The main utility for AFCI logic is to trip out when a worn commutator kicks up a fuss.
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The hot spots of normal travail occur as localized heating -- like a spot welder.
BigB had me chuckling when he wrote of trying to blow an active plasma arc/ pinched conductor out with his breath.
I was also surprised that he assumed this or that wiring to be in place.
In EVERY residential structure, I always assume tha I can't assume anything. Homeowners/ home owers never step-up and admit that they've fiddled with the wiring... and will never give you an informed tale about what the Other Guy did the last time he had to crawl away from these circuits.
Lastly, three-ways control all of the chandeliers around my house. They're as common as dust for a fixture that typically is used to flood an entire zone. I simply expect to find three-ways.
What's weird is that that particular homeowner should've thrown the three-way long before he got there.
Then, hearing and smelling wrongful things, that very homeowner should've turned off the naughty switch and called a professional over to clean up their own handiwork.
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Just take it to heart: you're being called in because the DIY gambit has gone astray. The damage has merely been throttled down -- awaiting your arrival.
Cheers.
