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pyrosecur's avatar
pyrosecur
Explorer
Apr 23, 2020

6 volt battery post melted

Hi All !

Was caught in a snow storm coming back from Florida in March. Melting snow and ice caused a short and melted the positive battery post on the house battery. There were two red cables connected to this post, when I connect one of them everything works fine with the exception of generator starter. That is to say all 12 V appliances run normally off the house batteries. When I connect the 2nd red cable which was partially melted (with or without the first) it starts to smoke and melt again.

I have tried to follow this cable to find any obvious shorts but to no avail. Hopefully someone with more understanding in the community can give me some guidance ! I am kind of hoping someone will tell me of a solenoid or switch which may be causing the problem.

Thank You

Coach Info
Allegro Open Road 2004
32BA
Gas V10
  • opnspaces's avatar
    opnspaces
    Navigator II
    Apr 29, 2020
    pyrosecur wrote:
    BarneyS wrote:
    pyrosecur wrote:
    Snip...

    PS I have no idea why it shows as a new member, maybe because I do not post often (too busy camping :) )


    Number of posts:
    0-49 -> New Member
    50-199 -> Full Member
    200- -> Senior member
    Barney :)


    Thanks for the info

    PS do you know where I can see how many posts I have made ?


    Pick any of your posts in this thread and on the left (under your name) click on "View profile" there you will see you have made 32 posts.

    As far as your short I would look again at that generator wire. I'll bet the wire rubbed through on a sharp metal edge to cause the short. Moving the wire around while checking moved the cut away from the sharp edge. Unfortunately wire has a tendency to move back into it's original position over time. So he short (if one exists) could occur again.
  • Lynnmor's avatar
    Lynnmor
    Explorer
    Apr 29, 2020
    pyrosecur wrote:
    Lynnmor wrote:
    MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
    Hmmm I seem to be detecting an impending coincidence


    Right, wait till he finds out snow does not cause a short!


    Yes I agree with you. the snow did not cause the short.

    When I stopped driving the heat buildup in the engine compartment caused the snow to melt which turned to water which caused the short. Most probably the increased load caused the heat and the battery terminal being the weakest connection melted.


    Please save that water for when the RV catches fire. In the meantime, look at all the boats, motorcycles, snowmobiles and RV's with the batteries exposed to the elements.
  • pyrosecur's avatar
    pyrosecur
    Explorer
    Apr 29, 2020
    Lynnmor wrote:
    MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
    Hmmm I seem to be detecting an impending coincidence


    Right, wait till he finds out snow does not cause a short!


    Yes I agree with you. the snow did not cause the short.

    When I stopped driving the heat buildup in the engine compartment caused the snow to melt which turned to water which caused the short. Most probably the increased load caused the heat and the battery terminal being the weakest connection melted.
  • Lynnmor's avatar
    Lynnmor
    Explorer
    Apr 29, 2020
    MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
    Hmmm I seem to be detecting an impending coincidence


    Right, wait till he finds out snow does not cause a short!
  • mtofell1's avatar
    mtofell1
    Explorer
    Apr 29, 2020
    pyrosecur wrote:

    PS I have no idea why it shows as a new member, maybe because I do not post often (too busy camping :) )


    Really, we're all just jealous of someone that can camp for 13 years and only have a handful of problems/questions :)
  • RJsfishin's avatar
    RJsfishin
    Explorer
    Apr 28, 2020
    ROBERTSUNRUS wrote:
    :) Hi, melted connections are not caused by a short;

    What an acinine statement !
  • Mike134's avatar
    Mike134
    Explorer
    Apr 28, 2020
    ROBERTSUNRUS wrote:
    :) Hi, melted connections are not caused by a short; They are caused by a poor connection. A heavy load with a poor connection creates heat.


    This is 100% correct
  • pyrosecur's avatar
    pyrosecur
    Explorer
    Apr 28, 2020
    OK everyone thanks to yours comment I'm up and running.

    I believe the problem has been solved. The snow which accumulated in the engine compartment was building up while driving and when I stopped it melted and fell down on the different electrical connections and caused a temporary short. Thankfully the cable connections to the positive battery posts were the weakest in the system and caused the heat build up and melted the connections. I would have thought a fuse somewhere in the system would have blown but the post acted as the fuse and melted instead.

    Luckily my 6v battery had a post which was not affected (the original connections were held in place by a bolt) I installed a new terminal on it and redid all my connections. Everything appears to be back to normal.

    Thank you all for your inputs ! :)
  • Boon_Docker's avatar
    Boon_Docker
    Explorer III
    Apr 27, 2020
    The reason to check both cable ends with a meter (battery end and generator end) is to see if the readings are the same, then you will know it is the cable going to the generator.
    Then run another cable from battery to generator.

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