battery cable question

i just got my new motor in and i'm tring to set the timing but my positive battery cable is getting realy hot when i try to crank my engine, any ideas on what the problem might be?

could be a bad ground on the solenoid or starter? ( only an idea not the answer )

carppy wire. not enough copper strands to hold all the energy. try a thicker wire

Fresh rebuild with good compression, timing off - maybe a little to advanced, old original batter cables - possibly with poor connections, etc. All could be a possible source of your problem. Check positive and negative connections, clean if needed. Also, is the ground wire getting hot?

yes the timing is off, and i used the battery cables that were already on it and only the positive wire is getting hot but the battery itself seems fine.

If possible, run your hand along the positive cable. Bet you might find a weak spot within the cable. That would generate resistance in the cable which inturn generates heat.

Try using a pair of jumper cables from the battery to the starter to bypass some of the current. Bet the positive cable will not get hot.

be careful don't shock yourself! battery burns are no bueno!

Well first off, battery cables will get hot with constant cranking, with like 150 amps running thru it it will warm up... Make sure they are at least 4 guage, I prefer to run 0 guage for all my main power leads, but thats just me. And make sure you have all good connections, and properly terminated wire ends... that makes a big difference too.