I have a Kitchen Aid that tripped a breaker. I unplugged the oven and opened up the back of the oven. I found that the part listed next melted. It appears that the screw in the item hit the thin metal cover in the back of the oven. Part Details - WHIRLPOOL Block, Terminal, part number: AP3861925
I am thinking of replacing this and seeing what will happen but does anyone know if this is a symtom of something else?
I do not want to put this back together and start a fire.
From your description I would say that the problem was just this part.
The problem is that often an electrical short like this can blow the control panel but you will not know this till you replace the part.
Also is this a 4 wire or a 3 wire hook up.
For a 4 wire connection the copper ground strap has to be removed.
Be sure to clean the wires/connectors that attache here.
Any corrosion or pitting on them can cause the connection to heat up in the future. Clean them with emery cloth and/or cut back the wires till you get to nice clean copper.
If there is a possibility of the cover making connection again I would put a couple layers of electrical tape over the terminal strip and perhaps on the cover itself. Or do some type of jiggery pokery so the cover is further away from the terminal strip.