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Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz
Add to this the practice of charging with alligator clips which damage the connectors, partially engaged connectors, dirt and other contaniments, and the resistance at the terminals of the connector skyrocket. This increased resistance translates the high current to heat and the connector fails.
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On this same subject....
after the battery connector in that picture was melted, i brought it over to a FIRST employee who happened to be at the UTC scrimmage, he took them back to FIRST to have them looked at.
The conclusion they reached was that there was an intermittent connection. Since the connector was not connected at the time the high current flowed, it arced and started melting through the plastic. This could have been caused by either someone not connecting them fully together, or by the extensive use of alligator clips, which resulted in a rough surface on the metal connectors.
Moral of the story here is make sure whatever you use, they are firmly connected together, and firm enough to hold through the match. The FIRST provided connectors are safe, so long as you check them before the matches. Having a mating connector on your chargers instead of alligator clips helps also.
Tom