[s-cars] Burned battery cable

[Jerry Scott]

Ron
The battery was probably shorting out on the seat springs.  You have to make 
sure that the  positive terminal does not touch the springs.
Jerry
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "ron kirkham" <rkaudifool at gmail.com>
To: "s-car-list" <s-car-list at audifans.com>
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2008 12:54 PM
Subject: [s-cars] Burned battery cable


> S-heads,
>
> I went out after work last night to fire up the 93 S4 for the trip home 
> and
> had zero action upon turning the key.  I had no dash lights, no interior
> lights, no stereo, nuttin.  The ignition switch is relatively new, so I 
> did
> not suspect that.  Pulled the rear seat and see a pretty scary mess.  The
> little plastic cover over the positive cable has MELTED.  The red cable 
> (the
> medium sized of the three) is black from the terminal post back about a
> foot.  The shielding on the black cable is brittle as far as I can feel on
> it's length.  The very small guage wire is toast as well.  The terminal 
> post
> on the battery had become hot enough to slightly melt the plastic case
> itself and wiggle around in it's now enlarged hole.  I grabbed the wires
> right at the terminal/post and moved them around a bit.  In so doing, 
> there
> was a small audible (not visual) spark and the interior lights came on.
> I was able to nervously start the car and head home after throwing the 
> seat
> bottom in the trunk.  After turning the car off at the house, it re-starts
> fine, but is parked util I can figure this out.  Started this morning
> also.
>
> Questions.  I'm assuming the heat was due to corrosion within the wires
> causing alot of resistance?  The terminal post area does not have any
> corrosion at all, but is now covered in melted plastic, so it's tough to
> tell for sure.  Could this heat be caused by a bad or old battery?  The
> battery is 3.5 years old and is a NAPA Gold.  It has been a little 
> sluggish
> in the mornings lately, so probably on it's way out.  What else could be
> causing enough heat in this area to do this?
>
> I'm thinking I need a new battery and new positive battery cable.  KATE
> seems to indicate this is a three wire harness.  One wire to the starter,
> one to a junction somewhere and the little wire not indicated where it
> goes.  Anyone have experience on this replacement?
>
> Anybody got any other ideas as to what might be going on?  I did install a
> McCullough HID kit about two years ago, but other than that, no electrical
> work.
>
> As always, any help appreciated.
>
> Ron Kirkham
> 93 S4 229K (crispy)
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