Battery melt

Matt_Colie wrote:

Wvabeer,

It looks like you put a split washer between the copper terminal and the battery lug.

If this is the case, that is exactly what you should not have done. The split lock washer was steel (a poor conductor) and caused the contact to be limited in area. Between those two, it didn't have a chance.

It is possible that you can run the lead back or clean it up to make an effective contact terminal again. But that may take so doing.

If you manage, go to a fastener shop and get brass or bronze washers and do not put any between the terminal (the copper part) and the battery lug. Then, go to all the other battery lugs that you did the same way and fix them too.

Matt

Just to add to this good advice: a split washer is not entirely a terrible idea for keeping the connection tight, but it should go between the nut and the terminal, rather than the terminal and the battery lug. The current carrying part of the connection is intended to be between the bottom of the ring terminal and the flat surface of the battery lug connection; while some current can (and generally does) flow through the threads and the nut to the terminal, it's not engineered to be the main path for it to flow through.

The springiness of the split ring washer is intended to keep things from vibrating loose. A toothed washer would also work to the same effect (and likewise should go between the nut and the ring terminal).