On waterboxer engines the cable from the battery goes down from the box
below the passenger seat, along side the frame member towards the rear
of the vehicle, through a hole in the "firewall" to the starter motor.
Yes, it is direct to the starter, but with a length of 10-12 feet...I
believe it is a 0 gauge cable (maybe 1 gauge). Lots of copper. Although
the sheathing on it is fairly robust, it is not inconcievable that it
could have gotten damaged....and if damaged, could be causing the
copper to corrode.

Due to the pain of replacing that cable, look at the other choices
(starter motor, battery) as more likely culprits if a visible
inspection finds no obvious corriosion.

On Feb 24, 2005, at 3:27 PM, Michael Knight wrote:

> Thanks Kim. Battery cables look good up front no visible corrosion,
> battery
> is a few months old, never had a problem. But I will check out the
> back end,
> too. Where does the + cable lead to from the battery? Does it go
> straight to
> the starter?