Hi guys,
I just returned from a less than a mile trip on the gem. I removed the seat as I was going to take it and the seat back to the upholstery shop to be recovered. I noticed that the cable going from the positive battery terminal to the master on/ off switch had some corrosion on the lug where it connects to the positive battery terminal. I tried to turn the nut to see if it was loose and it burnt the heck out of my finger. All other nuts on the rest of the batteries were cool to the touch. After it cooled down I tried to loosen the the wing nut with pliers and it would not move. I suspect that the cable is severely corroded inside (it is very short - maybe 4 inches long). I fear that the nut is “welded” on. It is a 2001 gem car and the batteries are less than 6 months old. Could the on/switch be causing this or would it have to be the battery cable? Any ideas on how to get the nut on the battery terminal loose?
Replace that cable. Get the tinned copper ones as opposed to the steel or plain copper type. An auto-electric shop should be able to make one up for you. Make sure you use the heavy-gauge wire like the OEM cable. Lighter cables will heat up and fail.
I know this won’t be popular but you should replace ALL of the wing nut cables. They are prone to loose or poor connections and the surface area for the cable/battery interface is way too small and then throw in a little corrosion and you have a hot terminal. If they were a good piece of equipment then other industries would use the wing nut terminals but I don’t know of any. The old fashioned battery connector soldered or swedged on to the cable will give you the best performance. When you have a hot terminal chances are that the battery inside has already been damaged. If the terminal post that goes inside the battery has been over heated it may have already created a weakened connection with the plates and never give you the power that you expect from it. If you can wiggle or turn the terminal post then you should replace that battery.
