Hot battery terminal

Hey guys, I took my 04 Gallardo out for a drive for about an hour, came back and my positive terminal on my battery was very hot to the touch ( burning hot ) My gauge in the car is reading a little below 13 volts but when I check it with my voltmeter it is reading 13.20 when the car is running and over 12 when it is turned off. I have checked all the leads both positive and negative with no luck. The battery is also new. Any help would be much appreciated. Its an 04 egear with 20,000kms. Thanks in advance.

funny ... mine did the same thing after sitting a few days i also have a new battery... i hooked it up to a batt charger yesterday and drove it today... it was not hot afterwards im thinking that batt was low

 

tim

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hey guys, I took my 04 Gallardo out for a drive for about an hour, came back and my positive terminal on my battery was very hot to the touch ( burning hot ) My gauge in the car is reading a little below 13 volts but when I check it with my voltmeter it is reading 13.20 when the car is running and over 12 when it is turned off. I have checked all the leads both positive and negative with no luck. The battery is also new. Any help would be much appreciated. Its an 04 egear with 20,000kms. Thanks in advance.

 

Thanks Tim, my battery was also low today, I had to put a charge on it for an hour before I could start it. I will put the charger on it all night and see what happens when I drive it tommorrow.

Went on a 100 mile drive in my 06 G, and when i was getting some stuff out of the trunk I noticed a smell so I took off the battery cover and noticed that the red plastic positive terminal cover looked black on the inside and my positive post was very hot to the touch. Any ideas what is causing this?? Or maybe the terminal is not tight causing an arc between the tightening bolt and the post maybe???

 

dcmac...yes with black "soot" on the cover I'd say an arc. Tighten that cable!

 

OP..why do batteries get warm? Overcharging or rapid charging comes to mind (maybe arcing like above). You mentioned a new battery, that would lead me to the same above comment...check the battery cables.

 

Else do standard tests as you have been...battery state, load test, alt output etc.

You'll solve this easily.

Hey guys, I took my 04 Gallardo out for a drive for about an hour, came back and my positive terminal on my battery was very hot to the touch ( burning hot ) My gauge in the car is reading a little below 13 volts but when I check it with my voltmeter it is reading 13.20 when the car is running and over 12 when it is turned off. I have checked all the leads both positive and negative with no luck. The battery is also new. Any help would be much appreciated. Its an 04 egear with 20,000kms. Thanks in advance.

 

13.2V is really low if the engine is running. It should be well over 14V. Resting voltage should be 12.6~12.7

 

It sounds like your battery is not taking a charge, and the alternator senses the battery is not full charged so it's pumping a lot of current into it, which will heat up the terminals.

 

What's the mfr date on the battery? I've seen 6-month old "new" batteries on the shelf at auto parts stores. These will become sulfated and have trouble taking a charge

i would also check the battery cable and battery post. make sure it has clean contact. a battery terminal brush will help to clean it up.