[Al Skierkiewicz]

Ian,
The breaker was warm when you got to it after the match? had it been warm on previous matches?
I should have mentioned there is another failure mode that I have not seen for a long time. Way back in 2006, the KOP contained an SLU terminal for use with the battery wiring and the 120 amp circuit breaker. These terminals were notorious for loosening with vibration. Teams were required by the robot rules to use these terminals. As the robot current draw went up and the terminal became loose on the #6 wire, heat would develop in the connection. Since the 120 amp circuit breaker is a temperature controlled device, this heat changed the trip characteristic of the breaker. The heat from the connection migrated into the breaker. If you check my electrical presentation (WPI site and linked in several threads.) you will see an actual #6 wire damaged (read that melted) due to a loose and improperly terminated battery wire.