non starter

[dave lfc]

hi everyone just tried to start the van this morning and all I get is a battery light on the dash.battery is fully charged as I have checked and also tried my spare one same thing.we had really bad rain last nite so was wondering if that could be to do with anything to do with the electrics.also when I put the earth to the battery it went hot so I have removed this.also the other day when I had a problem with the interior light being really dull I accidently left a spanner from the earth on the battery touching the side of the van and the light went back to normal strength.any ideas/help would be appreciated,cheers dave

[Oldiebut goodie]

.also when I put the earth to the battery it went hot so I have removed this.also the other day when I had a problem with the interior light being really dull I accidently left a spanner from the earth on the battery touching the side of the van and the light went back to normal strength.any ideas/help would be appreciated,cheers dave

You have answered this yourself already!
You have high resistance somewhere in the battery lead that connects to the chassis - less likely the lead is corroded in one of the terminals. Remove the lead and clean up the chassis where it is bolted and also the terminals and replace. Likewise for any other earthing straps like the gearbox nose one and any others that you may have. Check that the crimps on the terminals are not corroded also whilst you have them off.Replace or solder them if they are iffy.

[dave lfc]

thanks for that advice,well I replaced the old earth connection with a new cable and everything seems to be ok,the van actually seems to run a lot better to.noticed the battery light stayed on when I took the key out but have just been back out half hour later to check and it has gone off,thanks anyway