Power Cord Connection Lesson Learned

[LookAtUSNow]

We were hooked up for three years and I would occasionally disconnect the powere cord and clean the prongs. We have been on the road 4 months now and moving regularly. What I’ve noticed is that plugging and unplugging seems to helps keep the prongs and I would assume that the female portion gets the same cleaning as well. This seems like common sense, I know but it was one of those light bulb moments for me and perhaps it will help someone else.

[Ray,IN]

Yep, nearly everything follows the old adage, "use it or lose it".

[BonS]

The technical term is wiping. Most connectors are designed to wipe one another when they're inserted and removed. This is what keeps the resistance low which keeps the voltage high and the contacts cool. Good observation.

[jerichorick]

Originally Posted by LookAtUSNow

We were hooked up for three years and I would occasionally disconnect the powere cord and clean the prongs. We have been on the road 4 months now and moving regularly. What I’ve noticed is that plugging and unplugging seems to helps keep the prongs and I would assume that the female portion gets the same cleaning as well. This seems like common sense, I know but it was one of those light bulb moments for me and perhaps it will help someone else.

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[THenne1713]

Trick is making sure A/C is OFF so you are not throwing big arcs and not putting metal tits/ poor connections on (otherwise smooth) plug prongs/ receptacle wipers :-)

[Cliffy]

Same goes when you first plug into a power post. Make sure the breakers are off or you get the big arc and pitting on the connector pins also.

[gatorcq]

1713, they design equipment with this in mind, as not everyone remembers to turn off breakers.

Can you imagine, the problem, if they did not take this into consideration? Oops, that is why relays are made to make/break connections.
Seriously, system are ove design to not fail, you people forget to turn of breaker

[jerichorick]

We are responsible as to how we use our equipment. The manufactures of the various components in our RVs uses the minimum requirements necessary to get the thing to work. Any outside of design spec occurrence could damage the what ever it is.
Shutting off heavy loads before disconnecting is a good practice to get into. Shutting off the pedestal breaker before connecting and disconnecting is also a good habit to get into. Might save you from some expensive repairs and will help to keep your AC dependent equipment working longer by avoiding the surges when plugging in. This is rarely a smooth, clean insertion process.
JMTC.
Rick

[Solo_RV_Guy]

Originally Posted by jerichorick

We are responsible as to how we use our equipment. The manufactures of the various components in our RVs uses the minimum requirements necessary to get the thing to work. Any outside of design spec occurrence could damage the what ever it is.
Shutting off heavy loads before disconnecting is a good practice to get into. Shutting off the pedestal breaker before connecting and disconnecting is also a good habit to get into. Might save you from some expensive repairs and will help to keep your AC dependent equipment working longer by avoiding the surges when plugging in. This is rarely a smooth, clean insertion process.
JMTC.
Rick

Yes, yes, and yes!


And aside from the eventual damage to the plug contact blades and outlet contacts, plugging in "hot and loaded" creates an arc flash.


Those are potentially dangerous to the person doing the plugging/unplugging and if there are gasoline fumes or propane leak there is an explosion potential. The danger to the person from the arc flash itself can be vision damage, severe burns, and cardiac events that can lead to death.


Not to be trifled with and very easy to avoid. At the very least the circuit breakers at the CG pedestal should be turned off prior to connecting or disconnecting. Only takes a second, too!


Safe travels, good luck, and lots of fun to you and Mrs Rick!

[jerichorick]

Originally Posted by Solo_RV_Guy

Yes, yes, and yes!


And aside from the eventual damage to the plug contact blades and outlet contacts, plugging in "hot and loaded" creates an arc flash.


Those are potentially dangerous to the person doing the plugging/unplugging and if there are gasoline fumes or propane leak there is an explosion potential. The danger to the person from the arc flash itself can be vision damage, severe burns, and cardiac events that can lead to death.


Not to be trifled with and very easy to avoid. At the very least the circuit breakers at the CG pedestal should be turned off prior to connecting or disconnecting. Only takes a second, too!


Safe travels, good luck, and lots of fun to you and Mrs Rick!

Some of the camps we volunteer at have very poor RV power setups. You have to hunt down the site breaker or turn off your in coach main first before plugging in. Encouraging these camps to upgrade is an active part of my volunteering. Been in more than one ditch pulling in new wire! Wouldn't trade what I am doing for anything here on earth!

[corjaguar]

I have a hardwired surge protector in our coach.....what I have been doing for the past 5 years, is with a progressive 50 amp surge protector( stand alone box),I make sure the power/breaker is off at the stanchion, plug in the stand alone and flip the breaker on. This way I am checking for a bad receptacle and checking for the correct lights on the box.
Flip the breaker off, disconnect the stand alone and now I feel that I am fairly safe to power up the shore cable.


In all those years, I have had one occasion where as the stand alone has saved me from doing damage to the coach.

[NITEHAWK]

Please keep in mind that, if you have the 7 pin hookup on your towing vehicle it might behoove you to check and clean those connections also.
I was having problems with my 7 pin cord to the coach.
I scraped the female connector on the coach and spread the contacts a little bit.
Result: no more problems with lights not working on the towed.