Bad Electrical Connector

[ddawg16]

My mother-in-law asked to me look at the lights in her kitchen....center island area...8 6" cans with CFL's. One light was on, all the rest were out.

Measured the continuity from the first to the second...neut ok...Hot was open....luckily the cans are retrofits....i.e., they push up into a hole...pop the clips out and you can pull them down.

Check the first one...looks ok...pull down the second one and this is what I find. Pic is a little out of focus but you can tell that the wire is burnt....and the connector is chared.....could have been worse.

Replaced the connections in the first two lights with wire nuts....measured the voltage at the last light....no voltage drop so I'm going to assume the rest are ok.

I think I'll keep using wire nuts over the push in connectors....

 

[Fast Orange]

I'm with you,Dawg-I won't use any push in connection-whether it's a recepticle,switch or a connector like the one you found.IMHO,there is not enough contact area or enough pressure between the wire and the contact in the connector to ensure a good ,tight connection that won't loosen up.To me,the little extra bit of time needed to make up a good wire nut splice is cheap insurance.The higher cost of the push in connectors hardly makes up for any time savings over a wirenut,so why take a chance?

 

[Norcal]

That would be called a "push & pray" terminal, push the conductor in it & pray it holds, the same thing applies to wiring devices (switches, receptacles ).

 

[Mark-in-NH]

I am with you guys. I never have liked or trusted this type of connection, neither did my father. He was old school all the way. Give me a solid tight screw or tightly twisted wirenut any day.

 

[walrus]

8 cfls can't draw a lot of current, 225 watts tops, 2 amps max, didn't take alot to burn that connector up.

 

[ddawg16]

They did have incandescents in there.....besides the heat, they were tired of them lasting about 3 months....they like the CFL's much better.

I suspect the majority of the damage was done by the incandescents....and it just finally gave out.

 

[tfi racing]

I don't care for those connectors either and don't use them myself.That being said,the problem was likely caused by the installer,not the product itself.

 

[Torque1st]

I have seen the same thing with wire nuts and crimp connectors. Any connector type can fail if not installed properly. It all depends on the installer to get it right.

 

[walrus]

I don't care for those connectors either and don't use them myself.That being said,the problem was likely caused by the installer,not the product itself.

You push the wire in the hole, how do you do that wrong?

 

[rockwithjason]

i have made a whole lot of money replacing those wago style connectors. i don't use em on my stuff you can bet on that.

 

[Torque1st]

You push the wire in the hole, how do you do that wrong?

Hell, some people could mess up a cast iron cannon ball in a sand pile with a rubber mallet!

Reuse a connector that was used on over-sized wire.
Reuse a connector that was overstressed when releasing a wire.
Just barely push it in...

 

[hidollartoys]

They did have incandescents in there.....besides the heat, they were tired of them lasting about 3 months....they like the CFL's much better.

I suspect the majority of the damage was done by the incandescents....and it just finally gave out.

To many variables to just condem the connector.

 

[LoneGunman]

I won't "backstab" receptacles or switches, I do use the connectors on cans, maybe I better stop, first time I am hearing of one going bad. I always pull back on the wire to make sure it is in the connector good.

 

[Aceman]

I always cut them off and use wirenuts. It only takes one bad neutral stab to kill a whole string of cans, if they're nail-on cans you're screwed. If they're remodel cans, you're taking them down one by one checking connections.

The time saved using stab in connectors will be lost the first time one doesn't work and you have to track it down. It's just not worth it to me.

 

[John Dillinger]

I installed 14 cans in a ceiling about 4 years ago all had the push in connectors. The first thing I did was to cut them off and use wire nuts.
I find it hard to believe that manufacturers are making new and improved push in wire connectors and some if not all are rated for use with stranded wire after all the problems they have had with push in switches and receptacles.
JD

 

[VHF]

...if they're nail-on cans you're screwed.

How come the junction boxes for can lights don't need to be "accessible" as is required for all other splices and connections?

 

[HetrickElectric]

How come the junction boxes for can lights don't need to be "accessible" as is required for all other splices and connections?

Most, if not all recessed lights can still be removed to access the connections. If you remove the baffle there is usually either little screws or a wing nut that holds the can to the bracket. If you remove them the can will drop out and you can access the connections.

Like most of the guys above said never use any form of stab in connections, weather it be the back of a device or the connectors above. I have had a lot of service calls over the year due to these kind of connections. As far as using wire nuts it is best to still use your linemans and twist the wires together than install the wire nut.

 

[tdkkart]

I find it hard to believe that manufacturers are making new and improved push in wire connectors and some if not all are rated for use with stranded wire after all the problems they have had with push in switches and receptacles. JD

The manufacturers aren't having any trouble with them at all, they leave that up to the consumers............