Lighted NEMA 5-15R Receptacles - Workmanship - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: RedBeard73
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 16, 2024, 01:09:46 pm
content: Hello,I work for a small-ish electronics manufacturing company in the US.We recently purchased a rather large group of wire assemblies with a lighted NEMA 5-15R plug on one end (where the other end will be connected to a PCB).While looking through samples of the cords I have found a number of what I would consider poor workmanship issues, but there is some internal debate about whether the things I am seeing are really issues.My prime concern is some voids I see in some of the molded ends, I am wondering if there is a void (and presumably air) on/around the neon indicator if there could potentially be arcing/shorting across the hot & neutral lines. I've attached some pictures with close-ups of the receptacles.Some of the wires also have copper strands that are not captured by the crimps, though since the entire thing is molded over I'm not sure if that is a concern at all...I've tried searching online for electrical spacing requirements, but pretty much everything I've found is in reference to standard wall outlets, not molded receptacles.If anyone has advice on where I should look for acceptability criteria, or keywords I should use when searching, it would be greatly appreciated.Sorry if this is posed in the wrong place, this is my first time posting.

author: ejeffrey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 16, 2024, 01:58:15 pm
content: Its a bit hard to see in photos but i don't think it's anything to worry about. The resistor is what limits the current and the resistor package is large enough it shouldn't be arcing even if there is a void around it. The loose wire strands are a bit dodgy, but as you say they should be protected by the moulding.

author: BrokenYugo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 16, 2024, 02:45:51 pm
content: Are these cord assemblies UL/ETL listed? Looks barely legal.My concern would be more in image to the customer. Personally I'd have a bad opinion on an included cord that nasty looking even if the core product is great. Especially in that first pic with the live wire strand that looks to be halfway to the surface, that general picture or a strand or two hanging out is not one you forget once you've been shocked by said sloppy work.

author: RedBeard73
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 16, 2024, 05:45:44 pm
content: Quote from: BrokenYugo on September 16, 2024, 02:45:51 pmThe cords are supposedly UL Listed, but I haven't had time to try and dig through the various standards there to find which one applies to this situation.The optics of the situation is also something my boss is concerned about, but he's also hesitant to just eat the cost of the cables and find a different supplier.Quote from: ejeffrey on September 16, 2024, 01:58:15 pmI'm not worried about arcing across the resistor package, I'm concerned about the neon indicator.Since the plug is molded, I can only estimate how far apart the pins of the indicator are, but it looks to be about 3mm (less on some cords where the indicator is crooked or has bent leads).From searching online, it seems the rough guide for arcing is about 1kV per millimeter, which I guess means it should be fine (these cords will be supplying 120 VAC at up to 3 Amps), but I can't help but feel like I am lacking critical information.

author: DaJMasta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 16, 2024, 06:00:16 pm
content: Very little risk of arcing under normal conditions, but batter them around a bit (possibly bending the leads on the neon bulb if it's not stuck down, don't know if the voids are that big) or subject them to overload conditions, and sure, it's possible. If they are UL listed, it's pretty unlikely normal use or wear conditions are going to cause issues, but perhaps this is something to contact the manufacturer about to confirm. If you have a hipot tester, you could pick a heinous looking example and see what it takes to make it arc if that gives you some extra confidence. If the parts are stuck down and the gaps between things are several millimeters, I think it's unlikely the mass is there to allow leads to bend closer to start arcing issues with large impacts.A probably not cheap option would also just be to inspect them before you send them out. If in low enough volume or short enough run, it may be cheaper to buy extras and reject some if the supplier's QC isn't up to your standards, but I'll admit this is a bandage rather than a cure.