Wicked electrical problem, 1980 BJ40 diesel (1 Viewer)

[chriwi]

Looking for help to clear my stupidity on this please. Had a starter failure, pulled it-had it rebuilt (twice as the shop had it reversed the first time). New rebuild clearly has "12V" sticker on solenoid housing-but they assured me no prob. First startup and test drive (<5min) no problems. Second one was wife starting and it melted the first positive battery terminal-see pics. The starter and battery wiring is set up exactly the same as it was-only change is the rebuilt starter-and as far as I can see there is no damage to the battery cabling such as the melted insulation I was expecting from a dead short on that initial starter>battery + terminal. Going to test that battery-but it leaked fluid and the terminal is toast-looking for guidance so I dont roast another one or anything else. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[3_puppies]

is it a 24 volt rig?
loose connection will do that to a battery terminal

 

[chriwi]

is it a 24 volt rig?
loose connection will do that to a battery terminal

It is a 24 V rig with the batteries in series. Possibly I failed to properly tighten that one terminal back down. Thanks for the idea.

 

[45Dougal]

Did this happen in the few seconds that it took you to start it, or did it happen over a longer time through charging?

Either way sounds like a loose battery connection.

Test how fast your starter spins at only 12v - you still have one battery at least

 

[chriwi]

Did this happen in the few seconds that it took you to start it, or did it happen over a longer time through charging?

Either way sounds like a loose battery connection.

Test how fast your starter spins at only 12v - you still have one battery at least

It happened in the 10 seconds or so of starting-wife immediately shut down. Looks like the groups says I failed to tighten that terminal end down properly (likely), so I will replace terminal end, and battery, and get back in the saddle. Thanks all!

 

[chriwi]

is it a 24 volt rig?
loose connection will do that to a battery terminal

Yes, it is 24v with series connection-and everyone is saying that the connection was likely loose-and that is probably right. Thanks for the answer.

 

[45Dougal]

It happened in the 10 seconds or so of starting-wife immediately shut down. Looks like the groups says I failed to tighten that terminal end down properly (likely), so I will replace terminal end, and battery, and get back in the saddle. Thanks all!

Impressive amount of melting in a few seconds. You could put a current clamp on the starter cable to check what its drawing if at all worried.

 

[chriwi]

This issue was closed by installing new battery, and new lead from starter to battery that had gotten fried-I appreciate all the help from the folks here.