Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 

Go Back   Keystone RV Forums > Keystone Tech Forums > Repairs & Maintenance
Click Here to Login

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 04-22-2014, 03:43 AM   #1
TomHaycraft
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Round Rock
Posts: 218
Damaged 30 amp plugs

I'm hoping y'all can provide some guidance. I spent last weekend at a local State Park. Getting ready to pull out, disconnecting the power cable, DW and I had to pry apart the male plug of the trailer's power cord, from the female plug of a Surge Guard 34730 (after unplugging from the pedestal ... of course!). Male plug of the Surge Guard going into pedestal is a bit burned looking, very slight amount of plastic melted. Female socket of the Surge Guard has the most plastic melted. The male plug from the trailer is a bit burned looking.

Here are pertinent details as I consider what needs to be evaluated, repaired or replaced.

- I always turn breakers at pedestal off before plugging into and before disconnecting.
- No dirt or water in the connections.
- No loose prongs on the cords.
- Plug into pedestal and from trailer, firm, tight connections.
- Weather was cool enough to not need A/C (I was in Texas!).
- Max load at any one time might have been DW's blow dryer, microwave and hot water heater (I'll need to do the math, see what total draw might have been).
- No breakers in trailer or at pedestal tripped. We've tripped a breaker once before, can't remember the combination of items running, might have been breaker at pedestal at another park.

I called TRC (maker of the Surge Guard) technical support and they said loose or dirty connection, or "over current" situation.

ACTIONS:
- repair or replace Surge Guard, considering permanently mounted Progressive Industry surge protector
- confirm good (tight/clean) electrical connections inside trailer
- replace plug on trailer's power cable?
- check / replace(?) breakers in trailer?

Let's see if I can make pictures show up ... never have figured this trick out!





What am I missing (other than pictures!)? From the group's collective experience, what is the most likely root cause? Anything I can do in the future to prevent a recurrence?

Thanks in advance.
__________________
2013 Silverado 3500HD - Duramax/Allison - CC, long bed, SRW, 2WD
2013 Springdale 247FWRLLS - 1st 5er sold - 1 July 2016
2017 Grand Design Reflection 303RLS
TomHaycraft is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-22-2014, 04:15 AM   #2
SAD
Permanent User Ban
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Bartlesville, Oklahoma
Posts: 1,124




SAD is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-22-2014, 04:19 AM   #3
TomHaycraft
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Round Rock
Posts: 218
Thank you so much. Some day I'll figure out the picture things on these discussion areas!
__________________
2013 Silverado 3500HD - Duramax/Allison - CC, long bed, SRW, 2WD
2013 Springdale 247FWRLLS - 1st 5er sold - 1 July 2016
2017 Grand Design Reflection 303RLS
TomHaycraft is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-22-2014, 04:42 AM   #4
SAD
Permanent User Ban
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Bartlesville, Oklahoma
Posts: 1,124
Quote:
Originally Posted by TomHaycraft View Post
Thank you so much. Some day I'll figure out the picture things on these discussion areas!
When browsing the google/picassa albums, you can't use the direct link found in the address bar of the browser when you're looking at the pic.

Off to the right there is a "link to this image" area with a variety of options. Try experimenting with this.
SAD is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-22-2014, 05:17 AM   #5
Bob Landry
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Austin, Tx
Posts: 1,910
The problem is most likely the campground pedestal(s). What you described is pretty severe and I doubt it happened over the course of one weekend of camping.
The CG 30A plugs frequently are defective with loose terminals because of the amount of use they get. They also do not get replaced until a problem is reported to park staff, and questionably then. Another issue is that most people don't realize they have burned up anything until after the fact.
Solution(s):

I would forget the plug in Surge Guard and go with a hardwired EMS. I'm partial to Progressive Industries. Check both ends of your power cord AND the inlet on the trailer , if you have a disconnect type, and replace anything that shows evidence of overheating. Some people like to recommend sanding or filing the contacts, but that is an ineffective fix as the burned areas usually extend down into the connector. If you catch it in the bud, you can do that, but once the connector gets burned internally, replace it. I can tell you this from years of dealing with marine shore power problems. That's one reason I prefer the plugs and connectors that are made of yellow plastic. They are easy to inspect as opposed to the black plastic that does not appear bad until it's melted.
Spend $20 and get a 30A-50A dog bone and run your 30A service from the 50A outlet. They get less use than the 30A outlets and will usually be in better condition. Make sure everything is connected before turning the breaker on, and that's about all you can do to protect yourself.
__________________
2011 Outback 277RL
2013 F250 XLT Crew Cab 6.2L

