burnt out connector

[rhinosaw]

just wondered what might of caused this burnt out and melted connector on the neutral side.
Ordinary ceiling light cable, load about 500w max, cable been there for about 15 yrs, no problem before? live is ok on a slightly larger connector.

 

[crystal ball]

Connection could have loosened over the years

 

[Mottie]

Or been loose right from the start.

 

[EFLImpudence]

Yes.

cable been there for about 15 yrs, no problem before?

Before what and when was it?

 

[rhinosaw]

Thanks, I was hoping that someone would say something like that and not a more sinister reason

 

[ban-all-sheds]

What "sinister reason(s)" were you imagining?

 

[rhinosaw]

Sinister reasons were, knackered wiring in the flat, bodge up on my part somewhere along the line, my old fuse box giving up the ghost, shall I go on? That raises the question , if I had a new style box with mcb protection would it have picked up the problem and tripped?

 

[EFLImpudence]

No.

 

[rhinosaw]

Ok impudence, interesting, oh & thanks

 

[securespark]

Some interesting psychology might suggest the reason why it is often the neutral that fails: Subconciously, the live connection is tightened up more than the neutral as it is possibly seen as the more important conductor.

The same is sometimes seen inside switches.

 

[rhinosaw]

Thanks SS
I was wondering why the neutral, surely all the load goes thru on the live, in my cable it's red.

 

[winston1]

Thanks SS
I was wondering why the neutral, surely all the load goes thru on the live, in my cable it's red.

And returns on the neutral.

 

[crystal ball]

Some interesting psychology might suggest the reason why it is often the neutral that fails: Subconciously, the live connection is tightened up more than the neutral as it is possibly seen as the more important conductor.

The same is sometimes seen inside switches.

I think every burnt out shower switch I have changed had a burnt neutral

 

[EFLImpudence]

...and immersion timers.

I have heard the suspected reason before but it does seem odd.

 

[bernardgreen]

It is quite simple. After a hard day's work some people go out to relax with a few drinks. Some get a bit too drunk and let their hair down. This ends with them causing trouble vandalising things.

Electrons are the same. After struggling through a white hot filament and/or a tightly coiled wire in a motor they get onto the easy path back home on the Neutral and some of them let their hair down and vandalise things, Any connector they find on the way home is fair game to be vandalised........