Power Center smoking/melting help (WFCO 8955)
Thanks all for taking the time to read. I searched but couldn't seem to find anything but please feel free to direct me to another post on the subject that I missed. So last night I'm sitting up way...
Forum Discussion
Robby,
Forensic failure analysis is what I did for a while.
What happened here (and some are very close) is that forth conductor was not making good contact and so heated the whole block. This can make the other conductors heat in proportion to the load they were carrying at the time. This is why the feeder was also damaged but not as badly. That says you were not actually overloading the systems design.
Fortunately, you were on the ball and got it shut down before it cascaded and . . .
Problem: The connecting surfaces of that neutral buss have also been heat affected and should be cleaned.
To repair:
Get a tiny round file, some emery paper, white 7mil vinyl tape (just like black tape but white) and some De-Oxid or other contact grease (it will be near the tape).
Take each screw all the way out if it will,
Pull out each the conductor,
Polish the conductor, and replace the damaged insulation with tape
Clean the face of the screw,
Use the file to clean the inside of the neutral bar.
Replace the screw and coat the conductor with the grease, put it back in the bar and tighten the screw.
The plan with the grease is that it has copper filler and will not insulate the joint, but it will keep the oxygen out of the joint.
There is no reason these can't all be done at the same time, but all must get the complete treatment.
Matt
Forensic failure analysis is what I did for a while.
What happened here (and some are very close) is that forth conductor was not making good contact and so heated the whole block. This can make the other conductors heat in proportion to the load they were carrying at the time. This is why the feeder was also damaged but not as badly. That says you were not actually overloading the systems design.
Fortunately, you were on the ball and got it shut down before it cascaded and . . .
Problem: The connecting surfaces of that neutral buss have also been heat affected and should be cleaned.
To repair:
Get a tiny round file, some emery paper, white 7mil vinyl tape (just like black tape but white) and some De-Oxid or other contact grease (it will be near the tape).
Take each screw all the way out if it will,
Pull out each the conductor,
Polish the conductor, and replace the damaged insulation with tape
Clean the face of the screw,
Use the file to clean the inside of the neutral bar.
Replace the screw and coat the conductor with the grease, put it back in the bar and tighten the screw.
The plan with the grease is that it has copper filler and will not insulate the joint, but it will keep the oxygen out of the joint.
There is no reason these can't all be done at the same time, but all must get the complete treatment.
Matt
