Community Forums

JMcCranie · 05-26-2014, 06:34 PM

I recently unplug our 30 amp shore power from our class A motor home and noticed one of the terminals on the motor home was black and the corresponding female terminal was black on the plug. The plastic looked like it had melted. does anyone have any idea what happened? Is their an ongoing problem? did we simply pull to much across the line? Any help is appreciated.

palehorse89 · 05-26-2014, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JMcCranie

I recently unplug our 30 amp shore power from our class A motor home and noticed one of the terminals on the motor home was black and the corresponding female terminal was black on the plug. The plastic looked like it had melted. does anyone have any idea what happened? Is their an ongoing problem? did we simply pull to much across the line? Any help is appreciated.

Most of the time with the condition you are describing, a bad ,dirty ,loose connection will cause it to build heat at the weakest point, the melted part that you see, is the weakest spot, bad connection more than likely......
I carry this http://www.homedepot.com/p/CRC-2-26-...2004/100398344 in my Coach, every power pedestal gets a shot, and I keep my terminals(male plug) polished and clean. That CRC 2-26 is a great product! Cheap enough also. A shot in all my outdoor outlets at home makes them like new.......

RickO · 05-26-2014, 06:53 PM

Welcome to the forum.

Palehorse pretty much kit it on the head. Loose/dirty connections create a high resistance which creates heat and begins to melt stuff.

Rick

vsheetz · 05-26-2014, 07:43 PM

Yup, likely a loose or dirty connection.

JMcCranie · 05-26-2014, 08:45 PM

Thank you for the replies .. since the issue is on the end plugged into the coach. Should i clean the receptacle on the RV? Should i open it up and look for damage? Do i need to replace the plug?

I appreciate your help.

paz · 05-27-2014, 05:49 AM

If the power cord has a replacement plug (not molded on), it could also be a loose connection inside the plug. Replacement plugs have screw terminals inside. There could also be a screw terminal inside the female plug on the coach that's loose.

Tony Lee · 05-27-2014, 08:43 AM

Also VERY likely that the contacts inside the shore outlet have overheated and have lost their tension, so plugging your plug back in will cause the same result.

Old campgrounds + lots of people over the years either not plugging in fully or having heavy cords hanging so they pull partly out = bad receptacles.

Only real cure is to fit a new outlet.

Since this one is at the coach end then possible it has been partly pulled out, or there is a loose connection in the plug or the socket

TQ60 · 05-27-2014, 09:19 AM

If on coach end just replace the coach part

And get a good one.

Maybe consider changing to different interface with more headroom.

You would need to change plug on cord but it needs to be changed anyway.

Take a trip to a well stocked electrical supply where they know what they are doing and take your melted cord.

They can assist in selection of same type replacement or upgrade to something different.

mel s · 05-27-2014, 09:32 AM

JMcCranie
Not only loose connections cause a problem like yours.
Sometimes it's caused by drawing more amps than the connectors are rated for.
Mel

wa8yxm · 05-27-2014, 11:18 AM

And Ill bet it was the neutral that burned, for some reasons it's always the neutral... Do not know why.

On a more serious note: I would cut the cord back and put a new Camco Power Pull plug on it or equivalent. NOTE: Buy 2 of those plugs, keep one in your spares kit.

As others have said, it is a problem with the connection between plug and socket,, Every time you plug in inspect plug and polish if needed (Alas you can not fix the socket as easily).

And expect it to happen again. (Why you keep a spare)