[Ian]

Today, my car died as I was driving, and I saw and smelled smoke. I
opened the hood to find that the amp's power cable had melted at the
part where the copper lead connects to the ring terminal at the
battery. It actually melted the wire's insulation and burned (read:
chipped) the brass terminal ring. It also nearly burned a hole
through the hood and chipped some paint. After disconnecting the
amp's power cable, the car ran fine. I can't seem to figure out what
could've went wrong. I had this install for year without any
problems.

The total amp power of my system is 1500 WRMS. The amp's power cable
is 1awg, and runs about 18 feet to a distribution block in the trunk.
The power cable is fused at the battery with a 200 amp fuse (which
didn't blow for some reason).

Before this all happened, there was a huge downpour of rain. Could
the rain coming in contact with the amp's power cable have caused
this? I want to track down the problem so I can prevent this from
happening again in the future.

Any information appreciated!

[MOSFET]

Perhaps the ring terminal you used for the 1 gauge was very thin and it was
THAT that got really hot (like a light bulb filament). I have seen some
ring terminals (frankly, cheaper ones) that are made of VERY flat (too flat)
sheet metal or brass. There are some that look like in places they do not
have much more metal than a 100 amp fuse. If you were drawing a lot of
current for an extended period, I can imagine one of those getting, REALLY,
REALLY HOT.

Anyway, just a thought.

MOSFET

"Ian" wrote in message
.. .
Today, my car died as I was driving, and I saw and smelled smoke. I
opened the hood to find that the amp's power cable had melted at the
part where the copper lead connects to the ring terminal at the
battery. It actually melted the wire's insulation and burned (read:
chipped) the brass terminal ring. It also nearly burned a hole
through the hood and chipped some paint. After disconnecting the
amp's power cable, the car ran fine. I can't seem to figure out what
could've went wrong. I had this install for year without any
problems.

The total amp power of my system is 1500 WRMS. The amp's power cable
is 1awg, and runs about 18 feet to a distribution block in the trunk.
The power cable is fused at the battery with a 200 amp fuse (which
didn't blow for some reason).

Before this all happened, there was a huge downpour of rain. Could
the rain coming in contact with the amp's power cable have caused
this? I want to track down the problem so I can prevent this from
happening again in the future.

Any information appreciated!

[MOSFET]

BTW, if it does appear that the ring terminal was the problem, you may be
better off with battery terminals that accept 1 gauge wire (the kind where
you lock the wire in place with allen screws).

Even if you are not sure that this was the cause, you may want to go this
route to be sure it never happens.

MOSFET

[Matt Ion]

Ian wrote:
Today, my car died as I was driving, and I saw and smelled smoke. I
opened the hood to find that the amp's power cable had melted at the
part where the copper lead connects to the ring terminal at the
battery. It actually melted the wire's insulation and burned (read:
chipped) the brass terminal ring. It also nearly burned a hole
through the hood and chipped some paint. After disconnecting the
amp's power cable, the car ran fine. I can't seem to figure out what
could've went wrong. I had this install for year without any
problems.

The total amp power of my system is 1500 WRMS. The amp's power cable
is 1awg, and runs about 18 feet to a distribution block in the trunk.
The power cable is fused at the battery with a 200 amp fuse (which
didn't blow for some reason).

Before this all happened, there was a huge downpour of rain. Could
the rain coming in contact with the amp's power cable have caused
this? I want to track down the problem so I can prevent this from
happening again in the future.

Of course the 200 amp fuse didn't blow - that's probably higher than your
battery's CCA output, and way more than enough to melt most wires' insulation.
You may as well not even have a fuse there.

I'd look for somewhere that the power wire has worn through and is shorting to
the body... like where it goes through the firewall. Just follow the melted
insulation until you find where it stops and you'll proably find a bad arc burn,
if the wire itself isn't fused to the body metal.

Replace the cooked section of wire and put in a reasonable size fuse...

[Ian]

Matt Ion wrote:

Of course the 200 amp fuse didn't blow - that's probably higher
than your battery's CCA output, and way more than enough to melt
most wires' insulation. You may as well not even have a fuse
there.

What does the battery's CCA output have to do the amp's power cable
fuse size?

Replace the cooked section of wire and put in a reasonable size
fuse...

200 amp is the correct size for my setup. When I did the install, I
added up the fuse ratings for my two amps, and the total was 210
amps. So a 200 amp fuse is sufficient and safe for this setup.

[95Honda]

Your power cable made electrical contact to the chassis somewhere in
your car, probably where you went through the firewall.


--
95Honda

[Matt Ion]

Ian wrote:
Matt Ion wrote:


Of course the 200 amp fuse didn't blow - that's probably higher
than your battery's CCA output, and way more than enough to melt
most wires' insulation. You may as well not even have a fuse
there.


What does the battery's CCA output have to do the amp's power cable
fuse size?

If the battery can only deliver, for example, 150 constant amps, the fuse ain't
never gonna blow even if you connect it directly between the two posts. A fuse
like that won't offer you any protection against melting your power cables.

Replace the cooked section of wire and put in a reasonable size
fuse...


200 amp is the correct size for my setup. When I did the install, I
added up the fuse ratings for my two amps, and the total was 210
amps. So a 200 amp fuse is sufficient and safe for this setup.

The fuses for your amps are typically over-rated to prevent them blowing from
anything but a serious internal problem. Your amps realistically aren't likely
to draw any more than 2/3 to 3/4 of their fuses' ratings AT PEAK, and certainly
much less at RMS.

[Captain_Howdy]

I don't think that you can buy a car battery with less the 450CCA, keep in
mind that this rating is used at a temperature of 0° F (-17.8° C) to deliver
for 30 seconds while maintaining the voltage above 7.2 volts. With this said,
this time of the year that same 450CCA battery can push 750HCA or better.



