Safety First
Nothing to Try at Home
Leave it alone and call. A technician reaches out within 1 business hour, and real emergencies go first.
5 Stars
Rated Crew · 2,500+ Homes
A hot-plastic smell at the panel is heat damage happening. Main off if safe, call now.
Three causes cover almost every call we get for this.
A loose breaker terminal or main lug. The smell is insulation cooking.
Carrying an overload it should have cut. Common failure on Federal Pacific and Zinsco.
A leak at the mast or roof runs into the panel. Corroded joints heat under load.
Leave it alone and call. A technician reaches out within 1 business hour, and real emergencies go first.
We de-energize the panel, find the heat source, replace the damaged breaker, lug or wire, inspect the bus bar, and tell you honestly whether the panel is safe to keep or should be replaced.
Online or by phone. A technician reaches out within 1 business hour.
Traced to the box or device it lives in. Exact price before any work, you approve it first.
Right parts, tested under load, next connection checked so it does not come back.
A burning, hot-plastic or fishy smell at the electrical panel means a breaker, a lug or the bus bar is overheating — a loose connection, a breaker that has failed to trip, or water that got in and corroded a joint. The panel carries the whole house's current, so heat there escalates fast. Turn off the main breaker if you can reach it safely, do not open the cover, and call now. Smoke or flame: leave and call 911.
Smoke or flame: leave the house and call 911. Smell only: main breaker off if you can reach it safely, then call us.
Top priority. Call (206) 486-6373.
Exact price after we see the damage, before any work starts.
Until we have made the panel safe, yes. We get you back on as fast as the repair allows, and tell you what we found.
Licensed electricians across South King and Pierce County. Exact price before any work starts.