PE> The negative node/terminal (forget the proper name)
PE> on the battery was very hot, too hot to touch.

TS> If it's your lucky day, the battery hasn't been
TS> charging because of the faulty earth contact.

Tad unlikely, like someone said, you should see that with the charge light.

PE> Can you tell this from the fact that it's hot?

RG> Can we tell it is a faulty contact from the fact it's
RG> getting hot? Sure we can - a good contact doesn't get hot.

Thats not necessarily true either if its been cranked over for quite a
while with the engine not starting, enough to flatten a normal battery.

It may well get quite hot even with a viable earth contact.

RG> The reason it gets hot is all related to Ohms law...  a bad contact
RG> = high(er) resistance, and for any given amount of current being
RG> drawn this increases the power dissipated by this resistance..
RG> the more power dissipated (ie, the greater the resistance) the
RG> more heat will be generated. A good connection has a theoretical
RG> resistance of zero ohms, meaning no heat will be generated at all.

Pity that no real battery connection is ever like that and that taking
engine cranking current for long enough to flatten a normal battery may well
produced a quite hot terminal, even if its nothing special corrosion wise.
@EOT:

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