battery cable starter block (box) 2000 silverado 1500

[wags1223]

This past weekend the battery light came on in my car and i barely made it home before my battery was completely drained. I put it on charger and took the truck to the dealer. The diagnosis was that the Battery Cable Starter Block was bad and needed to be replaced. The part was not in stock. This block or box is the red box with the positive battery cable inside is to be used to jump a vehicle. Recently I did jump the neighbor. I took this box out and it appears that this connection got so hot that it melted through the backside. I believe it probably caused a short at this point and acted as the battery drain. The question I have for this forum body is:

- Does it make sense that this connection could be the complete problem?

- What could have caused this connection to get so hot?

Added data. I am still waiting for the box to come in. But decided to run the truck to see if I still had battery drain. While doing so, the wire that goes from this box to what I believe is the Generator got extremely hot (couldn't hold on to it for more than 2 seconds) after running the car for about 12 minutes. This doesn't seem normal and may be the source of the heat? Why would this wire get so hot unless there was another problem somewhere else in the electrical system. Also, my gas guage while I was running was going from empty to full and back again. The rest of the guages looked fine.

Thanks All.

Tim in Oregon

[jethro_3]

Sounds like the Alternator's internal regulator is going out, possible overcharge causing the heat. Did they check the alternator output at idle and with a higher RPM? Go to an Autozone and have them check the alt for free.....

Just my