17 replies to this topic

[minipower101]

Hi everyone. When told that my exhaust was sparking underneath my car when driving along i thought i better go underneath and see where it was catching...

Only to discover my positive battery cable has melted on the exhaust bracket where the centre pipe joins the y piece.

Do i replace the whole cable? It it ok to cable tie the cable to the fuel line to stop it being so close to the exhaust.



Help much appreciated :)

[lrostoke]

That should be the brake pipe next to it so fine to cable tie it to that.
I'd be looking at the exhaust though, it looks to be running way to close to the floor pan, looks like its touching, do you get a lot of vibration and rattling from it.

You'd have to look at the cable to decide wether to replace, may only just be worn through and some strong insulating tape will do the trick

Edited by lrostoke, 11 March 2012 - 09:55 AM.

[Nikral]

I would replace the whole length of cable and look at re routing away from the exhaust.

[stitch-86]

I would replace the cable as it will have a weak spot in the cover (cant think of what the plastic casing is called; sheath?).

Oh, and I wouldnt lick any body panels

[Bungle]

first fix the problem (exhaust hung in the wrong place)

once this is fix then fix the damage the exhaust has caused (the wire)

have any of the copper cores been cut ?

[Globule]

Mine did something similar, but I didn't know it was doing it until it was too late, engine spluttered and cut out, the earth strap in the boot was glowing orange from where it was shorting out and then melted the terminal from the car end of the strap!

I fitted a new cable and made sure it won't touch again, i'd advise to do the same with yours, but it's your call

Dependant on the extent and duration of shorting, check the battery as mine boiled over and was therefore pretty much scrap!

[MrBounce]

Always a good thing to check this when fitting an exhaust. Mine shorted out. On the M25...

[R1minimagic]

I have some good cables, PM me!

[minipower101]

Thanks for all the speedy replies. My mini did keep cutting out when driving but i thought it was a fueling problem :-\ I will order a new cable later. My mini is a 1984 with the starter solonoid on the inner wing. The cable on mini spares says minis 85-90. Is this the one i need?

I will also have a look at getting the lcb away from the floor.

Cheers

[Ethel]

The cables will differ in length depending on which starter you have the later one being pre engaged, earlier inertia. If all the copper is intact you could insulate it with amalgam tape or adhesive heat shrink, and maybe some extra abrasion protection.

[redhot-mini]

run the cable on the inside of the car whats what ive done then u know it wont happen again :)

[dklawson]

Move/correct the exhaust situation, inspect clean and tape over the damaged insulation, remount the patched cable further from the exhaust if you cannot relocate the exhaust itself. If the copper conductors are not badly damaged there is no reason to replace the whole cable, simply repair the insulation and remove the potential for the problem to repeat itself. Heat shrink tubing would be ideal to repair the insulation but will require disconnecting the cable at the solenoid end and sliding the insulation down over the damaged spot. If that seems like too much work, clean (degrease) the damaged area and wrap with electrical tape. Once wrapped, paint over the area with liquid vinyl.

[tiger99]

It happened to me once, because the cable was not correctly assembled to its mounting clips as it passes from the floor to the front subframe, As I recall there are two clips, one with a long bolt and white plastic spacer, but it may vary between models. Anyway, whatever the cause, things need to be relocated so it can't happen again. I just fitted the clips correctly. Maybe one strand of the copper was broken, which is not serious. I then just taped mine with self-amalgamating tape, and got about 100,000 more miles out of the car.

[minipower101]

I will inspect the copper cores and go from there. If ive got the inertia starter would i need the longer cable? (if i need to replace it, hopefully i dont

cheers everyone

[R1minimagic]

The longer cable is required when the cable is routed close to the exhaust channel as on earlier cars. The later injection models have the cable guide on the drivers side of the under floorpan so avoids the exhaust problem and allows a shorter cable to be used. You can always route inside the car and use the shorter cable too.