99 Gs300 Battery Melting

[MBD]

My wife's 99 gs300 would not turn off once she had started it. She cranked it and it started making a loud clanking noise so she turned it off. The noise did not be gin until she was turning to pull out of the driveway. The car continued to run though she had turned the car off. It sounded as if the starter was still engaged? It ran for about 5 mins and finally shut off; the key was turned off and removed. I checked for ground and everything seems to be in place. There was an odor coming from the car but it did not smell of wiring. I then noticed the battery was melted a little on the front side and hot to the touch.

Could this be from the starter staying engaged? I went out this morning and the car started right up with no unusual sounds. It did the noise once before when I turned the steering hard to the right.

Thanks MBD

[LexusGS400RacerX]

Okay yeah this is definitely dangerous. Replace the battery immediately. If the battery is over heating, it can damage your engine. I would remove the wirings from the battery, and completely turn the car off.

[smooth1]

You may have an ignition switch issue. When you start the car, the ignition initially engages the "on" switch for the starter. That switch may have gotten stuck and kept the starter running. That in turn would have caused a huge draw on the battery and that's why the battery heated up began to melt. It also explains why you couldn't shut the car off as the starter was keeping the engine turning. I think the battery is just on of the effects of the problem and not the cause.