Plug Melted - Potential causes?

[hkp57]

Last night the power in the house tripped at the RCD, traced it back to the washing machine.

Pulled the machine out to find this, what could cause this?

Votes for :-

1. Bad connection inside socket

2. Bad Connection inside plug

3. Dead short in the machine

[hkp57]

4Q said:

It could be because it's a cheap socket with weak contacts on the pin of the plug causing it to run hot and eventually burn.

This is where my thoughts were, high loads from washing machine and a bad connection.

[hkp57]

Dr Mike Oxgreen said:

Has this socket ever had one of those dreadful, supposedly child-proof socket protectors put into it?

Those things are downright dangerous, partly because children certainly can remove them and then they're holding a tool that allows them to circumvent the safety shutters on the live and neutral terminals by inserting the socket protector upside-down into the earth terminal.

But the other reason they're dangerous might be relevant here: they're not manufactured to British Standards, so the plastic pins are usually marginally too big, with the effect that they wear and/or bend the contacts in the socket. When you then plug a real plug in, it's no longer making a decent contact and can arc and overheat.

No its under the counter behind the washing machine.

[hkp57]

All fixed now, replaced with MK socket and plug, looks like it was a loose connection between the pin and the socket heating up over time. Remains of the neutral wire in the terminal was still tight.

Brand of the socket was Vimark which looks like a budget fitting, never seen them before.