wolfe10 Report post Posted May 8, 2009 A great article in this month's Family Motor Coaching magazine about checking and maintaining your shore power cord: http://www.fmca.com/index.php/magazine/art...aking-ends-meet Check the female end of your shore power cord. It takes a lot of bending and twisting, and a loose or corroded connection can cause a fire. Check YOURS -- it takes only a few minutes and may save you some $$$ or even prevent a FIRE. Brett Wolfe Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Wayne77590 Report post Posted May 8, 2009 Not only the female end, but the male plug end also. Look for black marks, as in arcing. If the pedestal has a loose connection it can arc when you plug in the cord. This can cause some melting around the male terminal. Replace as needed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfe10 Report post Posted May 8, 2009 Good point, Wayne. In fact I "polish" the male contacts once a year with 2000 grit sandpaper. Corrosion makes a poor conductor! One of the prime causes (other than loose CG outlets) of arcing/burning of the male plugs is unplugging from the outlet with the breaker on. ALWAYS TURN OFF THE CG BREAKER BEFORE PLUGGING IN OR UNPLUGGING. Let the CG breaker be the "switch" NOT your shore power cord. REASON: If your cord is carrying an electrical load, as you plug in/unplug, there is a moment when all that current flows through just the tiniest tip of your shore power conductor causing it to burn. Brett Not only the female end, but the male plug end also. Look for black marks, as in arcing. If the pedestal has a loose connection it can arc when you plug in the cord. This can cause some melting around the male terminal.Replace as needed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
seajaycecil@yahoo.com Report post Posted May 13, 2009 One more bit of advise if I may ................... Always turn off your air conditioners before you un-plug from your shore power post. In this manner you will have your a.c.'s off when you plug in and flip the breaker to on at the post. In the past before we started doing this I have actually popped the breaker on the shore post or in the big panel that controls the shore posts. Also, I had a situation where the male plug got ''welded'' into the socket on the coach panel. I had to replace everything. Its good advise to keep your ''prong'' shiney and slick .....lol..... Seajay the sailor man Share this post Link to post Share on other sites