Hot battery terminal and cable

[courtney93]

I took my '03 Sportster LE, that I just bought, out last weekend and everything worked great. I tried to start it today, and the battery was very weak. I noticed that a little smoke was coming off the negative terminal. The terminal and cable were extremely hot. This is my first boat and I dont know what I'm doing yet. What should I check first?

 

[seadooya]

the ends ofthe cables for corrosion and breakage, in the line. Came across a fe cables/grounds, where it was broke under the heatshrink part.