Hot Cable?

[BigB84]

Does anyone have an idea why my cable connecting the two batteries would be getting so hot that I an burn my hand. I was haveing some starting problems yesterday, slow turn over and no crank. I opened hood to check thing out and could feel the heat coming from that connecting cable. I took all the cables off and pulled out the batteries, put them on a slow charge and will change the cable connectors tomorrow afternoon.

 

[doghead]

Maybe it has internal corrosion causing resistance (volt+ resistance = heat). Replace it.

 

[CCATLETT1984]

I would also recommend that you replace that cable, while your at it, clean up the battery terminals as well. as stated above resistance on the wire will cause heat.

 

[acetomatoco]

Check the voltage out put of the individual alternators.. the internal regulator in one may have gone South for the winter...also check each battery with the engine running to see if voltage exceeds 14.8V more or less. Both batteries should be of the same type and capacity and you should change their position in the truck once a year or so as the front battery runs all the 12V stuff and gets used a lot more than the rear which only comes into play for starting and glow plugging..and MV Radios if used...

 

[BigB84]

Thanks guys, I'll change the cable and connections this afternoon. If I can get her running I'll check the voltage. Thanks Again!!!

 

[gimpyrobb]

Also I have found that going up one size is good too.

 

[maddawg308]

The larger the diameter cable, the less resistance to the flow of current. So wider wire, less resistance, less heat.

 

[Jones]

For the size and length of the cable you shouldn't have any noticable resistance when measured with a VOM.
I ended up making all my battery cables out of 2/0 welding cable. It's heavy duty, has thicker insulation than some of the other battery leads available and is flexible because of it being mega multi-stranded. I was told once upon a time that electricity doesn't flow through the wire strands but over the surface of them. If that's true then the more strands in a cable the better the conductivity.

 

[CCATLETT1984]

great advice.

 

[superburban]

Re: RE: Hot Cable?

I ended up making all my battery cables out of 2/0 welding cable. It's heavy duty, has thicker insulation than some of the other battery leads available and is flexible because of it being mega multi-stranded.

I have 2/0 welding wire for the batteries on my Superburban. I love it! This thing cranks faster than any other 6.2 I have ever heard.

 

[BigB84]

Alright! I changed the cable between the two batteries and the terminal connectors. Still no start and that center cable is getting very hot. This time whiel we were trying a crank I noticed some white smoke coming from panels on the firewall. I pulled the covers off and noticed that there was a broken wire that someone had previously wrapped w/ black tape. I appears that this may have been some type of ground or connecting wire but I have no idea. I trying to look for it in the TMs right now. Here are some Pics, Any Ideas?

 

[Armada]

That is a noise supressor for com equipment. Remove the 2 pieces, and no need to replace it.

 

[cranetruck]

Usually the connections are prone to develop high resistance and increase in temperature under load, if the cable(s) get hot before the connections, then the cable is overloaded, due to short circuit conditions and the like.

 

[BigB84]

What are some symtoms of starter failure? When I attempt to start all that happens is dash light come on, however then it just clicks then nothing. I checked w/ a mech and he said to tap on the starter and see if it would turn over. Too dark out now to try, no cool garages like you all, I'll try tomorrow if I get home before it is dark.

 

[CCATLETT1984]

tap, means gently hit it with a hammer, not hard but firmly.

If it gets you started. you have a bad starter solinoid, (the small cylinder on the starter) and you could get away with just replacing that. But for the cost of a rebuild ($120) I'd just have it rebuilt once you know that the starter is the problem.

First what is the voltage that you read across both batteries? (positive of the front to the negative of the rear) Should be ~25volts
If the voltage is low, unhook the batteries and charge them both up. Wouldnt hurt to have the batteries load tested at a local parts store, to rule out a bad cell.

If the voltage is good, first check the connections from the batteries to the buss bars on the passenger side of the firewall, and also the large cables going to the starter.

If the cables and connections look good. Pull the starter and take it to a alternator/starter shop (NOT autozone or the like) and have them test it. They will be able to tell you if the starter is good, if it checks out then there is a wiring issue to be dealt with.

 

[BigB84]

Got a lot done today. After checking all voltage on the batteries and cables, realized that problem is most likely the starter. Brought the starter to Autozone(all that was avail on a Sat) it failed all test miserably. I bought the reman avail at Autozone but kept the orginal to be reman once I find a place that will do that around here. ONce installed w/ all the ned cables and connectors she started like a champ. This is the quickest and easiest that she has ever started since I bought her from gov liq. While we were under the hood we pulled out the old fuel filter, which had diesl leaking from the bottom, and insspected the base plate and preassure switch. The preassure switch looked dry and all the fuel appeared to be coming from the filter itself. Once we put the new one in and bled the air out, !!!No more fuel leak!! Guess the old one was clogged and at preassure was looseing fuel from the bottom. Awesome Day!! She's running great!

 

[doghead]

That is good news! Thanks for the update, it's nice to here you had success after all.

 

[maddawg308]

I just gotta ask, Eric - why does every avatar you use have a picture of Elvis in uniform? Are you a big Elvis fan?

 

[doghead]

Are you a big Elvis fan?

No, I'm just a normal sized fan.

 

[CCATLETT1984]

ROTFL