Sunday, May 31, 2009

Whoops!

I had another one of those 'marvel at the power of electricity' moments this weekend...

On a leisurely Sunday drive, the power suddenly cut out on me, never a good thing. Luckily I was at a place near home where I could pull over, call for a quick tow, and all was good. After I got back home, I started checking voltages. I thought at first a fuse has gone out again, but I was wrong - waaaay wrong.

One of my battery posts had melted to about half its original size. Check it...
After being amazed at the melted post for awhile, I started working a theory of why it happened. Most likely a loose connection, coupled with high current draw, equals arc, and further deterioriation, which leads to further arcs, more heat, and MELTING!

The reason I think this happened was because I am using non-flexible cable, and during motion of the car, these connections between batteries, no matter how tightly they're cinched down, will come loose with the vibration of these battery boulders.

The battery in question seems okay voltage-wise. I will be looking into getting the post repaired, and also looking into replacing some of the more at-risk cables with their flexible alternatives.

Live and learn!

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