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TriCitySam · 11-26-2019, 11:32 AM

The ground broke on my chord reel, looking for a 50 amp reel. Any ideas?

gnvrvin · 11-26-2019, 12:07 PM

Don't know anything about them but found this site:

https://www.glendinningprods.com/pro...SAAEgIASvD_BwE

Let us know what ya find,
greg

phays · 11-26-2019, 04:39 PM

Assume the ground is bad at the reel and not the plug end of the cord. If you replace the reel you are going to have to tear into the reel area. Once you are in there you can probably repair the ground.

I'm sure your rig is different than my 2000 Magna but I've removed my take up unit and rewired the connection to the coach. Not really a bad job to do.

cavie · 11-26-2019, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TriCitySam

The ground broke on my chord reel, looking for a 50 amp reel. Any ideas?

Please explain a little more. Wire broke? bolts broken? wire inside the cord broken? Picture would help.

TriCitySam · 11-27-2019, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cavie

Please explain a little more. Wire broke? bolts broken? wire inside the cord broken? Picture would help.

As I understand it, on the Shoreline Reel, the 50 amp cord wires to a small bolt in the core inside of the spool and then a pigtail goes from the spool and hard wires to a Surge Guard 34560 protector, then to the transfer switch.

The ground bolt in the center of the reel broke off. We screwed another one into the reel to hold the ground - it tests fine - but when plugged in, the surge guard goes thru its 2 minute testing cycle, then the contacts on the transfer switch "clunk" and the surge guard goes back to going through the 2 minute test cycle, power never comes on.

gpounder · 11-27-2019, 08:53 PM

I think there is other damage to the cord reel. That heavy cord unwound quickly to it's stop and then got yanked hard enough to break off the connection. I would take it apart and do a full inspection. You said you measure continuity but the only way that works is if you remove all 4 wires from the wire from the reel to transfer switch.

TriCitySam · 11-28-2019, 10:46 AM

gpounder: it didn't fully unwind, nor was yanked. Simply went thru hole far enough to drag end of cord. So we were replacing cord, and ground screw in core of reel broke off.

Smitty77 · 11-28-2019, 01:05 PM

Possible a faulty male plug on your new cord? But more likely, the connections of that new cord need resetting and verifying of proper connections. You already mentioned broken ground...

All that being said, could be Murphy's Law where you touch one thing, and another thing goes kilter on you. Does your EMS have a Bypass Key? If so, see what happens when you use the bypass... But be careful, and test for proper power at outlets before trying things out...

And the ATS 'clunking' contacts coming over on Shore Power, could be going South on you too... Sometimes on some ATS's, you can get in and clean the connections to restore good operations...

Following, and will continue to scratch my head for you...
Smitty

bucks2 · 11-28-2019, 02:37 PM

Shoreline cord reels will often burn the copper contacts inside the reel. If one pulls the cord out while there is an electrical load going thru it will arc and leave deposits on the armature. Then when you park again the copper contact brush will arc and leave a little more metal, eventually it will burn all the way back and quit. The brushes are copper strips bent down to contact the brass armature which stays stationary. (the brushes rotate around it on the reel) The brushes are attached to the 3" x 4" (about) plate which is pop riveted to the inside of the reel. Drill out those rivets and you'll have the brush holder in your hand. There is no way to get to all that without taking the reel out of the rig and putting the thing on a bench. If you're a real crafty person you can make a new brush with copper strips found at hobby stores.

Shoreline will not sell a replacement brush set. They will not sell ANY parts or pieces. They will ONLY sell you a complete new unit with cord. NO, you can't even buy the reel without buying a new cord. Been there, done that, argued, swore, got nowhere. People in Texas has the lowest price I could find.

bucks2 · 11-28-2019, 10:58 PM

Here's what the commutator and brush holder looks like. This has one hot leg burned.

TriCitySam · 11-29-2019, 09:38 AM

Bucks2: Thanks for the info! I'm not a "crafty" person, limited mechanical and electrical skills. Shoreline is now owned by Southwire (who also makes the Surge Guard protector). They no longer make the manual reel, only powered ones.

So, if it is in fact a ground issue with the reel, then I'm likely faced with finding a suitable replacement or doing without a reel. The other reels I've looked at don't appear to be something that you hard wire to the coach, rather you would have to unwind the cord and hookup to the surge guard.

I presume you bought a powered one? Are there other brand hardwired reels out there?

bucks2 · 11-30-2019, 07:26 AM

Sam, yes I stayed with the powered reel. Glendinning is the other manufacturer I know of that makes power reels. Their system is a little different and won't fit into the space I have. I thought for a long time about spending the money again for the power reel, but in the end it's really nice to push the button and reel the cord in.

I can't really troubleshoot your reel from afar, if you were in Yuma we could have a great afternoon dissecting your reel and figuring out what, if anything we could do.

NXR · 11-30-2019, 03:40 PM

Lippert has some on sale today: https://store.lci1.com/shop-by-department/sale.html

Ray

TriCitySam · 12-01-2019, 06:42 PM

Bucks2/NXR: Thanks again for the info. I got the measurements on the Glendinning reel to see if it fits. As I understand it, they have a lifetime warranty vs 2 years on the Shoreline. As the ground is one of the bolts shown in your pic, seems unlikely it can be repaired since you can't buy parts.