hot wire

[jog]

On a service call at a mobile home, one leg of service wire heating up and bubbleing at main breaker,any thoughts.

 

[kwired]

I will assume the "bubbeling" is what is happening to the conductor insulation at a point very near the termination.

This is the result of poor termination - for whatever reason. Resistance developed at that termination and caused it to heat up.

You will likely need to replace the conductor/trim it back to unaffected location as well as replace the breaker that now has a terminal that will never be same again. If you do not replace both effected section of conductor and the damaged breaker - the problem will likely pop up again.

 

[JFletcher]

Initial thought is as kwired's: insulation was stripped too short and got under the lug, resulting in a loose connection on the wire. Poor contact will cause overheating. Could just be a loose terminal lug. Could be corrosion too, whether by water or something like mouse urine (seen that twice now, once in a panel. Critter went phase-phase; rest in place. No missing KOs, no idea how it got in there).

Did you use a ampmeter to see if it was overloaded? Could be that a few spaceheaters are running on the same leg along with other typical loads poorly laid out, causing overamperage of the one leg. W/o more information, we can only guess.

 

[ATSman]

Photo

Photo

A pic would be helpful :slaphead:

 

[jog]

hot wire

Thank u I will try to get pics and post them.

 

[ggunn]

Initial thought is as kwired's: insulation was stripped too short and got under the lug, resulting in a loose connection on the wire. Poor contact will cause overheating. Could just be a loose terminal lug. Could be corrosion too, whether by water or something like mouse urine (seen that twice now, once in a panel. Critter went phase-phase; rest in place. No missing KOs, no idea how it got in there).

Years ago I was sitting in my living room watching TV when I heard what sounded like a shotgun blast and the lights went out. A squirrel managed to get himself (or herself - it was impossible to tell) phase to phase across the terminals of the pole mounted transformer supplying the houses near me. This was forensically determined by a linesman I talked to at the scene; he found tiny bits of squirrel surrounding the point of the fault.

 

[J.P.]

Years ago I was sitting in my living room watching TV when I heard what sounded like a shotgun blast and the lights went out. A squirrel managed to get himself (or herself - it was impossible to tell) phase to phase across the terminals of the pole mounted transformer supplying the houses near me. This was forensically determined by a linesman I talked to at the scene; he found tiny bits of squirrel surrounding the point of the fault.

I came home one day to no power. Glanced at the cut out. It was open. Dead bird by the pole...