Hi, Why would a crimped ring terminal fail and over heat? Can anyone suggest failure modes as to why the resistance would increase? I would guess a soldered connection would be better? See www.kondner.com/files/failedringterm.jpg That insulator was yellow at one time it is now brown and the insulation at that end of the wire is very brittle. The wire size is #10. This ring terminal came from a Furnas Electric motor starter for a 5hp 240V AC motor that draws about 28 amps. It was installed back in 1968. It was installed in a dingy barn in a silo pit where most of the steel enclosures are covered with rust. All kinds of nasty odors as there are plenty of cows in the area. It is quite amazing that it went this long, but I wonder why it failed. The crimp seemed tight but it had obviously over heated. Other such ring terminal on the same circuit are fine. The crimps were made in the factory and not by some guy with a simple hand tool. I ground off the edges which allowed me to open the crimp with minimal wire damage. I was surprised that much of the wire looked quite clean. I am just curious what folks would suggest. Thanks, Bob Kondner ______________________________________________________________________ This email has been scanned by the MessageLabs Email Security System. For more information please contact helpdesk at x2960 or [log in to unmask] ______________________________________________________________________ --------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a service by IPC using LISTSERV 15.0 To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL) To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-615-7100 ext.2815 -----------------------------------------------------