electricaloven
I purchased new LG oven 2 weeks ago and smelled burning last night.
Come next morning, the oven doesn't turn on.
I checked on back of power cord section and opened the cover.
Inside, 3 of the wires (black, white, and red) were not secured at all, instead hanging from the bolt with no nut. The red wire was completely burned..
Is this normal???
You have to use the right size wire nuts, and you have to put them on correctly. If you recall correctly, you have the right size, so you may not have put it on firmly enough. Another common problem is not having all the wires at the same length, so that one is not as well connected. Only when connecting stranded and solid should the stranded be just a bit longer/further into the nut than the solid wire(s).
You may find it easier to use a nut with "Wings" that make it easier to twist forcefully.
Do NOT pre-twist the wires. The wires, stripped to proper length (per instructions of the wire connector - look on the box) and aligned with each other are twisted BY the wirenut as it's installed (some instructions may say "pretwist optional" but in point of fact I find that it works best if the twisting is all done by the wirenut.)
Tape does nothing to prevent or solve a poor connection.
The filter placement looks incorrect to me. Every furnace I've seen has the filter on the other side of the venting into the fan box, causing the filter to be pulled tight against the opening. With the amount of air my furnace pulls, it would pull the filter away at the top and bottom allowing unfiltered air into the system.
My theory would be that the unfiltered air is allowing dust and lint into the heat exchanger and when it builds up enough it is burning off.
A quick image search should give a better visual of what I'm describing.
Best Answer
I first want to comment that you are extremely fortunate to have discovered this before issue before it became a full scale fire in your dwelling.
Having no nuts on the studs to secure the lugs of the supply cord is a serious safety situation. Someone that installed the cord assembly screwed up royally.
If you received the LG oven with the cord already installed from the store or warehouse I would be recommending that you take it back and demand that they give you a replacement that is wired properly.
There is a possibility that the oven is OK and that acquiring a new cord assembly and installing it properly will be the cure to the problem. BUT... be aware that the red wire melted because the connection was high resistance and created a tremendous heat to melt the insulation like that. You will need to very carefully check the red wire from the oven internals that also connects to that stud. If it is in any way melted or discolored then you should seriously look at getting a replacement.