2000 SEL 3.8l Battery Cable Hot !!

I was just working on an a/c issue and found that my Positive battery cable (the one that goes to the fuse box)was really hot. Everything seems to function, i.e. no blown fuses that I know of. i would think if i had a direct short to ground, i would have a blown fuse.
No component that I know of is hot or under excessive load. As a matter of fact, here is what I have done so far.
-Everything off(key out)- wire cool

-Engine on, but all other things off(heater blower, a/c,cooling fans, ect)-wire cool
-Engine on, other things off, then cooling fan turned on-Wire hot
- Engine on, cooling fan off, heater blower ON - wire hot

-Engine OFF(but ignition turned to run),heater blower ON -wire hot
-Engine OFF,Keys out, Lights ON -wire hot

So, I was thinking bad connection at crimp off of positive terminal. I did my best to re-crimp without disconnecting, but same results.
By the wy, when I say Wire Hot, I mean HOT, as in I cannot keep my fingers on it....so Im guessing ~150 degF or more in some cases.

My plan is to do a complete re-crimp by cutting, cleaning and re-crimping.

Ill let you know results, but if any of you have had this issue, or other thoughts, let me know. If you dont know if you have this issue, I suggest checking as my cable is showing signs that it has been that way for a while.

Thx

Nox -

Yes, a hot cable like you describe indicates a problem somewhere.

If you have a digital voltmeter, try looking at the voltage across the end points of a cable (ideally, it should be zero volts or very close to it). A voltage indicates a resistance that's showing up somewhere. Current flowing through a resistor creates heat.

Sorry, I don't have much more to go on at the moment - but I have an '00 LX 3.8, so I'm interested in what you learn.

Check the internal resistance of the cable with an ohmeter. Such a large cable should have next to no resistance. (< 1-2 ohms)

I can gaurantee you this. If you had a bad circuit like an a/c blower or headlights, the wires that feed those circuits would melt LONG before the main battery cable would. You'd see fire everywhere before you'll see that battery cable melt.

I would simply replace the battery cable and be done with it. I've seen one that was horrible. It was swollen halfway down the cable and although the battery had 14 volts when it was running, there was only 8 volts at the starter, despite there only being about 2 feet of cable between them.

Good luck,

Mark