Battery Arcing?

kioti pup · Mar 9, 2013

Hello I have been having trouble with starting my kioti, and now I notice there seems to be signs of "melting" on my battery cable connection. Does anyone have a clue what may be causing this? The photo shows the type of nut I'm using. Most of the "melting" is happening on the negative terminal where you attach it. You can see the sign of "melting" in the photo. I also notice a slight red residue on the nut.

3930dave · Mar 9, 2013

Current through a high resistance connection will create heat. That's a lot of heat though - check your cable for corrosion, you may need a new termination on the cable. Stud and nut need to be free of corrosion too, as with all electrical connections.

I don't know Kioti's - is it normal for the tractor to be connected on the RV stud ? If not, somebody will likely advise shortly.....

I prefer the main (bigger, non-threaded) post for high current connections.

Rgds, D.

Coyote machine · Mar 9, 2013

kioti pup said:
Hello I have been having trouble with starting my kioti, and now I notice there seems to be signs of "melting" on my battery cable connection. Does anyone have a clue what may be causing this? The photo shows the type of nut I'm using. Most of the "melting" is happening on the negative terminal where you attach it. You can see the sign of "melting" in the photo. I also notice a slight red residue on the nut. View attachment 307283

With the battery still disconnected begin at the ground cable's connection to the frame. Remove the bolt and clean it thoroughly, then use dielectric grease to coat the ring connector, bolt and end of the cable in it's jacket.
Also check for any burning or melted jacket/wire signs where the cable connects to the frame. Then clean the negative post of the battery and coat with dielectric grease and securely clamp the ground/negative cable to the LARGE post, once the metal on the post is shiny new looking. Also clean the positive post and its connector as above. Look at the fuse box and see if there is any evidence of arcing, burn marks etc.
Do you store in or outside? Do you have a mouse problem? If so you may have some chewed wires. Search for that BEFORE trying to start the tractor, and if there continues to be issues DO NOT leave the negative cable connected when you are not at the tractor. Also have a fire extinguisher handy, and I recommend having one strapped to the tractor at all times just in case.
Post back results.
Also tell us what kind of starting problems you've been experiencing, exactly, prior to discovering the melting you spoke of.

DK35vince · Mar 9, 2013

Looks like a bad connection at the post, causing it to burn .

kioti pup · Mar 11, 2013

Thanks for the advice! I tried the dielectric grease and cleaned everything and made sure the contacts were good. It seems to have solved the problem! :thumbsup:

wyeguy · Mar 11, 2013

Glad you got it under control. Also FYI if you have any crimped connections, like a ring terminal that goes around that stud, try to make sure the crimp is solid by making sure the terminal doesn't move at all on the wire.