I received a Toyo 20AH battery for my 83 R65 the other day. The terminal holes are smaller than normal, so my plan was to drill them out and use the fasteners from my old Mareg. The terminals are fairly thin as well. First, though, I decided to try it with the supplied smaller fasteners just for fun. It was pretty much fully charged when received. When I pressed the starter things got a little interesting. It cranked very slow and when I looked down at the battery the negative side was smokin'. Actually just one of the washers(flat) was red hot and smokin'. I tried it a couple more times(probably a dumb idea) to confirm what I was seeing. No issues on the positive side.
My initial thought was a dud or incorrect battery, then I thought, why just one washer and not the other(locking) or the nut and bolt? I removed the fasteners and held the negative cable against the terminal and pressed the starter again. Normal cranking and no heat....hmmm.
I drilled out the terminals and attached the cables with the old fasteners. Now, everything is good and the battery seems to have a lot more juice than Mareg ever had.
Anybody have any experience with this?
