How much havoc can one lowly slug cause....

[dcyrilc]

I'm on call for work this week and was called out at 0745 this morning for a dark traffic signal. This type of call is almost always related to a power outage. None the less, I have to check it out. When I arrived at the intersection, the signal was indeed dark. I was suprised when I opened the door to the cabinet and the interior light came on. Hmmm..... Not a power outage.

As I looked around the cabinet, I noticed that the cabinet main breaker was tripped and the clear plexiglass cover over the power inputs to the cabinet had a large charred area in the center of it. The outlet above that area was also covered in soot. Obviously we had an electrical fire.


I removed the cover and checked out the damage. When the power leaves the breaker for the main cabinet power, it goes to a power line filter to ensure even power to the electronics in the cabinet. The power in and neutral terminals to the filter were fried. A hole had actually been blown in the side of the filter as well and a few wires were melted.


As I continued to survey the damage, I found the cause of the fire. A cooked slug lying on the cabinet frame below the filter. It seems the slug had crawled across the terminal causing a direct short and starting the fire.


4-1/2 hours of overtime repairing everything and getting the traffic signal operational again.

...all because of a slug.:confused2:

 

[Transit]

Been there, done that. Use to service computers for a shipping company on the docks, same problem with Mickey and friends.
Ever see/hear a bird land on a 48,000 volt catenary and close the gap to ground? POW!!

 

[eepete]

Isn't cooked slug kinda like redneck escargot? You could of had a snack while you were working. :laughing:

I like the clean interior of the controller, at least it looks semi easy to work on. Parts look like they are right out of the '80s- the line filter, GE PA series MOV, 3AG fuse holders, Jones strip, etc.

The occasional call every now and then when you're on call is good job security :thumbsup:.

- pete

 

[Mousefield]

Sometimes it's those little things in life that get ya.

 

[johnrex62]

Isn't cooked slug kinda like redneck escargot? You could of had a snack while you were working. :laughing:
- pete

Nah, you gotta season them before you cook em for them to have much flavor. Garlic butter after the fact just doesn't cut it. :laughing:

 

[SPIKER]

Hey I think I found your problem lol.

Ya we had some good ole cooked critters , opened up a wall to my sisters garage and found a rat skull, not the rest of the rat, just the skull bit onto/around the wire it shorted out @? not sure WHERE the rest of the rat went though??? We lost a Goose last year at work same way across the main lines to the factory, tripped out the mains and shut the factory down for a good hr...

 

[dcyrilc]

I like the clean interior of the controller, at least it looks semi easy to work on. Parts look like they are right out of the '80s- the line filter, GE PA series MOV, 3AG fuse holders, Jones strip, etc.

The occasional call every now and then when you're on call is good job security :thumbsup:.

- pete

They're pretty straight forward. I'll get you more pix over the next several days. I've got six cabinets set up in the shop for testing the new adaptive system and controllers we're going to be putting on-line in October. Deployment has already been delayed a month due to various issues. After those pix, I'll get you pix of some cabinets actually running in the field where you can see all the field wires involved. They can start getting pretty messy.:laughing: What contractor does the work has a lot to do with that.

 

[dcyrilc]

Isn't cooked slug kinda like redneck escargot? You could of had a snack while you were working. :laughing:

- pete

Nah, you gotta season them before you cook em for them to have much flavor. Garlic butter after the fact just doesn't cut it. :laughing:

I think I'll pass either way. Never had a desire to try escargot.

 

[dcyrilc]

Hey I think I found your problem lol.

Ya we had some good ole cooked critters , opened up a wall to my sisters garage and found a rat skull, not the rest of the rat, just the skull bit onto/around the wire it shorted out @? not sure WHERE the rest of the rat went though??? We lost a Goose last year at work same way across the main lines to the factory, tripped out the mains and shut the factory down for a good hr...

We've never had much of a problem with rats (knock on wood), but mice create problems now and then. I responded to a signal in flash one summer day and isolated the problem to one of the signal heads on the mast arm over the road. When I opened the head, a mouse fell out and landed in a convertable driving underneath me. I don't expect to see him (the mouse) come back.:laughing: He chewed some wiring which is what put the signal into flash.

Had a couple of cabinets infested with ants. That causes issues too since they seem to like to nest inside the electronics.

 

[patrick_g]

One of the lab campuses where I used to work had pad mounted transformers. Every year we would average 2-3 multi hour power outages due to ground squirrels managing to get into the critter proof enclosures and shorting the xformer out precipitating an electrical outage.

There wasn't enough squirrel left to eat.

Patrick