failed plug question

[PerpetualLeakingRoof]

The wife reported a burning smell in the kitchen the other day which we tracked down to the plug on the washing machine. The pug was clearly wrecked so I cut it off but I was interested to find out why it had failed so I cracked it open.

Untitled

• PerpetualLeakingRoof
• 11 Feb 2013
• 1

Untitled

• PerpetualLeakingRoof
• 11 Feb 2013
• 1

Untitled

• PerpetualLeakingRoof
• 11 Feb 2013
• 1

I can't seen any obvious reason for the fault. I assume there must be a poor contact somewhere which has caused excessive heating. My best guess is that corrosion has built up between the fuse and the contacts, does this sound about right?

The real question I suppose is do you think the washing machine is on the blink? It's not blown the fuse and it isn't tripping the RCD, other than this is seems fine.

Cheers

 

[Jackrae]

I would surmise a crappy connection between the fuse and its clip on the left, causing a high resistance contact and hence heating. By the way, where is the fuse cover that came as part of the moulded-on plug. Does its lack suggest the fuse was replaced sometime in the past and if so was the fuse holder showing signs of distress at that time.

 

[PerpetualLeakingRoof]

The fuse cover was in place, I removed it for the photos. We've had the machine from new and I've never replaced the fuse.

The cover had actually gone brittle with the heat and broke into several pieces as I tried to remove it. The fuse itself is welded in.

 

[bernardgreen]

I would advise the supplier that the plug failed. It might result in them using a better quality plug.

That fuse looks a bit suspect, it looks too white to be a genuine Bussmann fuse. Was there any sand inside the fuse ?, if not then it is a fake. The fakes had poor contact between wire and cap which meant they could become very hot

 

[PerpetualLeakingRoof]

Yes, there was sand (looked more like tiny chips of glass to me) in the fuse - it broke when I tried to lever it out which is how I know the fuse was welded in. The fuse was more of a pale cream than white, I think that's just the white balance of the camera messing with the colours a bit.

The washing machine is a good few years old now so I don't suppose they'll be all that interested but I'll let them know.

Thanks for the help, I think I'll fit another plug to the washing machine and see how it goes as it's looking like it's just a cheap and nasty plug problem rather than something more serious.

 

[streetlighter]

MK safety plugs used to be the best avalable in my opinion but they are not what they used to be.
The rubber Duraplugs by Mk are not too bad though

 

[Robin0577]

Looks like the damage is pretty localised to the fuseholder in this case, but it would be worth having a close look at the socket for any sign of discolouration. If the heat has travelled that far it can cause the contacts to loose their springiness and lead to more overheating. If in doubt replace the socket too.

With the power isolated of course!