[markie629]

As the title suggests, I just bought a 2000 FF with a 5spd. tranny and zetec motor and it seems to have some sort of electrical problem.

The issue: The wires coming off the positive batery terminal get excessively hot and they have begun to melt. I have noticed that the connector that slides down over the "+" battery post gets very very hot, but only seems to do this when connected to the battery. The car runs when the cable is taken off the post, so i know the alternator is charging the system, but when I check it with a meter, I get a reading of over 15 volts.

This leads me to believe that the alternator is overcharging, but I dont know for certain if 15 volts is too high for this particular car given that I just bought the thing. Any advice/input would be appreciated. I'm going to check with the dealer tomorow and see if it has been serviced for the recall put out on the alternator wire, but is there anything you can make me aware of tonight?

Thanks for the help![werd]

 

[ArcticMynx]

Nope 15 Volts is fine "Wagon 1" that I have puts out 15.7 and never have a prob

usually when the connector gets hot means the actual end is going bad or there is a faulty end somewhere..

theres also the possibility of a small short somewhere

--I have 2 wagons and there named Wagon 1 and Wagon 2 --

 

[bluefront]

There's nothing normal about a melted/hot battery terminal. This indicates excessive current flowing through the connector. It could be a bad alternator or a bad battery......possibly something else, like a monster amp.

The car should be running about 14V........much more than that and you'll eventually have problems, like blown bulbs, or worse.

Your symptom is dangerous.....could cause a fire.

 

[zlaja]

usally heat means resistance.... for example if you have a bad ground it gets hot....i burned my self pretty bad when i had a ground for my foglights that was bad...but i fixed it

if i were you....i would pull of that terminal(is that what the end of the wire is called) and clean it along with the actual battery post....use some fine sand paper or something like that..... then look over the wiring from the alternator and other big wired having to do with the battery

hope you get that sorted out before your car catches on fire...god forbid

 

[markie629]

yeah this problem is pretty annoying. I think i'll take it down to a local auto electric shop to get the problemt diagnosed/fixed. I dont want to waste money and time replacing things that dont necessarily need to be replaced. Thanks!

 

[Captain Moonpie]

I agree with zlaja, clean the post and the terminal really good with sandpaper.

Also, most cars will run with the battery disconected, but not for long. After a while, the power being put out by the alternator gets to be too much and causes problems with the ignition. THe battery is there to help even out the amount of voltage the car's electrical systems get. In other words, with the battery the ignition is getting about 12V. Without the battery and just the alternator, the ingition is getting about 14.5V. Not good for long periods of time.