A quick guide to spotting trouble in an old breaker panel

Did this exact check on my own garage panel last spring after buying a 1987 house and it paid off. Cable coming through the side of the box had no clamp at all, just a roughed-up knockout hole with the sheathing rubbing on the edge. The neutral bar also had two whites stuffed under one screw, wich I only noticed because I'd read about the doubling-up thing beforehand.

Called an electrician mostly because of that, and while he was in there he found the main lugs had never been re-torqued since the panel went in. He said that alone explains half the flickering lights the previous owner blamed on old wiring. Two hours of work and it was all sorted.

The rust streak thing is real too. Mine had a faint orange line running down from the top of the can, turned out the weatherhead gasket had shrunk and rain was wicking in during storms. Drywall under the panel showed a water stain I'd never connected to anything.

One thing I'd add for anyone doing this: take photos with your phone before you even think about touching anything, and don't pull the dead front off unless you know what you're doing. Looking through the opening with a flashlight told me plenty.

I checked mine after reading this and the wires all look tidy at least, but the whole box makes a faint buzzing sound when the dryer is running. Is that normal or is it another one of those things I shold have someone look at? I always figured the big humming box in the garage was just how houses are, but now I'm second guessing everthing. Not planning to take the cover off or anything, just curious what that sound even is.

I'd push back on the spaghetti thing though. Our 1962 ranch had a panel that looked like a rat's nest when we bought the place, and I figured for sure some homeowner had been in there. Turned out it was all original work from when the house was built, just done before anybody cared about neatness. Meanwhile my buddy's panel is picture perfect and his uncle ran half those circuits himself. Clean wiring tells you somebody was tidy, not that they knew what they were doing. I'd put way more weight on the clamps and the double lugs than on how pretty the bends look.

First post here so hope this makes sense. My panel isn't in a garage, it's inside a hallway coat closet in my 70s duplex, which always struck me as an odd spot. I did the flashlight check through the slots without pulling anything off and nothing looked alarming, but the closet gets crammed with coats and boots pressed right up against the door all winter. Is that a concern, having stuff packed against a panel like that? It's my brother in law's place, so asking him to get someone out feels like a big deal, but I'd rather be the annoying relative than ignore somethig real.