Positive Cable Hot
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Positive Cable Hot
Our 2004 dodge neon has been running with a hot positive battery cable lately. it even has melted the red tab that secures the positive post. Cable to starter is not hot like the positive post side. Negative cable is normal. Positive side to the relay box is normal, only hot to the touch after driving for awhile. Cables are clean of acid corrosion. Starter not hot, so that's normal. All ground wires within the engine bay are normal. Any suggestions?
Section Moderator
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 5,584
Likes: 7
From: Northern California
A few things you could start with: check the PDC for corrosion, re-check your battery cables and connections, check your battery cables with a DMM to check for internal corrosion you cannot see.
Captain
Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 529
Likes: 18
From: SW Va
^+1 on using your DMM to perform some voltage drop testing on the B+ cable run & it's connection to the B+ battery post.
If your not familar with voltage drop testing, here is a mini tutorial on how to do it & the readings to look for. http://aa1car.com/library/voltage_drop_testing.htm
Personal story, unseen/out of sight, under the insulation of the battery B+ cable clamp, to wire strands connection, corrosion was a problem on my 85 Renault.
The sense of touch on the hot connection at the B+ cable when trying to trouble shoot a intermittent crank engine problem, prompted us to perform a under load voltage drop test on the wire strands to B+ post clamp connection & found it was bad, unseen under the insulation, where the wire strands made their connection to the post clamp. New B+ cable put that problem right.
Years later (too late for me), there was a recall for the faulty made B+ cable.
SO, the cable feeling Hot at the post clamp, is a good clue for you to make a under load voltage drop test on the B+ cable at the battery post end.
Others have also reported a good clean looking battery cable Clamp to post connection, that turned out to be corroded on the inside contact surface of the cable clamp to post connection. Cleaning the inside of the cable clamp & post put that problem right.
Our electrical system only has 12 volts or so to work with, so it doesn't take much resistance in the circuit to cause mischief. All connections need to be clean, bright & tight.
More thoughts for consideration, let us know what you find.
If your not familar with voltage drop testing, here is a mini tutorial on how to do it & the readings to look for. http://aa1car.com/library/voltage_drop_testing.htm
Personal story, unseen/out of sight, under the insulation of the battery B+ cable clamp, to wire strands connection, corrosion was a problem on my 85 Renault.
The sense of touch on the hot connection at the B+ cable when trying to trouble shoot a intermittent crank engine problem, prompted us to perform a under load voltage drop test on the wire strands to B+ post clamp connection & found it was bad, unseen under the insulation, where the wire strands made their connection to the post clamp. New B+ cable put that problem right.
Years later (too late for me), there was a recall for the faulty made B+ cable.
SO, the cable feeling Hot at the post clamp, is a good clue for you to make a under load voltage drop test on the B+ cable at the battery post end.
Others have also reported a good clean looking battery cable Clamp to post connection, that turned out to be corroded on the inside contact surface of the cable clamp to post connection. Cleaning the inside of the cable clamp & post put that problem right.
Our electrical system only has 12 volts or so to work with, so it doesn't take much resistance in the circuit to cause mischief. All connections need to be clean, bright & tight.
More thoughts for consideration, let us know what you find.
Last edited by paw paw; Sep 21, 2017 at 06:33 PM.