positive battery terminal smoking

[zfbailey23]

hey folks, in need of some expertise.
my 76 bronco is having some electrical issues. it wasnt starting so i charged both batteries and tried to crank it, it would at first and then just started clicking. so i went and got a new starter and solenoid. hook everything up and now the positive terminal is smoking when attempting to start, and then i stopping turning the key and it kept trying to crank over.
I have two batteries on a painless dual battery set-up. i disconnected the main battery and hooked up the secondary battery directly to the solenoid. same thing happened.
i disconnected the power cable from the starter to the solenoid and inspected it, there isn't any exposed cable from what I could tell.
I am at a loss as of now, because most of the forums I read, the people have a bad starter or a bad battery or something like that.
I am thinking it may be a bad ground, but when I re-installed the ground wire, i filed away the surface to expose the bare metal and get a good ground.
thanks everyone,

 

[Scoop]

Dumb question, but are you sure you have the pos to pos and neg to neg? I have 2 red cables on one of my Broncos and got them backwards once when I was in a hurry! Smoke usually means a direct ground short of a non-fused wire.

 

[sp71eb]

Sounds like a bad solenoid. I have also seen trucks with a bad connection to the solenoid or starter causing the solenoid to stick. Is your solenoid separate from the starter or starter mounted? The older ford style starters are very sensitive if they don't get full power also.

 

[dave67fd]

Confirm your cables/posts are perfectly clean and tight. Don't assume they look ok. Remove them and clean them thoroughly with wire brush/steel wool, emery cloth etc..You probably have excessive resistance causing the terminals/cables to heat. Replace the starter solenoid as mentioned.

 

[ugly74]

What they said. The only time ive run into this was when i was using my winch, and not all of the connections were tight. Positive post was a molten puddle when i went to see why the winch quit.

 

[Pa PITT]

WRONG SOLENOID... i'VE WROTE ABOUT THIS SEVERAL TIME . Noone ever believes me but I'll bet you have to replace it all again.. and it'll usually kill your battery's.
Will I had my parts store we did this about 6 times. & MOST OF THE TIMES IT BLEW THE BATTERYS UP

 

[zfbailey23]

Thanks for all of the replies folks. The battery terminals don't have any dirt or corrosion at all around them, but I will wire brush them all the same tomorrow. I will also return the new solenoid for another new solenoid to see of that is the problem.

I hear on the cables, but yeah they are hooked up properly- I checked, haha

I will do my best to get the solenoid replaced tomorrow and see what happens and let you guys know. It is a detached solenoid btw. Hopefully my yellow top isn't burnt up bc I know the other battery is. I will have to see if advanced will replace that as well.

Thanks again
Zac

 

[El Kabong]

... now the positive terminal is smoking when attempting to start...

As mentioned above, this ^ sounds like a bad connection at the positive terminal. Be sure to remove the cable & brush/sand the post & terminal where they will touch. Check the cable too. Make sure it's not corroded under the insulation. Check for powder at the end & stiffness or swelling of the wire.

...then i stopping turning the key and it kept trying to crank over...

I have seen this ^ when the wires to the small terminals on the solenoid are connected backwards, or the solenoid is sticking on. A backfeed from the ignition side can make the solenoid stay engaged if the wires are backwards. Try removing both small wires & jumping from positive to the small "S" terminal. You can see the "S" cast in the plastic just above the small left terminal in the pic below. Be ready for it to turn over or run (Have it in park or neutral, parking brake set, wires & hands clear of the fan, etc.) Connect & disconnect the jumper like you would turn the key to "Start" & release it. Don't leave it connected. Be ready to disconnect the battery if it won't stop cranking.

If it continues to crank when you disconnect the jumper, you know the solenoid is sticking. Replace it.

If it works normally with the jumper, you know that the battery, large cables, solenoid, & starter are all working correctly. Test the small wires to see which one gets 12v only when the key is turned to "Start". Connect that one to the "S" terminal & the other to the "I" terminal. If neither has 12v only when the key is in the "Start" position, then you have a problem in the small circuit that includes the ignition switch. The switch itself could be bad, or something might be crossed up in the wiring.

 

[Pa PITT]

LOTS of things can happen.. But we found at the parts store that there were 2 solenoids
one grounded bases and the other none grounded base.
............................
... Now for when you go back together with this. You don't want to do it again.. Yes I saw one or 2 do it twice. PUT YOUR NEW STARTER on and the your cables & solenoid. Set the battery in place But don't tighten the positive cable onto the battery post, just set it in place. REACH INSIDE AN START the Bronco if it contentious to start. Turn off the key, step outside and remove the battery cable from the post .. REMEMBER it's going to be very HOT. USE GLOVES OR a pair of Pliers.
.... Hope this helps.

 

[zonian]

Best bet solenoid.....

 

[zfbailey23]

Thanks for all the help folks, I feel like an asshole now though because after all that, it was a battery issue. My battery charger was giving me false readings of one being charged and he other being bad. I took one to advanced and they charged it for me and it cranked the engine over- still took some persuasion because of the weather I assume, but ended of starting up.

It's been in the single digits here up north so valuable lesson learned- bring my batteries inside if not being used regularly.

Thanks again everyone

 

[dave67fd]

Get one of these. Cheap, easy and they work. Have three currently in operation. 1 is on it's second season, the other two only a month or so.

With the coupon you can get them for about $5. At that price their almost disposable.
http://www.harborfreight.com/automatic-battery-float-charger-42292.html

 

[zfbailey23]

Oh, awesome, I was looking at getting one of these from sears, but I didn't want to spend 30-40$ on it, I think I will go pick a couple of these up, thanks