Hello all,

Bike wouldnt start on tuesday morning, had been a little sluggish to start on monday, so just thought my battery had finally given up the ghost [its the 8 year old original]....however when I pulled it out last night I discovered that the positive terminal has actually melted a good 8mm back from the face of the battery.

What is the most likely cause of this? Had the rotor/stator replaced in october, is it possible battery was put back in with a loose connection, could that cause enough heat to melt the terminal?

My concern is putting a new battery in only for the same thing to happen again, cant see any damage to the leads and will start again since i cleaned it up a bit and tightened the connections back up, even with the 8mm missing off the + terminal.

Also can anyone recommend any alternative battery for an 06 fxdci? As local dealer looking £153 to replace like with like...

 

I saw this on my brothers bike last year. 2000 FXDL. The only thing I could figure was a loose terminal causing it to arc and melt the post. The seat had burn marks on the bottom and the seat pan was fiberglass is it did not cause the issue. He got a new battery and made sure the cables were properly tightened and no problems at all.

 

A loose cable can certainly cause the overheating. I've seen industrial wiring melt when connections weren't tight enough.

 

yes they can melt the post is only made of lead, so don't over-tighten the new one.

 

I agree. Especially when your going down the road, it will be vibrating/arcing big time.

 

Loose connections can/will cause serious problems. Be sure all your connections are clean and tight.

 

Definitely a loose connection. Either at the connection or internal to the battery. Loose/high resistance connections create a voltage drop and generate heat. Verify the battery cable is OK...if in doubt, replace it. They sometimes break inside the insulation so not always visible.

Not sure if your battery is AGM or not, but consider an AGM battery as a replacement (sealed, no vent tube). HD batteries are made by Deca. In the US they are sold under various names in auto parts stores at about 1/2 the HD price. Not sure where you might find them locally, but try searching. Failing that, any good AGM battery should work (Yuasa, Interstate, Lucas??). Not sure what's available to you in Ireland.