Of course the 200 amp fuse didn't blow - that's probably higher than your
battery's CCA output, and way more than enough to melt most wires' insulation.
You may as well not even have a fuse there.

I'd look for somewhere that the power wire has worn through and is shorting to
the body... like where it goes through the firewall. Just follow the melted
insulation until you find where it stops and you'll proably find a bad arc
burn,
if the wire itself isn't fused to the body metal.

Replace the cooked section of wire and put in a reasonable size fuse...

[MOSFET]

I had another thought, perhaps when the hood was closed there was some
contact with the terminal ring. Again, it appears the terminal ring got
really, really, hot as it basically (as described by the OP) disintegrated.

If the damage to the hood was directly underneath the terminal ring, it
seems to me THAT was ground zero of the problem. Just as Fireman look for
what what the hottest part of the fire to determine origins, likely
originated where there was greatest heat.

I'd say either the terminal ring was made of too thin sheet metal and acted
like a very, very hot fuse, OR (more likely perhaps), the terminal ring
somehow made contact with the hood and caused a short.

MOSFET




"Matt Ion" wrote in message
news:io_yg.275337$Mn5.259282@pd7tw3no...
Ian wrote:
Today, my car died as I was driving, and I saw and smelled smoke. I
opened the hood to find that the amp's power cable had melted at the part
where the copper lead connects to the ring terminal at the battery. It
actually melted the wire's insulation and burned (read: chipped) the
brass terminal ring. It also nearly burned a hole through the hood and
chipped some paint. After disconnecting the amp's power cable, the car
ran fine. I can't seem to figure out what could've went wrong. I had this
install for year without any problems.

The total amp power of my system is 1500 WRMS. The amp's power cable is
1awg, and runs about 18 feet to a distribution block in the trunk. The
power cable is fused at the battery with a 200 amp fuse (which didn't
blow for some reason).

Before this all happened, there was a huge downpour of rain. Could the
rain coming in contact with the amp's power cable have caused this? I
want to track down the problem so I can prevent this from happening again
in the future.

Of course the 200 amp fuse didn't blow - that's probably higher than your
battery's CCA output, and way more than enough to melt most wires'
insulation. You may as well not even have a fuse there.

I'd look for somewhere that the power wire has worn through and is
shorting to the body... like where it goes through the firewall. Just
follow the melted insulation until you find where it stops and you'll
proably find a bad arc burn, if the wire itself isn't fused to the body
metal.

Replace the cooked section of wire and put in a reasonable size fuse...

[Ian]

MOSFET wrote:

I had another thought, perhaps when the hood was closed there
was some contact with the terminal ring. Again, it appears the
terminal ring got really, really, hot as it basically (as
described by the OP) disintegrated.

After some investigating, I think this is exactly what happened.
I forgot to mention in my original post that, before the car died,
the stereo was shorting out. So, your theory makes even more sense
now.

My battery didn't come with any terminal covers. What's a good way to
protect the battery terminals (and the wires) from coming in contact
with the metal of the car?

[Captain_Howdy]

Buying the right size battery for you car will do the trick.


In article , Ian
wrote:
MOSFET wrote:

I had another thought, perhaps when the hood was closed there
was some contact with the terminal ring. Again, it appears the
terminal ring got really, really, hot as it basically (as
described by the OP) disintegrated.

After some investigating, I think this is exactly what happened.
I forgot to mention in my original post that, before the car died,
the stereo was shorting out. So, your theory makes even more sense
now.

My battery didn't come with any terminal covers. What's a good way to
protect the battery terminals (and the wires) from coming in contact
with the metal of the car?

[MOSFET]

My battery didn't come with any terminal covers. What's a good way to
protect the battery terminals (and the wires) from coming in contact
with the metal of the car?

As I mentioned in a previous post, I would recommend switching to battery
terminals that directly accept bare wire. The most popular variety seem to
be the type that can accept a 0 gauge, a 4 gauge, and then two eight gauge
wires. The wires lock into place by Allen screws set into the battery
terminal blocks themselves. These will NOT make contact with your hood
because no metal sticks up above your battery posts, however, there are some
manufacturers that make clear plastic covers for these types of terminals
(if you are still unclear what I am talking about, go to Ebay and look for
battery terminals and you will see the kind I am talking about).

Here's an example:
http://cgi.ebay.com/SOUND-QUEST-BY-S...QQcmdZViewItem

MOSFET

[GregS]

In article Vb4zg.281129$IK3.237421@pd7tw1no, Matt Ion wrote:
Ian wrote:
Matt Ion wrote:


Of course the 200 amp fuse didn't blow - that's probably higher
than your battery's CCA output, and way more than enough to melt
most wires' insulation. You may as well not even have a fuse
there.


What does the battery's CCA output have to do the amp's power cable
fuse size?

If the battery can only deliver, for example, 150 constant amps, the fuse ain't

The battery would have to be bad. 1000 or more direct short amps available
if all is right. CCA is not a direct short.

greg

never gonna blow even if you connect it directly between the two posts. A fuse

like that won't offer you any protection against melting your power cables.

Replace the cooked section of wire and put in a reasonable size
fuse...


200 amp is the correct size for my setup. When I did the install, I
added up the fuse ratings for my two amps, and the total was 210
amps. So a 200 amp fuse is sufficient and safe for this setup.

The fuses for your amps are typically over-rated to prevent them blowing from
anything but a serious internal problem. Your amps realistically aren't likely

to draw any more than 2/3 to 3/4 of their fuses' ratings AT PEAK, and certainly

much less at RMS.