DigiDrew818

The thicker cable in the wire harness from the starter to positive battery terminal burned/melted while doing a 5 minute drive. I had the car towed home and the next day pulled the starter. It was was exchanged under lifetime warranty (NAPA) as they saw the melted terminal and didn't even bother to test it. I also removed the starter wire harness in the car and disassembled it to check for exposed/damaged wiring but it seems good. I have the OEM harness on order.

As this was the only wire that burned, is it most likely that the starter solenoid went bad (stuck in on mode) causing the melted wire? Do I need to check for shorts in other areas (wires/grounds/relays) other than this starter wire harness? I don't want the melting to happen again with the new starter and wire harness. Separately, I also pulled the alternator and it bench tested good.