Just a quick bit of background: We are living in a trailer temporarily while we build our house. The trailer was probably build in the seventies.
Our furnace quit working about an hour ago. I opened the door on the front & I noticed that the wire nut on the neutral connection was all burnt & melted. It was all contained
I cut the wires back, stripped them & put a new nut on to get it running (it’s cold out tonight), but it was a bit unnerving. My first thought was that the connection was simply not tight causing it to overheat, but I wondered if there is anything else I should look at that may have caused this.
I guess I should note that this was the furnace in the trailer if that wasn’t clear.
Edited 12/2/2005 1:16 am ET by Soultrain
Edited 12/2/2005 1:18 am ET by Soultrain
Replies
If this is an RV furnace there is probably a 12V fuse panel. Check it to make sure the fuse isn't blown.
Scott.
Make sure that the fuse/breaker feeding the furnace is correct (no penny, right size -- 15-20 amp). Make sure the fan motor isn't super hot. (Normal for it to be too warm to hold your hand on after a few minutes, but shouldn't be hot enough to bubble the paint.)
If those are OK, and assuming this is a more or less standard gas forced-air furnace, you should be OK.
Likely there are lots of connections in the trailer that have shook loose over the years. I'd be more worried about bad connections in the wall switches, since they aren't as well-contained. Also, be especially worried if some of the wire appears to be aluminum (which is not unlikely).
happy?