Hot busbar is sparking - Fixed, pics inside

[GeoffM]

It's in my house, so I didn't know which section I should put it in.
I'm not getting any results via Google, but I'm on my phone.
Anyway, all of a sudden, my power went out. No breakers tripped, and it came back on a few minutes later.
We opened the box(sizzling sound), and there's a spark on the left side hot busbar.
It seems to spark when we have a large load on it. None of the breakers have tripped.
We've tried tightening the bolt holding the bar, but it was already tight, and tightening it had no effect.
Our outside power boxes are also throwing codes, Googling them yields no results either.
Any help is appreciated, especially because nobody is going to come out during a holiday.

Last thing: the plastic is melted under the arc area and above the main breaker.

[Accrdwgnguy]

I'm sure there are emergency service 24/7 for this kinda of shit. Honestly that'll cause a fire. Wont be cheap tho.

[axmarque]

Check your earth ground/stake also your neutrals in your panel. If that does not fix the problem you have either a bad breaker, bad wiring in conduit, or a bad receptacle.

[GeoffM]

That's the second time the grounds have been recommended. I'll check them tomorrow before the electrician gets here.
And it is a rough time to have this happen. All the good electricians are busy til Tuesday. Meanwhile, 90 degrees is about to roll through.

[thepowderblue]

busbar? Whats a busbar?

[Ralphie]

busbar? Whats a busbar?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Busbar

via Google.

[C91BLX7]

pics

[GeoffM]

pics

I've mostly fixed it.
I had a electrician friend come over this morning. Upon completion of his testing he informed us that we needed a new main breaker and the burning section of the bus bar.
At home depot, we discovered that you couldn't buy thos parts separate from the breaker box.
I sent my friends home and began work.
Now, I have a new (massive) breaker box, and only 2 circuits have problems!
Pics and a DIY are on their way.

[Ralphie]

I've mostly fixed it.
I had a electrician friend come over this morning. Upon completion of his testing he informed us that we needed a new main breaker and the burning section of the bus bar.
At home depot, we discovered that you couldn't buy thos parts separate from the breaker box.
I sent my friends home and began work.
Now, I have a new (massive) breaker box, and only 2 circuits have problems!
Pics and a DIY are on their way.

Ah cool, that will surely be of help when i obtain a place as you never know what needs replacing.

[GeoffM]

Ah cool, that will surely be of help when i obtain a place as you never know what needs replacing.

Always happy to help

I'll tell you though, the scariest things were:
1. Pulling the meter out
2. Hoping that pulling the meter killed the main (It did)
3. Putting the meter back in and turning it on.

[GeoffM]

HOUSE: Putting in a new breaker box

Please read my cautions.
ELECTRICAL WORK IS HIGHLY DANGEROUS.
ESPECIALLY THIS JOB.
IF YOU SCREW UP, YOU WILL:
1. DIE
2. START A FIRE
3. START A FIRE WHEN YOU'RE SLEEPING
4. MELT AND SHORT EVERYTHING ELECTRICAL IN YOUR HOUSE.
Be aware that you are about to undertake a very dangerous job based on my guess work.
Make sure you have a basic understanding of how electricity works and what you will be doing during this job.
It'll also be helpful to figure out your energy companies rules. There are usually locks on the meter boxes. I just cut mine. I'm not sure what will happen.
Make sure you're grounded. Have a buddy nearby and make sure he understands what to do if you get electrocuted. Which is:
Remove you from the circuit. I'd recommend a full body tackle if you have the space (You'll get it too), or hit the extremity with a piece of wood or something.
You'll need:
Phillips and flat head screw drivers.
2 adjustable wrenches, for any surprises and grommets you find.
Rubber shoes/Something to insulate you.
Wire cutters and strippers
New box and breakers (Not all my old breakers fit in my new box, they had extra tabs on them)
Flashlight
Patience (Your house will be without power until you're done.)

Reasons for doing this:
My old box was arcing and melting, the thread will be linked here.
Getting a bigger box. You can run more things.

One last note: You must mark the wires with different amp ratings. I put a piece of duct tape on my 20's, and left the 15's alone. The 60's were obvious, so I also left them alone. The wires must have the same or less amps running through them when you're done, otherwise they'll overheat in your walls and ignite.

First step:
Turn off all you appliances, then turn off the breakers.
Turn off the main last.
Find your power meters. Cut the tag and open the latch.
(This was done with a digital meter)
I'm not going to show the meter itself, because it has identifying info on it.
Here's the receptacle once you pull it out:

I've been told that if you jump those, you can get free power. Not something I'd try, because those are live 220V.
Back side of the meter:

That went in and out without any sparks, I believe it was because I had all the power off.
After that's done, hope and pray the main is off. I quickly tapped it with a screw driver and looked for sparks. Afterwords, I hit it with a multimeter to be sure.
Note: NOTHING IN THE HOUSE SHOULD HAVE POWER NOW
Next:
Take off the cover of the power box and any surrounding fascias to allow access to the wires. First begin by unscrewing the mains wires and pulling them out. Next, begin unscrewing the hot wires from the breakers and pulling them out. The breakers pull out as well. Pull away from the center and they'll just pop out. If it's not working, move onto a different one to be sure you're doing it right. After that, unscrew all the white and ground wires and pull those out as well.
Before:

After:



Both afters have some wires already pulled out of the box, which is the next step. Loosen the grommets and begin pulling them out. The ones on the top for me were difficult, so I loosened the grommets, took out the screws holding the box in, and shimmied it down.
Once you have it stripped and off, it should look like this:

And next to the new one:

Mount the new box in whatever location you wish, I tired to get mine in roughly the same spot, but as high as it would go. It is TWICE the size after all. Getting the wires(especially the main) back in is going to be difficult. The best advice I can offer id get a buddy to pull the wires through while you lift it and get it mounted.

Re-wiring:
My box didn't come with a neutral bar, which is ok. We just wired white and ground together. Black mains go into the breaker, and all the breakers push on. White main and ground main go to their respective bars. Make sure to get both sides. After you wire all the grounds and whites (Make sure you get them ALL), wire the blacks into their respective breakers. Make sure to get the correct amps. Tuck the wires in and make it look neat.
Turn off ALL the breakers.


Have a buddy stand ideally placed to listen for sizzling and to watch you to make sure you don't get zapped. Replace the meter.

.....

If nothing bad has happened, go to your box and make sure all the breakers are off.
Turn of the main, wait.
Begin turning on each circuit individually, waiting after each one.
If nothing trips or sparks, you've done it! Put the cover back on and celebrate.

[Tippey764]

Wrong section but you're right about the free power

If your power ever gets shut off here is what they do

They take 2 of the prongs on here and put blue plastic caps on them. We threw a party at an old abanded house and we opened it up and pulled the blue caps off and tada free power

[Accrdwgnguy]

You will most likely be charged with theft of services if you get caught bypassing the meter however.

[GeoffM]

You will most likely be charged with theft of services if you get caught bypassing the meter however.

Or manslaughter when you do it wrong and the transformer explodes.

[GhostAccord]

Where I'm from we have to have a building permit signed by a licensed electrician in order to do this stuff and be covered by insurance. Not a good thing when your house burns down and they come back and see that the newly installed breaker box was a DIY by the home owner...... Just a heads up before anyone else wants to DIY, check with your local building codes and make sure your insurance doesn't do regular home inspections. Our insurance inspects our house ever 2-3 years......

Aside from frying yourself you could be out of a home with no coverage!