Norcold Refrigerator Fire

Jim_Arndt wrote:

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Well
Electrical fire at AC terminals on circuit board was probably due to loose/corroded connections.

Water environment requires higher degree of maintenance.

Wow, ok, so the fuse would not blow? There is a 5 amp fuse on the powerboard, and a circuit breaker at the main ac panel.

So, are you saying there was resistance at the powerboard AC connector, causing it to heat eventually igniting the wire insulation or other?

I guess I thought a fuse would blow, but I guess not in the above scenario as the current never exceeded the fuse rating.

Scary, as this would apply to a residential fridge or any appliance on board.

So how do you maintain this, after the applicance has been powered on for a while feel the wire for warmth? Learned something new today, thanks guys...

That's a common misconception about fuses blowing.
Think of it this way, with a given amount of current flowing through a connection, say three amps, if that same connection is severely weakened (corroded, loose) it wont be able to pass that same three amps without getting hot.
That three amps can cause so much heat through the bad connection that it can start a fire - all the while the 5 amp fuse is happily passing that three amps along.