Buddy has been complaining for a while his bike is hard starting (low voltage likely) and today on his way over for a ride his bike died right out & he had to push it off the road. Got it going again and over to my place and we found the positive battery post on the battery was melting and dripping led like a candle. What would cause that? The only thing I could think of is it a loose connection and was shorting out but enough to melt the post like that? He's gonna get another battery right quick but wants to make sure there isnt anything but a loose terminal at play.

Is there?

The terminals were both tight when we checked em and it's a 2102 Dyna Street Bob if that matters

 

Only a short would do that. Before you put a battery in it , I would check resistance from the positive wire to the frame. Should be almost open. Low resistance indicates a short to ground. It has to be shorted.

 

Lose connection... seen it many times. A poor connection causes lots of resistance..make sure the bolt isn't to long & bottoming out

 

It's a 2102 street bob ? Is it still a softtail in the future ? Also I'd think it was a lose connection

 

I'm with Eric.

 

If the terminals were too tight, he might have torqued the post enough for it to crack. At that point, it will start arcing and create enough heat to do that. You want the terminals to be tight, but not to that extent.

 

I run into this a lot, and most of the time it's a loose terminal that causes arcing and extreme heat as a result.

 

When he knew it was starting slow and ignored that he sealed his fate on buying a new battery. Luckily he didn’t breakdown on the highway in rush hour.

 

Pulling too much current is the culprit. As others have said a loose connection or cracked terminal will create enormous amount of heat as the current pull is trying to overcome these impediments. A shorted cell or warped plate inside the battery can also cause this condition.