Bitter Gun Owner
Bitter Clinger
Armed Infidel
Bob Landry is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-22-2014, 07:52 AM   #6
PARAPTOR
Site Team | Emeritus
 
PARAPTOR's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Western PA
Posts: 2,732
Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Landry View Post
The problem is most likely the campground pedestal(s). What you described is pretty severe and I doubt it happened over the course of one weekend of camping.
The CG 30A plugs frequently are defective with loose terminals because of the amount of use they get. They also do not get replaced until a problem is reported to park staff, and questionably then. Another issue is that most people don't realize they have burned up anything until after the fact.
Solution(s):

I would forget the plug in Surge Guard and go with a hardwired EMS. I'm partial to Progressive Industries. Check both ends of your power cord AND the inlet on the trailer , if you have a disconnect type, and replace anything that shows evidence of overheating. Some people like to recommend sanding or filing the contacts, but that is an ineffective fix as the burned areas usually extend down into the connector. If you catch it in the bud, you can do that, but once the connector gets burned internally, replace it. I can tell you this from years of dealing with marine shore power problems. That's one reason I prefer the plugs and connectors that are made of yellow plastic. They are easy to inspect as opposed to the black plastic that does not appear bad until it's melted.
Spend $20 and get a 30A-50A dog bone and run your 30A service from the 50A outlet. They get less use than the 30A outlets and will usually be in better condition. Make sure everything is connected before turning the breaker on, and that's about all you can do to protect yourself.
X2 Bob. Based on the pictures of the male end of the surge protector could well have been due to a well used female connector on the CG power pedestal. The female end of the surge protector is another case. You would expect that not to be the case on this connection unless his shore cable has a pitted pin from a previous incident where he did not use your a surge protector and plugged the shore cable directly into the pedestal and now we have the same issue.

I agree after looking at condition of the female and male connectors filing/cleaning is not an option, replace ends. As you said a good reason to consider a hard wired EMS, then would only have to worry about replacing the end on the rig shore cable if into this situation again.

As far as I can see OP followed the correct procedure of connecting and disconnecting. I guess we will never know what is in that CG power pedestal when we open the lid
__________________
2013 RAPTOR 300MP w/Rear Patio Deck NO Folding Side Ladder
2013 Silverado 3500HD LTZ CC LB 4X4 DRW
Duramax 6.6L Turbo Diesel; Allison Trans
Reese 20K; Carlisle Radial Trail RH/HD; TPMS (12 Tires)

Veteran


PSU (GO LIONS)
PARAPTOR is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-23-2014, 02:55 AM   #7
TomHaycraft
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Round Rock
Posts: 218
Bob & Paraptor, thanks so much for the replies.

In the interim, TRC has offered to replace the Surge Guard under warranty (10 month old unit); therefore I can't rationalize the cost of the Progressive Industries hardwired unit (for now).

I have a 30A-50A dog bone, have used it twice, once when I found the 30A outlet on the pedestal mounted upside down and couldn't hang the Surge Guard and once when the 30A outlet felt loose. Might be that I make use of it more often. And yes, replacement of the male end from the trailer's power cord is a cheap shot of insurance.

Thanks again. Memorial Day weekend and my next trip will be here before I know it. Safe travels.
__________________
2013 Silverado 3500HD - Duramax/Allison - CC, long bed, SRW, 2WD
2013 Springdale 247FWRLLS - 1st 5er sold - 1 July 2016
2017 Grand Design Reflection 303RLS
TomHaycraft is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-23-2014, 07:38 PM   #8
fla-gypsy
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: North Florida
Posts: 1,241
A low voltage condition in the CG can create this situation as well as a poorly fitted/dirty connection. A simple explanation is as the voltage drops the amps increase to compensate creating more heat. I have burned up plenty of plugs before due to low voltage. It is also bad on certain appliances. I would recommend you get a simple plug in voltage meter to monitor. Anything more than +/- 10% of 120 volts is very bad IMO. Disclaimer: I am not an electrician just an experienced camper.
__________________
2006 Keystone Hornet 29RLS (The Cracker Cabana)
2009 F-250 SuperDuty CC 6.8L/4.10 (The Black Pearl)
fla-gypsy is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Keystone RV Company or any of its affiliates in any way. Keystone RV® is a registered trademark of the Keystone RV Company.


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 05:07 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.