On 08/25/08 09:23 pm Bob wrote:

Pulled a switch to replace it and noticed that
(c) there was a charred black mess that seemed to be "cooked"
insulation tape with a small area of something red and hard at the end
where the wires went in and the end of a screw sticking out of the
other end of this mess.

As I cut away the insulation tape, it became clear that this was a
"fried" wirenut, and that what had looked like screw threads was the
wire spiral that was gripping (or was supposed the gripping) the
conductors.

The first time I ever saw a wirenut, I thought "What kind of a Rube
Goldberg kludge is this?" but I now understand that they are NEC
approved. So what would cause a wirenut to "fry" like this? Note: I
had never noticed any problems with the lights that the switch was
controlling, or with any other circuits fed through the wires being
held by that wirenut.

prob didnt twist the wires together like u r supposed to

The advertising for some wirenuts (don't recall which) says that
twisting isn't necessary. But I have no idea whether it really does vary
from brand to brand.

Perce