Just so, why are my golf cart battery terminals melting? more
See full version: What would cause a positive battery terminal to melt
Just so, why are my golf cart battery terminals melting? more
Also Know, what causes cables to melt? A coil of wire, such as an extension lead, increases the magnetic electrical field current. The result is the production of heat. The wire then gets hotter, making the outer plastic coating soft (and therefore weaker), which strengthens the electrical field, eventually causing the coating to melt.
Why are my wires getting hot? more
The main reason why golf cart battery cables will melt is because of too much current passing through the jumper cable; resulting in overheating and melting. A poor contact connection or a missing ground strap between the chassis and the engine may also result in the melting of your golf cart battery cables.
If you have a leaking battery, then corrosion is inevitable and it will affect the battery terminals. This will eventually seep into the posts and melt them.
The bolts on the terminals often melt because of excess heat and even tend to break. When this happens, the terminals are also affected. One main reason for the heat generation is a corroded connection. This corrosion increases the cable resistance and thereby the heat, which leads to melting. here
Use a multimeter and check the resistance of the battery wire that you find is quite hot. If you find that it has a low resistance, replace the wire with one that has a higher resistance, ensuring that it is well within limits prescribed for the golf cart.
To ensure that your battery posts don’t melt, replace the low-quality cables with cables that have at least 4 Gauge thickness and are specifically intended for golf carts.
If it is a loose connection that is the problem, set the connection right by tightening it up immediately. Alternatively, if you notice dust or dirt on the terminals, wipe it off with a damp cloth and clean the terminals. You can also use a soft brush for dusting and cleaning. here
All high current cables that you use for your golf cart should preferably have a thick gauge so that they are capable of withstanding the heat. When you replace a heated high current cable, you can consider replacing all such cables with at least 4 Gauge thickness. more
This is another case of the terminal overheating, but it happened perhaps a month after the battery was put into use. What happened here was a loose cable connection in the first month of operation. In this electric cart, the connection likely wasn’t tight enough, and/or it vibrated loose. When a cable connection is loose, that greatly increases the electrical resistance. Combine the large current are flowing out of the battery to power in this case an electric cart with increased resistance produces enough heat to melt lead. We see this regularly both in golf carts and motorcycle batteries when the connections have not been appropriately torqued. After installing batteries in any equipment with vibration (especially golf carts and motorcycles), recheck the tightness of all the battery connections after the vehicle or device has had some use. If connections work themselves loose, tighten them.
Not only did the terminal heat up enough to melt the lead capturing it, but the hot terminal then melted its way through the case. That was one hot bolt. Be very careful with cables and tools close to large batteries! Use insulated wrenches and wear eye protection when connecting or disconnecting large batteries. here
Terminals on batteries can melt for a variety of reasons. The battery in the picture above accidentally had a tool or cable dropped on it. The terminal originally looked like this:
How the above failure happened was obvious to the mechanic who accidentally shorted the battery. The failure of the terminal in the battery below was less obvious to the customer:
Battery connections need to be torqued to be appropriately tight. Loose connections can lead to melted connectors. Melted connectors are an installation or maintenance issue, not a warranty issue. here
Furthermore, why are my golf cart battery terminals melting? The number one cause of this issue is due to loose or corroded connections. This looseness or corrosion causes resistance and a byproduct of electrical resistance is heat, which leads to melting. Often beside the connection portion of the post is a nice flat pad of lead which connects down into the battery plates.
Just so, why is my negative battery cable melting? more
There may be a short to ground, possibly caused by the new installation of the headers. The cable melting at the battery terminal was caused by a corroded or poorly crimped connector. That would cause electrical resistance at that point, voltage drop and heat. more