Breaker did not trip
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Jar546
In the Trades
Is it a Federal Pacific Stab-Lok panel?
A loose lug on the breaker could have been a contributing factor.
Now the breaker needs to be replaced.
If it was a high amperage breaker, there could be enough heat to cause discoloration on the lugs but not trip due to lack of enough amperage sensed inside the breaker.
Many possibilities
A loose lug on the breaker could have been a contributing factor.
Now the breaker needs to be replaced.
If it was a high amperage breaker, there could be enough heat to cause discoloration on the lugs but not trip due to lack of enough amperage sensed inside the breaker.
Many possibilities
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Jimbo
Plumber
Was there a short circuit which SHOULD have caused the breaker to trip? A loose connection can arc under normal current draw. The breaker does not see this as a fault which it should trip/
A loose connection can only reduce the current in a circuit, so it's possible there really was not enough amperage to trip the breaker.
In this case power that is supposed to go into the load goes into heating the bad connection.
In this case power that is supposed to go into the load goes into heating the bad connection.
JWelectric
Electrical Contractor/Instructor
only an arc fault would have tripped
Alectrician
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Standard breakers trip when too much current flows thru them.
Arcing and burning can easily occur with current flow under it's rated max.
Arcing and burning can easily occur with current flow under it's rated max.
Johnny C
Electrician
Breaker didn't trip
A faulty connection at the breaker terminal offers resistance to the flow of current thereby limiting the amount of current passing through the breaker. So the breaker doesn't trip due to high current. However, I have investigated instances where the heat generated by the bad connection caused the breaker to trip due to the transfer of heat from the fault into the heat sensing element in the circuit breaker.
A faulty connection at the breaker terminal offers resistance to the flow of current thereby limiting the amount of current passing through the breaker. So the breaker doesn't trip due to high current. However, I have investigated instances where the heat generated by the bad connection caused the breaker to trip due to the transfer of heat from the fault into the heat sensing element in the circuit breaker.
You might want to replace the breaker.
This is not my field, but I'd think whatever heat treatment, annealing, tempering, etc., the metal of the breaker connector received at the factory, it has certainly been erased.
