11 replies to this topic

[Lacuna]

Model: City
Year: 1992
Description of problem (please be as in depth as possible):

I was driving through town and my mini cut out at some cross roads so I pulled him over to the side and tried to start him again, he would turn over but not start. He's been towed home since and when attempting to take the battery leads off so I could try charging the battery, I found that the negative lead's terminal had melted/severed where the terminal bolts meet the lead itself. Does this probably just mean that the negative lead (which I put on him about 3-4 months ago) was a dud and I should just get a replacement or might it mean there is somehow some sort of power/battery overload?


(See the attached image, where the long cylinder bit meets the rounded bit, that's what separated...)


I should also mention it was not a MiniSpares part that melted, I'm just using their picture

- Lacuna

Edited by Lacuna, 13 November 2008 - 01:09 PM.

[rozzer1275]

it is posible, as all the current is going through the neg as well as the positive, could just be bad conection, if there was a bad conection in there, it will get hot which means more resistance then more heat untill it melts.

[Ethel]

Was it a lead (pb) connector? If the junction with the cable is poor it could warm up or even erode the lead if it sparked.

[Lacuna]

It was this exact one actually:

Melted battery lead terminal thingie ...

I don't know what a pb connector is :S

~ Lacuna

[Ethel]

Pb as in Plumbum, Lead the metal and not lead, as in dog lead, meainig the cable. I was trying to avoid any confusion

Says in the advert it's stainless anyway if the connector has snapped in 2 I'd say it's faulty.

[GraemeC]

I'd send it back, after their claims of:
THEY ARE FAR BETTER THAN THE ORIGINAL ONES FITTED
&
YOU WON'T FIND BETTER!

I've never known an original one fail in the manner you describe. In fact I've never known an original fail on a well maintained car.

(It can't be that good for £4 - a decent battery lead clamp will cost best part of that on its own)

Edited by GraemeC, 13 November 2008 - 02:38 PM.

[2lrminivan]

best thing to do is go to a motor factors get a new terminal and lead and solder were the wire goes into the terminal u will have to use a blow tourch to heat it up the put a load of solder in to the connection. this will do two things stop corossion in the lead and make it better contact.as the new leads are not soldered and if they shake and move is causes a hot spot then it melts. also do this to the positive as well because if that melts and connects to the bodyit will be bye bye mini

[Pete649]

I have never known one of these fail in the manner described.

As someone else said, it can't be much good for 4 quid.

Hang on a minute. I know I am colourblind but isn't the lead in the photo red? Isn't it meant to be an earth lead?

[Lacuna]

Not red, it was green with a yellow stripe down it...

Speaking of red ones though... my boyfriend bought a replacement for this broken one from a shop down the road but they gave him a red covered one and said it is what he needs and doesn't matter that it is covered red... does it?

~ Lacuna

[2lrminivan]

green with a yellow strips sounds like house earth wire the cable should have been about the dia of a penny.

buy some black tape and wrap it round the red cable this will be fine.

[Pete649]

Not red, it was green with a yellow stripe down it...

Well, there you go. I did say I was colourblind lol

Speaking of red ones though... my boyfriend bought a replacement for this broken one from a shop down the road but they gave him a red covered one and said it is what he needs and doesn't matter that it is covered red... does it?

In my personal opinion, it would not matter electrically that an earth lead was red but the danger could be if someone else mistook it for the positive lead perhaps when using jump leads, for instance.

[Brams96]

That to me looks like house/industrial earthing wire, which wont be very flexable, and if it is moving with those little screws holding it then you could get a loose joint. This would effectilely would mean more current going through the wire where it is actually touching in turn heating it up causing it to fail. We recently had a similar thing at work where a wire wasn't secured in a fuse holder which heated up and completely melted the wire through and melted the fuse holder, but didn't blow the 20A fuse!
You should have proper automotive cable which has smaller strands giving a bigger CSA for the cable & less chance of failing. THIS is the sort of thing you need plus it's a small price to pay for piece of mind.