1994 29.5 smoke from breaker panel

[Joe]

1994 29.5After plugging into dockside power I noticed the reverse polarity light on. Not familiar with this situation I turned on the hot water heater breaker. Smoke started coming out from the breaker panel. WHAT A SCARE FOR MY WIFE AND I. Luckily no fire just frayed nerves. After removing the panel I found a chard part (unidentifiable. Diode, resistor, fusible link?) that went across two poles on the 30A main disconnect breaker. Can anyone tell me what happened, what the part is that fried and its function?Thanks, Smokey Joe

 

[Andy]

Smoky Joe

I guess there is just no explanation for the phenomenon you experienced! I was hoping some of the electrical engineers on the site would explain what happened.Simple answer-something got too hot! thats why we have breakers!

 

[Duane Cady]

poof !!

Im no electrical engineer, but have had some experience in things electronic.Sounds like what happenned is that the diode went bad (for whatever reason) -- basically providing a straight path for current in either direction, rather than just neg to pos. If this thing was tied across the breaker, then what the diode did was to provide a convenient short-circuit.Current flow increased to the point that it broke the diode completely -- instead of the breaker.You might wanna replace the breaker, or at least check for 0 Ohms resistance across its contacts (power off, breaker out of the circuit, but switched on).If it shows any resistance, then replace it.Duane