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#1
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Range Supply Line Shorted -- What Caused It???
I have a 24 year old Jenn Air model S120 down draft electric slide in range. Both the cook top cartridges and the oven stopped heating at the same time. The fan and indicator lights worked, but nothing heated up.
I checked the 50 amp double pole breaker at the panel and see 122 volts on each leg and 245 volts between the two legs. I cut the power off and slid the unit out from the counter, opened the access panel on the back and find this: The leg utilizing the white wire is burned and completely disconnected from the lug on the back of the range. (It looks like it is connected in the pic, but the lug has separated from the terminal block.) The black wire looks like the day I installed it 24 years ago. 1) What causes this? I see heat damage and corrosion. I realize a loose connection will heat up but I _think_ this connection was tight. It worked fine for 24 years. It's copper wire, by the way. 2) Would you clean up the wire and terminal block (probably have to replace the terminal block -- if it's still available) and reconnect everything? 3) How close do you think we were to experiencing a fire? Replacing the range with a downdraft model is going to be expensive and a real headache. I've already agreed to buy my wife a gas downdraft range when this one gives up the ghost. That means running a new gas line from one side of my house to another and probably some cabinet and granite modifications as well.
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Behind every great man is a great woman. Behind every great woman is a great behind. |
#2
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Loose or corroded wire I'd say. I've had a similar thing happen to a stove. Replaced with new wire and it worked fine.
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1977 300d 70k--sold 08 1985 300TD 185k+ 1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03 1985 409d 65k--sold 06 1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car 1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11 1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper 1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4 1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13 |
#3
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Be sure to replace the terminal block as well as a more updated range cord. I have seen that many times. It happens a lot with dryers. Wire gets warm, cools, then warms again. Throw in a bit of corrosion, and you will end up with a loose connection that will get hot and burn.
The fact that it made it that long tells me it was hooked up proper
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Eugene 10 E63 AMG 93 300te 4matic 07 BMW X3 14 Ford F-150 Fx2 |
#4
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i would say those extremely oxidized and rusted connections are the issue
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have no worries.....President Obama swears "If you like your gun, you can keep it |
#5
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had something similar but not that bad on my hot tub.it was loose.had to wire brush the threads and cut the bad part off the wire and redo it and all is fine now.
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#6
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All good news. Looks like this is a fairly common occurrence. So I just ordered a new terminal block and will plan to cut off the heat damaged part of the wire and re-terminate it to the new terminal block.
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Thanks everyone. I really don't want to replace this range yet.
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Behind every great man is a great woman. Behind every great woman is a great behind. |
#7
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Such an application really demands a proper ring terminal unless the stove is designed for individual wire strands, which most are not. Those power leads draw quite a bit of current and you can see the result if the contact surfaces are marginal. |
#8
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Quote:
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Behind every great man is a great woman. Behind every great woman is a great behind. |
#9
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I would terminate that wire to a stove receptacle. Then hook up the stove with a standard 3 wire stove plug. It makes it easier to disconnect your stove because you can simply, and safely unplug it.
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Eugene 10 E63 AMG 93 300te 4matic 07 BMW X3 14 Ford F-150 Fx2 |
#10
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I've done this on the alternator on the W126 for the same reason. |
#11
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This is the safest approach and probably required by code anyway. The stove wire has ring terminals at its ends (with factory crimps). You must have dealt with a few stoves over the years................ |
#12
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Aside from being convenient to unplug for service I cannot see any safety advantage to adding a plug into the circuit. Seems better to hard wire to me. Adding a plug seems to me to be adding a weak link and one more place to potentially fail in the middle.
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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC] ..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis. |
#13
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Therefore, there is definitely a safety advantage to wiring the stove per the code. A properly designed plug is most definitely not a "weak link". |
#14
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As said before, buy a proper appliance cord rated for 50 amps. It will have flexible stranded wire with ring connectors already installed. Install the matching 50 amp receptacle in the wall. If you don't have a box in the wall for the recep (which judging by the direct hookup of the feed wire you probaly don't) you can get a surface mounted "tombstone" receptacle that will attach to the wall or floor. Also replace the terminal block. Your problem stemmed from the improper use of romex being terminated under the lug. No way to get a good, tight, permanent connection, which causes resistance, which causes heat, which causes more resistance, which causes more heat, etc. etc. Fix this and all will be well again!
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1984 300TD 1981 240D |
#15
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Ovens are hardwired and come with a whip factory installed. They may exist, but I have never seen or hooked up a hardwired stove. All stoves used to come with a cord attached, but now they leave it up to the customer to do that to save themselves a few bucks! Same with disposals, dishwashers, and some furnaces. If you think a plug is a potential failure area, you should see what an amateur with wirenuts can do.
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1984 300TD 1981 240D |
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