Burned neutral, and possible Tyco Romex splice?

[sciphi]

This neutral wire looks pretty crispy to my eyes. It seems to go beyond the junction box. I'm thinking of using a Tyco Romex splice kit to rip out a few feet of the old, toasty Romex to replace with new. This is in a finished ceiling and the existing wire is stapled in place. Installing a Junction box with a blank plate is not what I want to do if possible.

Photo:

 

[andyd]

Have you repaired whatever caused the crispy wire? That looks like a possible nicked cable . Perhaps from a nail or a staple. Sometimes a short isn't bad enough to pop a breaker.

 

[sciphi]

Not pictured is a two bulb enclosed flush mounted light fixture that had two 100w bulbs in it for an unknown amount of time and use. Fixture was only rated to have two 60w bulbs. That fixture will be replaced with a new semi flush mount fixture with LED bulbs that should tax the new wiring a lot less.

This is the only box on this branch. What I believe is the underlying issue will be corrected.

 

[exranger06]

Neutral looks fine to me. Are you talking about the brown marks on the black wire? Neutral is the white wire, hot leg is black. EDIT: Duh, just realized that the brownish wire is SUPPOSED to be white.

Basically your only options are Tyco splice, junction box, or replace the whole cable. You might be able to abandon the current cable in place, and fish a new cable to the box.

 

[sciphi]

Figures, I learn how to fix this after blowing in more insulation.

Oh well, having a working light once more will be worth it.

 

[Donald]

I would avoid the Tyco splice, but others seem to say it's Ok. My preference would be a junction box.

 

[JHZR2]

Could this be due to the heat from the fixture?

If you could absolutely verify that to be so (e.g. Via ammeter), then Id get either some heat shrink and/or some high temp fiberglass-silicone slip over insulation and fix it.

 

[sciphi]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Could this be due to the heat from the fixture?

If you could absolutely verify that to be so (e.g. Via ammeter), then Id get either some heat shrink and/or some high temp fiberglass-silicone slip over insulation and fix it.


The fixture itself shows signs of heat damage. The glue on the back of the insulation is brown, and the foil face is disintegrating. The light switch controlling the fixture was replaced as a part of a different project. The wires at the switch were normal, IIRC.

Would replacing the insulation be okay outside of the box?

 

[exranger06]

Originally Posted By: sciphi
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Could this be due to the heat from the fixture?

If you could absolutely verify that to be so (e.g. Via ammeter), then Id get either some heat shrink and/or some high temp fiberglass-silicone slip over insulation and fix it.


The fixture itself shows signs of heat damage. The glue on the back of the insulation is brown, and the foil face is disintegrating. The light switch controlling the fixture was replaced as a part of a different project. The wires at the switch were normal, IIRC.

Would replacing the insulation be okay outside of the box?

No, that wouldn't be up to code.

The damage was from heat from the bulbs and fixture, not from too much current. If there was more current than the wires could handle, the breaker should've tripped.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: sciphi
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Could this be due to the heat from the fixture?

If you could absolutely verify that to be so (e.g. Via ammeter), then Id get either some heat shrink and/or some high temp fiberglass-silicone slip over insulation and fix it.


The fixture itself shows signs of heat damage. The glue on the back of the insulation is brown, and the foil face is disintegrating. The light switch controlling the fixture was replaced as a part of a different project. The wires at the switch were normal, IIRC.

Would replacing the insulation be okay outside of the box?


I wouldnt replace insulation outside of the box, but if this were heat damage, I wouldnt expect it to go much beyond the box where the heat was the highest.

What I stated is a protective measure to better insulate the existing wires given that the ratings of the crispy insulation might not be the same anymore.

Its suitable for the last few inches of the wire inside the box, IMO.

Ang again, if and only if this is due to heat from the fixture, NOT if its due to some high impedance short or other failure.

 

[chas3]

Is the insulation still flexible? If so, and you just have discoloration, I wouldn't bother with anything. Maybe mark the wire with white tape.

If you suspect the insulation is damaged, the right fix is to replace the last couple feet. Yes, on a finished ceiling it's tedious.

200W isn't that much more than 120W. Surprised anything is so poorly designed it doesn't have a safety factor of 2.