Curious switch meltdown

[Codyboy]

No. The switch is always on and controls an exterior outlet for the dusk-to-dawn 5 hr LED pathway lights. It was odd to find a straight undamaged single wire that supplies power to a garage outlet 25-30 ft away which I discovered was no longer attached most likely back stabbed.

The "switch" did not fail apparently.

What failed was the connections at the switch.

Loose over time.

Car charger gets a pigtail and landscape lights feed through a new switch.

 

[mrvm]

Thank you everyone for your analysis and information. I am fortunate to discover the hot plastic wall plate then to inspect behind the plate. Some people are not that fortunate to discover a potential fire risk before it’s too late. I hope others can benefit from this thread.

 

[gtae07]

A high resistance connection does not trip a breaker. A short circuit or something drawing excessive current, like a short circuit, trip a breaker.

I know. I'm saying, I'm amazed that all the stuff they had plugged into the circuit never tripped it by drawing too much current at once.