back to it's factory position, replaced the cables, added an inline fuse, and I am back in business.

Thanks for the help everyone. Some people should never touch cars (previous owners).

This is resolved! Mods - please mark this as resolved, and hopefully it will be useless for someone in the future.

PS - if anyone is interested in a Galant VR4, PM me!