Fluke wirenut meltdown and now some occupants are freaking out?

Question

Yesterday we were watching TV when smoke started coming out of a switch plate in the unoccupied back room.  I shut off the circuit breaker and found a wirenut on the live side was melted.  I removed the wirenut and it was pretty clear that the two wires had been arcing inside the nut- i.e. they weren't twisted together very well.  I stripped more of the wire and put in a new wirenut to fix the issue.  The switch is only used for switching on and off an LED overhead light so the meltdown had nothing to do with over-heated wires.
The problem is my roommates are now demanding that I do something to prevent that from happening in the future. I explained to them that wirenuts like those were used in every switch and outlet in the house and in almost every house in the world and what happened was just a fluke, but they don't care and want me to find a better solution.I tried to look for statistics on the internet about this kind of thing happening but evidently it is so rare that nobody has ever done a study. Anyway how can I convince these worry warts that it was just a fluke and soldering every wire connection in the house is a bad idea?

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Your problem is not your electrical skills, but is the lack of respect that your roomies have for you.  It is much like what a husband encounters after a few years of marriage when the wife passes judgement on his short comings instead of a solution for the problem at hand.  So, one solution is what some men do.   Move out and let them resolve the problem.   Another is to spend some money having an expert examine all of the issues and announce that everything is sufficient.  Another option would be to completely rewire the house.  Of course, you would be expected to pay for it and your roomies may like that idea if the electrician is a cool manipulator.  Another option is to ignore them and accept the risk that they are wrong and you know what you are doing.  Another option is pass a house law that if you complain or break something, you have to help fix it.  Which may be your best option here.  Get your roomies to agree to check the wiring connections and show them how to do it.  Have them buy a bunch of new wire nuts and have them take the old ones off and put on new ones.  After doing a couple of boxes, they will decide that everything looks good.

Anonymous · Answer

Arcing is dangerous and there have been systems in place to prevent it for decades.   AFCIs and GFCIs will shut down the circuit if stray current or over-current is detected.

The wirenut isn't the problem.   And no one wants you to solder every electrical connection in the house.

How did you come to the conclusion that this was a "fluke"?   The connection either wasn't installed correctly or it has degraded over time.   This leaves open the possibility that the installer was lazy/incompetent or the home's electrical system needs maintenance or upgrade.   Not sure how you expect to convince anyone otherwise without electrical inspection.

I sure wouldn't be too happy going to bed in a house (even if I own it) without plans to have things checked out.    I know at least two people who lost their homes in a house fire and one friend lost both parents in said fire.

My own house is knob & tube which freaks some people out, but I've had it inspected and it's ok.   Problem solved.

Fluke wirenut meltdown and now some occupants are freaking out?

2 Answers