In the exact center of my ceiling there is a strip about 12" wide that runs across my ceiling runs into the two adjoining walls and goes down the wall toward the floor like a horseshoe shape. The droplets look and dry hard like varnish. I have no clue why they would only be in the one area and I have no clue what it is. Kind of a yellow color. There is an electrical wire in the attic above this spot in the ceiling. Could it be attracting cooking grease droplets?
Pine sap, maybe? Sweated out from beams in the attic on a hot day, then dripping through a crack in the ceiling.
My first guess is a leak in the roof. Water travels in ceilings and walls and comes out in weird unexpected places and sometimes picks up strange stuff. How old is the house?
Usually stains indicate a moisture issue from either a leaking roof, sweating a/c duct or animal urine. Racoons occasionally enjoy nesting in attics. I’ve also seen homes with the a/c air handler located in the attic resulting in a leak from the condensation drain system.
I can’t imagine the electrical wire is involved unless it’s allowing moisture from another area to run down the wire and follow it’s path to the ceiling area.