Many times electrical service panels begin to burn from illegal installations called double lugging. Double lugging is where electricians install more than one (1) wire on a screw to any sized breaker as many of you have probably seen in your own breaker panel or somewhere else. The reason this is done is because there is no more room to add additional breakers, so some wiremen simply “double lug” a connection to an existing breaker because it is infinitely cheaper than adding an additional subpanel for more breaker space. This is usually found on smaller 15 and 20 amp breakers inside homes, and is a bit more forgivable than larger applications because the breaker will trip very easily.
But this application was actually on a 200 amp main breaker to a home. Although this may sound safe, it is anything but. The reason is that the cables supplying the breaker box that are not protected by a breaker, and may become overloaded and start heating up. Anytime you see a bright copper wire turning any color, it has a serious heat problem. Heat is caused by excessive amperage above what the wire is approved to handle. During this heating stage some copper wire turn shades of purple or even green, which is not good. But when they turn black in color, the wire is actually burning.
