- Reaction score
- 322
Hi all,
Washing machine plug and socket melted around Neutral pin. Whilst removing socket faceplate, noticed one brown wire was not in the terminal. May have come out of the terminal when pulling the socket forward or may have been out all the time.
Is this lose or disconnected live cable the 'definate' cause of the overheating on the neutral pin?
Thanks, Gary
Hi Gary
Had the brown (Live) wire not been present you wouldn't have got much washing done ?.
The fact that it came out when withdrawing the front plate definitely indicates it wasn't tightened properly in the first place, and you have a cr@p installation.
So long as the wires aren't burned back beyond trimming distance this is no big deal. Just buy a decent quality new socket and replace it. Ditto a decent plug for the flex.
It might be worth gradually going round all your other sockets to check terminal tightness as well (switch off at the board first!). There's a bit of craft in getting the torque right - it should be firm, but not torqued down like the wheel nuts on a 44 ton truck! All that does is to strip the threads and/or cut through the copper cable.
Cheers and good luck, Mark.