Electrical issue in my M3...any advice?

Eek. What size is the wire that melted and what size is the fuse on that wire?

If you moved any of the wiring, you may have removed a short…

If you have not moved it, try to check continuity between the melted wire and ground.

The problem must be between the fuse and the battery. (unless the fuse block has somehow been bypassed)

It would take some serious current and time to damage your battery.

some pics from yesterday i forgot to post. will check ground asap.

http://i40.tinypic.com/1i0igp.jpg
http://i44.tinypic.com/2lbhooj.jpg
http://i44.tinypic.com/ay1zxs.jpg

pretty ballin pics for a camera phone, damn

Where does the spade terminal go? (not that it really matters)

That looks like the housing is friction/crush damaged very close to the terminal. I’m betting that it was grounded out to something VERY close to the terminal itself. Open up the battery terminal cover and look for signs of arcing

That is at least 12 GA wire. You need to move some SERIOUS current to damage that shit, so there is definitely a problem before the fuse.

Lastly, reorient that relay so that the connector is DOWN.

yeah I am finding it very hard to believe you could draw enough current to melt that wire and not the fuse/wires after the fuse

Is the power wire only deformed near the spade?
Definatly check the area near the spade.

That blurry cell phone pic almost looks like someone missed when they crimped the spade on but used the wire anyway.

I think Newman called it…
It looks like thats where most of the heat was concentrated.

Newman is the man yet again.

I just went down there and took a second look. Ground was fine - it was shorting on the terminal itself. Looked like the clip from the terminal may have pushed it down in an awkward position.

Anyways, I’m going to clean it up and hook it up again I think.

clean it up, but don’t hook up for a few days until you’re sure it’s fixed.