Why does TV cord get hot?

Answer 1

Some very old radio sets and TVs used special high resistance flexible line cords or flexes - often known informally as just "line cords" - which got very warm in normal use because they used the extra resistance in the "hot" or "live" wire to drop the voltage from the normal household voltage down to a lower value.

Line cords were typically used to supply power to US- or Japanese-made sets sold in Europe or other countries where the household voltage is 220-240 Volts. The line cord was a cheap way to drop the supply voltage down to the 110-120 Volts needed by the TV or radio set. <><><> Cords, cables, and conductors get warm due to the electricity that flows through them. Most often, this happens with cords from large appliances. The amount of heat can vary due to airflow, bundling with other wires, etc. If the cable feels any more than slightly warm I would unplug it and refer to a professional electrician. It's not supposed to get really hot, or the conductor size would be bigger. There could be a low voltage condition on that receptacle. This can be caused by loose connections, excessive circuit length, etc. When the voltage is too far below what it should be, appliances suffer. They don't have enough voltage to operate properly. Typical residential voltage is 120 volts. Check for this with an actual readout meter to see what you have. Overall, if the cable is warm, that happens. If it's hot, call an electrician.