I posted in Everything Else, but have linked to it here as it my reach a wider audience.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/everything-else/258201-tacima-irf123-mains-conditioner.html
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/everything-else/258201-tacima-irf123-mains-conditioner.html
Yes, those were my thoughts. The track is flimsy to say the least. However the fuse did not blow. Maybe 13A is too big given AndrewT's comments.
The cause of the fault is a bad solder joint, where the arcing/blackening is....the solder has not disappeared, it was never there in the first case.
Resolder the whole pcb, remove flux with solvent and you should be good to go.
I have seen exactly this fault many times.
Dan.
I've also seen weak solder joints fail like that when other parts further in have failed (but not showing gross damage). So I suggest there is a chance that just resoldering the joint may not be the end of it, in which case it may be prudent to use a lower current fuse initially without loads. But I don't know what is in the conditioner as you haven't linked to the product description 
Missed By That Much....
English plugs are fused internally, unlike Aus or the rest of the world.
The brief fault current merely revealed the substandard solder joint in the power conditioner.
The fault cause is poor solder ability of the brass connection lug, combined with substandard design and poor assembly process.
The substandard design is that the unmasked solder areas should have been a little larger, elsewise the whole design looks to be perfectly ok.
The poor process is inadequate heat during soldering, insufficient solder, and substandard final inspection/QA.
Dan.
English plugs are fused internally, unlike Aus or the rest of the world.
The brief fault current merely revealed the substandard solder joint in the power conditioner.
The fault cause is poor solder ability of the brass connection lug, combined with substandard design and poor assembly process.
The substandard design is that the unmasked solder areas should have been a little larger, elsewise the whole design looks to be perfectly ok.
The poor process is inadequate heat during soldering, insufficient solder, and substandard final inspection/QA.
Dan.
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Tacima - Pattrick Brothers Communications Ltd.
The packaging looks good, inside looks fine, just one bad solder joint that got through.
GPB200 is not cheap !.
Dan.
Thanks for all your replies. I have bridged the neutral lead point to the nearest component on the board and it is working. I have not yet tested it under any loads. Should I consider a lower rated mains fuse, or in the light of the above comments, the poor quality of the board is the culprit here?
Your filter box will be just fine.
Stay with recommended fuses...your failure was a production caused fault, not a design fault.
IME, ferrite attenuates HF/RF, but can add a grainy noise to the audio.
If this box were mine, I would try removing the central ferrite core of the coil that is in series with the earth track.....maybe better sounding, maybe not ?.
Dan.
PS - The earth circuit heavy wire coil stays, just the ferrite goes.
Stay with recommended fuses...your failure was a production caused fault, not a design fault.
IME, ferrite attenuates HF/RF, but can add a grainy noise to the audio.
If this box were mine, I would try removing the central ferrite core of the coil that is in series with the earth track.....maybe better sounding, maybe not ?.
Dan.
PS - The earth circuit heavy wire coil stays, just the ferrite goes.
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