hey guys havent been on here in years but i ran into a problem and your help.
so my mom called me today and told me the truck wouldnt start. i get home from work and try to start it, dead battery. pop the hood look around, jiggle here jiggle there, all looks good. so i decide to jump it. open the B+ terminal and see the box has melted. wanted to ask and see if anyone has run into this problem before.
a few months ago my alternator took a **** so replaced it with a 130 amp reman from napa. now that i think about it. should i have replaced the cable from the alternator to the terminal with a thicker gauge???
also does anyone know if i can get away with just buying the terminal? or do i have to buy the whole B+ cable? it looks like the main cable is ok, just the box and alternator cable is bad.
i just took some pictures right now to help out. thanks guys your help will be apreciated.

 

the wire that goes from the box to the alternator is 8ga fusible link wire. looks like that might be the problem.

what you need to do is buy some 4ga wire, attatch one end to the stud on the box, and the other to the alternator. be sure to add a 175 amp mega fuse (off the shef from autozone) inline with the wire before the alternator.

 

Looks like the terminal melted instead of the fusible link...is/was that nut loose creating some arching, or did the alternator that went bad overcharge and create the beginning of a future meltdown? How about the battery, is it checking out OK, there could be a shorted cell.

Also, did anybody else try jump starting the truck and accidentally jump it backwards?

 

Yeah thats definitely a problem. Is the cause or effect? It is the fusible link and its seen to many amps.

 

loose connection=high resistance=heat= see above pics

 

okay well i got the new alternator cable and a new box. i dont think a loose connection was the problem, the nut was on there tight. i got the oem cable and installed it with the box. after i jumped and started the truck i checked the amperage on that alternator cable and it was constantly giving 125-130 amps at 14.5-14.7 volts i turned the truck off, and touched the cable and dam thing was hot already. i was thinking maybe cuz the battery has a low charge, it was giving that much amerage. so i removed that battery and left to charge over night on a slow charge. i will check the readings tomorrow again after i charge the battery. do you guys think, i should install a 4ga wire with fuse on there?

 

No, don't put the 4 ga on yet. Even with a dead battery I don't think you should be pulling 130 amps. I suspect there is a short or problem somewhere else. Is there any resistance across the fusible link? I am not great with electrical stuff, I wish I had something more for you.

 

Sounds like something is causing the alternator to go full field...could be as simple as replacing the battery. There may be a shorted/overheated/or damaged plate. Another possibility is a short in the circuit to the voltage regulator (the connector with the smaller wire/wires), but my first guess would be a battery issue.

 

okay so after charging the battery over night, i installed it and started the truck. amperage was around 20 amps at about 14.6 volts. so i guess the battery was the issue with the high amperage. i made sure everything was tight. i told my dad to drive it around and check on that wire and the voltage guage. thanks for the help guys.