Tanya writes:

hi,
this is pretty vague --
it is a 30 y/o driveway heater (to melt snow) that turned on
spontaneously for the summer.
the power switch (for the user) was in the off position however
apparently it is (was) controlled by an inhibitor of some sort which
broke.
question: could a power surge (for example after a power failure) damage
the an inhibitory item and cause it to malfunction (or not function)?
apologies again for being vague
thanks

Right, a bit vague but certainly a power surge could damage a switch,
or could have been something else. Next time, make sure the breaker
or actual physical switch for the device is off in the summer!

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