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[quixotic]

I've replaced mine once already with the most robust ones I could find.  But they still get quite hot.  I can put my finger on the connection, but that's it. Any longer, and I'm sure I'd burn my finger.  The cord and wire going each way are fairly warm, but nothing like the heat of the spade connector area.  I'm just afraid that I'll burn the garage down or something. 

[Shadow]

Bullet connectors? Or perhaps PP25 Andersons (they are not compact however their current handling capability is quite respectable).

[DonTom]

I've replaced mine once already with the most robust ones I could find.  But they still get quite hot.  I can put my finger on the connection, but that's it. Any longer, and I'm sure I'd burn my finger.  The cord and wire going each way are fairly warm, but nothing like the heat of the spade connector area.  I'm just afraid that I'll burn the garage down or something.

Could your charger  be drawing excessive current?

But if you want to make up your own cables, I would go with the Anderson Connectors.

-Don-  Auburn, CA

[ESokoloff]

Could you solder the connector(s) on both sides (connector to connector as well as wire to connector?).

Also could there be a bad/compromised connection elsewhere exacerbating the situation/circuit?

[DonTom]

Could you solder the connector(s) on both sides (connector to connector as well as wire to connector?).

No, the PowerPole Connectors  have to be crimped with the tool or else the pins will not even fit in the connector. They hold very strong, you should not be able to pull them out. Better than solder as solder will melt at high temps caused by high current. Regular solder melts at 360° F or around 182° C.  However, silver solder may not melt until around 1,350°F (732°C). Perhaps silver solder could work on other types of connectors, but not the Anderson.

Also could there be a bad/compromised connection elsewhere exacerbating the situation/circuit?

Yes, the heat will be highest where the resistance is the highest.

-Don-  Auburn, CA

[KrazyEd]

The shortest heaviest AWG that you can find will help with heat.
If able to use 208~240 that will help a lot as well

[ESokoloff]

Could you solder the connector(s) on both sides (connector to connector as well as wire to connector?).

No, the PowerPole Connectors  have to be crimped with the tool or else the pins will not even fit in the connector. They hold very strong, you should not be able to pull them out. Better than solder as solder will melt at high temps caused by high current. Regular solder melts at 360° F or around 182° C.  However, silver solder may not melt until around 1,350°F (732°C). Perhaps silver solder could work on other types of connectors, but not the Anderson.

Also could there be a bad/compromised connection elsewhere exacerbating the situation/circuit?

Yes, the heat will be highest where the resistance is the highest.

-Don-  Auburn, CA

Don, I was responding to the OP & I failed to state the obvious which is to solder both sides (crimp/connection) of the connector after it was crimped & connected. 

Silver solder is much too hot for this application.

Re connection temperatures in excess of melting temperature of soft solder....
If the connection temperature is that hot, you've got a real bad condition that will require replacement of components.

Actually I'm thinking that's likely how to successfully fix the OP's issue (component (s) replacement).

[quixotic]

Thanks folks.  I think I'll try the Anderson units.

[Doug S]

NASA uses a lot of spade connectors, the only thing wrong with them is that they're somewhat bulky, which is common in legacy connectors. You shouldn't experience any warming with properly installed spade connectors, properly rated. Something else must be going on.

First, soldering is NOT better than crimping. Again, NASA (and the DoD) don't ALLOW soldering of crimped connections, because crimping is better. A proper crimp connection exerts enough pressure to cold-weld the copper You just need to be sure the crimps are done correctly. Use a good crimping tool (which can be expensive), or learn to properly use a cheap tool (they can make good crimps too, but you need to use them properly -- the expensive ones are pretty much foolproof).

Are you sure the heat is coming from the spade connectors themselves? I'd be far more suspicious of the cable-end connector. Those experience a lot of connect/disconnect cycles and the contact fingers can loosen, causing high resistance. The second thing I'd look for is oxidation on the pins or sockets of the connector. You can clean them by gently scraping them or just replacing them.

[quixotic]

NASA uses a lot of spade connectors, the only thing wrong with them is that they're somewhat bulky, which is common in legacy connectors. You shouldn't experience any warming with properly installed spade connectors, properly rated. Something else must be going on.

First, soldering is NOT better than crimping. Again, NASA (and the DoD) don't ALLOW soldering of crimped connections, because crimping is better. A proper crimp connection exerts enough pressure to cold-weld the copper You just need to be sure the crimps are done correctly. Use a good crimping tool (which can be expensive), or learn to properly use a cheap tool (they can make good crimps too, but you need to use them properly -- the expensive ones are pretty much foolproof).

Are you sure the heat is coming from the spade connectors themselves? I'd be far more suspicious of the cable-end connector. Those experience a lot of connect/disconnect cycles and the contact fingers can loosen, causing high resistance. The second thing I'd look for is oxidation on the pins or sockets of the connector. You can clean them by gently scraping them or just replacing them.

Thanks Doug.  I suspect that I crimped the connectors with a combination stripper/cutter/crimper using a fair amount of force.  And the male and female surfaces at the plug still look nice and shiny.  I always plug and unplug at the wall to complete and disengage the circuit respectively.

Next time I charge up, I'll take special care to note where the worst heat is.  But it seemed to be directly behind the frame member where the male plug is screwed in.