The positive terminal cover on my 05 MCS seems to have melted off of the terminal. I covered w/ electrical tape, and it melted! The terminal and the cable were hot to the touch.
I was able to zip tie the cover back on.
1 day later, everything seems ok, and the terminal isn't hot to the touch 1 minute after shutting down.

Is this common? Thoughts?
thanks.

 

That much heat is not normal. Something most be drawing extra current or there is extra resistance in the cable causing it to heat up.

Which terminal cover is hot, the one in the engine compartment or the one on the battery (in the boot)?
Do you have any high power items such as stereo amplifiers or driving lights that could be drawing extra current from the battery?
Are the battery terminals connected well in the engine compartment and at the battery?
Are there any cuts in the cable?

 

I am being told that it is high resistance. And that the cable should be replaced.

The postive terminal in the engine bay is what was(is) hot.
Nothing has been added electrically to the car in more than 4yr.
All connections are tight.
I don't see any cuts in the wire, but not much can be seen, since it mostly runs under the car.

I found this thread, which seems similar to my problem.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-destruct.html

 

OK... i just went and started the car.
Let it run for 60-90seconds and put my hand to the nut/terminal inside the plastic housing... searingly hot!
The positive cable... fine.

 

The only thing i can think of electrically that has happened, was that i have an alpine stereo w/ ipod adapter. Have had it 4+yrs.
I did just put my itouch(instead of older nano) on it.
The itouch will not charge from the system.
Can't see that doing it though.

It heats up w/o the itouch on it.

 

Heat of any kind from an electrical connection means resistance, and resistance can be caused by loose connections, corrosion and defective connectors. MINIs are kinda notorious for loose battery connections, especially with the stock battery. Things to check here are fairly basic. Loosen the 10mm nut closest to the battery post then give the threaded stud a little tap to "unlock" it. Remove the terminal from the post and clean the post and the inside of the terminal with some fine sandpaper or a battery terminal cleaning brush. Replace the terminal onto the post and push down while twisting slightly to fully seat the terminal, then re-tighten the 10mm nut. Repeat with the other terminal/post. For safety's sake, it's best to remove the negative terminal first, then perform the above procedure on the positive terminal, then finish with performing the same process on the negative terminal. To prevent corrosion in the future, a slight amount of grease can be applied to the contacting surfaces of the post and the terminal. Light wheel bearing grease is fine, as is white lithium grease or dielectric terminal grease.

On the positive terminal, there are two heavy red wires, a larger one attached at the end inside the black plastic housing, and a slightly smaller one bolted between the black housing and the post end of the terminal. The larger wire connects to the starter and the alternator output terminal under the hood at the jump start terminal, the smaller one goes to a small fuse box next to the battery, through a 250 amp fuse, then to the fuse box under the hood where it feeds every other accessory and system. If the positive terminal gets very hot as the car is running, it's likely that the junction of the terminal and the lug with the smaller wire could be loose. Check this while you are inspecting the terminals. Lastly, if the terminals are still getting very hot, there is a chance that the battery might have some issues internally where the posts connect to the plates inside, but this is very rare.

Hope this helps!

 

Greatbear, it is with extreme pleasure to see you posting again and bringing your wealth of knowledge and wisdom back to the forum.

...Les

 

Greatbear, thanks for abliging my request. :D
I disconnected both the battery terminals, and the jumper terminal block connections under the hood. Cleaned them all.
Noticed the ring terminal on the black covered wire was VERY rough. It had burrs on it, or some kind of corrosion. Filed it down nice and smooth.
Reconnected everything w/ dielectric grease.
Now all is fine!!!

Thanks for the feedback.
Just saved me a bundle.

 

It is kind of sad that mechanics don't trouble shoot in this manner.
Is it that many are just schooled in the trade?

The rough terminal caused gaps in the connection, either causing resistance or arching.

 

Most independent shops will trouble shoot before throwing parts at a car. Some places pressure the mechanics to have a Minimum $$ per car, or an average bill of x$. The better places do not play these games.

Heck....sometimes the fact that parts get delivered one time per day from a distant MINI dealer is a plus for the independent shop...if they can fix the problem...they can give you your car back, have a happy customer, and not have you make a second trip, or keep the car overnight.
Often dealer mechanic are pretty new, and they look at repairing the car from more of a playbook....like in sports.
In general I have found that mechanics that work on many makes/models generally think outside the playbook or outside the box to get things fixed. Dealers sometimes do have specialized knowledge, but all to often, their solution to an issue is to replace a part, or sometimes an entire motor or tranny.....just to keep things moving in the shop...and not let one car stay in a bay for too long.
It might take 2 days to have a head/tranny fixed, but a new/like new unit can be installed, and make the dealership more money....folks that go to dealers expect to have things fixed the first time, often at any $$$, so they often use the most dramatic course of action IMO.