2000 ZX3 Melted battery cable. doesn't start ever so often

time but every so often it wont. It will make a clicking (i think that would be a relay) and all electrical components work fine. then we let the car sit for and hour or two and it will start right up with no jump. (it turns over fast too, as if it has plenty of juice) I cleaned the terminals very well, did nothing. I took it to checker and they tested the bat. and alt. everything tested fine. One thing that i did notice that was wrong is that the positive battery cable is melted close to the connection to the bat. I followed the cable all the way to the starter and didn't find and shorts. Could a bad started cause this? I dont think i can change the started on this car myself because of where it is located.(looks like you would have to drop the engine to get to it) has any of you changed a focus starter? am i better off taking it somewhere? has anyone even had a problem like this? Please help Thank

A loose connection to the battery can cause terminal overheating resulting in insulation meltdown. Not so obvious but with the same possible result, is a bad connection between the wire and the battery connector. Keep in mind that no matter what's going on with the starter (from what you say, yours sounds fine), wires don't melt if the connections are good.

time but every so often it wont. It will make a >clicking (i think that would be a relay) and all electrical components work fine. then we let the car sit for and hour or two >and it will start right up with no jump.

Since you've looked at the obvious things, there are a couple of other possibilities. One is an intermittent short in the battery i.e. comes and goes. This could drop the current flow enough to prevent starting but allow the other components to run. You could determine this by borrowing another battery. Another possibility is the starter relay found on top of the starter. Did you try tapping lightly on it?

As to your other question, my factory Ford manual says you can remove the starter without moving the engine, but some of the work needs to be done from underneath. Probably best left to a shop unless you have a hoist.

This may not be relative but Ford does have a recall on the battery cable, I believe they reposition it as it was shorting and causing fires.

Hey thanks for your help. I am going to try and replace connector that connects to the battery. maybe that needs to be replaced