Battery terminal hot!

tj086

ok so i have a 1994 columbia par car p4g 2 cycle gas. I bought this thing all part and am really close to getting it together yes i wired everything myself and i think i got it right. My POS battery terminal getting really hot in just a few seconds of trying to start it. I have not actually started the cart just cranked the motor over and seen positive terminal get really hot fast so i stopped everything! The manual calls for a 12v 70/360cca i admit i just threw a 12v 900cca car battery in it just to see if it will run but I'm not sure if thats the prob. I was told i could go bigger just not smaller but i dunno. The motor DOES turn over good and starts it up like it should. If it wasn't for getting hot i would just leave it be. Has anyone else had this prob and has anyone else put a bigger battery in there gas cart?

BGW

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backyard

I've got a car battery in mine. Not sure the exact size but it fit a Honda. You're right, you can go bigger but not smaller.

The battery terminal probably isn't getting a good connection. Make sure it is and is tight. Next time you crank it, hold the big battery wire a few inches away from the terminal and see if it gets hot.

Lochlin

Yep. I have 3 electric carts in addition to the gas ones (yes, I have a thing for old carts). Poor connections are the overwhelming most common reasons for heat. Even if the battery was too small it still shouldn't generate much heat. It just wouldn't last very long.

Clean those terminals and connectors. Maybe even buy new connectors as they aren't all the much money. If you still have an issue then replace the feed wires, maybe put a larger gauge in.

tj086

ok i will try putting new connectors on. The battery is brand new and i have checked all the grounds. They are all clean and could not be grounded any better. Just to be clear the wire coming from the solenoid goes to the positive terminal and the wire going to the frame goes to the negative battery terminal right? i only question this because I know generators run backwards sometimes.

backyard

Yep. The big red wire goes from the battery + to the big terminal on the solenoid. The other big terminal on the solenoid has a big wire that goes to the starter/generator. The big black wire (ground) goes from the battery - to the frame. Also the solenoid should be grounded by the mounting bracket.

Your generator runs backwards too, when you go in reverse, so does the engine.

tj086

Ok so, the problem was the actual positive wire was bad and corroded Inside the rubber insolation. I replaced the pos cable and thats all i did and prob fixed. thanks for the help.