I put in a TV & stereo, and put in new power outlets behind the TV, and in the Linen closet.

I just tied into a AC wire in the attic that appeared to only have the hall light and attic light on it. I checked it by turning the breaker off, and seeing what loads were turned off.


power runs down from the breaker box out in the garage, under the house, and up the wall. Inside the wall, it ran THROUGH the receptacle: power came in on the bottom terminal screw, and out the top terminal screw.

It looks like the receptacle overheated internally, and melted.

We finally found it by seeing the stain going up the wall

All the pics:
http://s19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...ceptacle_fire/

 

VERY close call

 

That was a lucky break there count your blessings.

 

made in china C**P! I suppose they were UL listed too...Count your blessings, you and your family were very lucky

 

Did the breaker trip? You are lucky that you found it when you did.

 

Holy Cow! That should not have happened unless that TV was a really big one and than like Hvytrkmech said, Did the breaker trip? Looks like good copper wire and good connections so why the outlet failed is a mystery. Did you have to pull on the wire when you were tying into the attic wire? Anyway, glad you guys are OK.

 

I hear in China the UL label stands for
U Lucky if u don't die from using this crapily made product covered in lead based paint"

 

Wow you are lucky, didn't you hear some crackling buzzing sounds?

I run into some variation of these at least once a month as an electrician, I work on hundreds of rentals with most of the units being built in the 70's and 80's.

I do not think the problem was what was plugged into the recieptle but what was down line, it looks like the screw on the right side was loose causing it to overheat as you can see the heat traveled up the wire into the box.

What else is on this circuit? bet what ever it was it was flickering for some time, you should have also hears some good crackling sounds near this box.



About half of the problems I find are when the wires were "pushed in" instead of screwed on, under a load the wire will expand and contract and get loose in the connection causing the arcing while the other half are when some home owner tried to replace the recieptle himself probably with some expert Home Depot advice and doesn't torque them properly or even winds them around the screw backwards and leaves them snug.

Whenever I repair them I will always make up the line and load connection in the box with a pigtail for the recieptle, I usually twist the 3 wires together and then use a crimped Buchanan copper barrel and then good Scotch-33 electrical tape.

I have build a 15-amp resistive load bank that I plug in to stress the circuit when I am checking it for loose connections.

There is a difference between $0.39 and a $3.99 Leviton device.

I have a job pending right now where all of the recieptles in the kitchen are dead, and I have a good idea where to look, last one working.

I have found arcing recieptles just like this in the baby's room next to the crib with the blankets against the wall.

BTW the breaker usually will not trip in this situation until the device melts and the internals short together.

Jim

 

exactly. this had been smelling for a while. but it never popped a breaker, and we could smell something for a bout a month prior, but could NOT figure it out.

this was in the common hallway with the linen closet, 2 bedrooms, a bathroom, and the AC air return.

the TV finally started flickering on & off when it got this bad.


house is about 6 years old

FWIW, the builder used the CHEAPEST crap ANYWHERE he could
one of the outside receptacles (near the HVAC unit, i guess to service the HVAC?) fell apart & filled up with water soon after we moved in. that took about a week to find, because that was the FIRST receptacle in the line that feed a wall out let in one bedroom, daisy chained over to the light/ceiling fan, onto the bathroom, and to the other bedroom.

i rebuilt it once, but this year, I just wire-nutted the wires together, taped them over, and sealed the box up with a cover over it. good grief.

 

I agree with Jim. I'm not an electricion, but waas taught by a good one when wiring my place. First thing that crossed my mind was that you had you ducks in a row by screwing them in instead of push-in (correct direction no-less). I'm not so sure the push-ins are even legal everywhere, though they are here. Anyway, one more thing I did was to run 12-2 instead of 14-2, even though the circuits are still 15 amp. More effient due to being less prone to heat build up and vibration. Only slightly tougher to to work with. Glad it wasn't worse.

 

I was going to guess that it may have been caused by a loose connection. Aluminum wire creates this problem even more. Make sure all the connections are clean and tight. Ya might want to check the other connections if any changes have been made.

 

I didn't know this until recently, but there are arc-fault breakers out now. My state requires them on all circuits I believe. These breakers will prevent what happened to you.

 

I was going to comment about Arc-Fault but I figured nobody would know what I was talking about.

Jim

 

Did you attach the wires for the feed at the end of the circuit or did you half tap it at a point in between? I have seen some fires from half tapping.

 

[QUOTE=Jim Lane;2885214]I was going to comment about Arc-Fault but I figured nobody would know what I was talking about.

Jim[/QUOT Required in new construction . Here in Tx anyways. I thought it only protects down stream though.