Check those electrical connections

[Vinman]

Airing up on the weekend and thought the ARB twin was being a bit slow but whatever. While waiting for the last tire to finish I opened the hood to see how dirty the engine compartment was and the main 4 gauge cable that feeds the terminal block that in turn powers the compressor had the insulation almost completely melted and the wire was glowing a pretty bright orange.
turns out it was almost corroded through at the terminal crimp.

Unlike the current generation, I cut the power source before whipping the camera out

Lesson learned on using copper coated aluminum wire. Currently being replaced by pure copper cables

And theres a short video of the gate keeper water crossing, 17 crossings each way in and oit of the trail

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[Terrymo]

“…a short video…” I see what you did there. Thanks for the reminder on not using CCA.

 

[Mguy]

And watch out for vermin. In less than a couple of hours some dumb rodent bit through and started munching down on the tin.

 

[V8fury]

That's a pretty good reminder why high current accessories and CCA wire don't mix. The ARB twin can pull some serious amperage, and once you add corrosion and resistance at a crimp, you've basically built a heater instead of a power cable. Glad you caught it before it turned into an underhood fire. The glowing wire and melted insulation were doing you a favor by giving a warning first. Pure copper cable with quality lugs and crimps is definitely the way to go for something like a twin compressor.

 

[Vinman]

That's a pretty good reminder why high current accessories and CCA wire don't mix. The ARB twin can pull some serious amperage, and once you add corrosion and resistance at a crimp, you've basically built a heater instead of a power cable. Glad you caught it before it turned into an underhood fire. The glowing wire and melted insulation were doing you a favor by giving a warning first. Pure copper cable with quality lugs and crimps is definitely the way to go for something like a twin compressor.

I had crimped some copper lugs on the new cables last night but after reading your comments decided to upgrade to heavier duty lugs. Thanks for that.
Here are the lugs I will use now.

 

[Vinman]

I’m also installing a 125 amp circuit breaker at the battery end as well.

 

[THAW]

Bare copper lugs on aluminum wire is a no-no.

 

[roaniecowpony]

Airing up on the weekend and thought the ARB twin was being a bit slow but whatever. While waiting for the last tire to finish I opened the hood to see how dirty the engine compartment was and the main 4 gauge cable that feeds the terminal block that in turn powers the compressor had the insulation almost completely melted and the wire was glowing a pretty bright orange.
turns out it was almost corroded through at the terminal crimp.

Unlike the current generation, I cut the power source before whipping the camera out

Lesson learned on using copper coated aluminum wire. Currently being replaced by pure copper cables

And theres a short video of the gate keeper water crossing, 17 crossings each way in and oit of the trail

The general aviation (light airplane) industry learned this lesson back in the 50s, and 60s. They tried to use aluminum wire to save weight, since the runs are very long in some airplanes. They didn't figure on the cables corroding under the insulation, making much higher resistance, resulting in turning the cable into a lightbulb filiment. Airworthiness Directives (regulations) were written about this to get it out of airplanes. In the same period, it was used in houses and has resulted in many home fires.

Apparently, the Chinese didn't get the memo. They are destined to relearn everything we learned and make the world relive it.

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