Hi, I've got a vintage Scope soldering iron, direct 240V connection (no transformer, the cord goes straight into the iron). It dates from early
80s IIRC, and has given faithful service over all this time. No model number marked so I can't provide it here, it has a red handle. Recently it stopped working, to my surprise the problem was at the plug end of the cord, not the iron end. The element resistance is fine, and the element to shaft resistance is off the scale (haven't meggered it).The mains plug is moulded and sealed. For all 3 leads including earth, the resistance from the plug pin to the associated lead is erratic, varying from many K to many megs. Might there be some sort of protective device built into the plug, such as fusing? Strange though that the earth wire continuity has gone. All in all it sounds like a straight age failure, just wonder if there's something else there that I should be aware of. Any suggestions on possibilities? TIA