Power one day..not the next - what's up?

[MG911]

Hi there, I've found the advice on these forums to be invaluable so I'm going to throw this out there and see what you all think before spending any $$ to have a repair shop look into this.

I am a relatively new AS owner ('05 Safari 28') and also new to RV's in general. I had made 2 trips with my AS last summer and all electrical systems worked well. By the time we arrived at our 3rd destination in late August, we had no power once connecting to shore power (12V only).

It had only been a few days since leaving our last campground so I was a bit baffled. No sparks flew when I unhooked at our last campground.

Upon further investigation, I found the twist type female connection on the cord that plugs into the camper to be black in areas. I took apart the female end and found some melting within the terminals. Yes, I unplugged from shore power first..

Unfortunately I was unable to find a replacement female plug of this type so I 'hot wired' the 4 wires directly to the male receptacle with electrical tape as a temp. fix. All worked well for the weekend.

Anyway, my poor AS has been in storage ever since as it's been winter and I haven't had a chance to see what caused the short. I have the cord in the garage so I'd like to fix it if possible. Does this sound as simple as some loose terminal screws in the female end?

If so, forgive my lack of electrical knowledge, what is the correct way to re-wire that plug with a new female end? I don't want to cause any further problems/damage by incorrectly connecting the 4 wires.

Any help or thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks for reading.
Mike

[CanoeStream]

Hello Mike -- You mean the main cord similar to this one? >>> Marinco GripLock 30 Amp Right Angle Locking Cordset, 30 ft. - Camping World

That's an unusual problem unless the cord had received enough abuse to break some wires inside. I'd want to know the cause first before simply replacing it.

[69AmbassFl]

I'm taking it that your cord disconnects from the trailer and you have to roll it up to store it.The end you are talking about is at trailer end of cord not shore end? It could be as simple as the contacts in the end of recptical started to loosen up and as they did it causes a poor connection which causes heat and then the melting. If the PO used the camper a lot and did a lot of disconecting of the plug,could be the issue with the end. If you choose tto replace the end I would replace both sides with good quality stuff. I believe the better quality the less issues, especially with electrical connections.

[MG911]

Yes...it's the (female) end that connects to the trailer NOT the shore power (male) end. After seeing the photo above, I should probably buy a new cable as the one I have is clearly an after market cheapy.

It seems AS uses a marine type, twist connection as opposed to the common direct plug-in style as found on just about every other RV. Finding a replacement end was impossible in the boonies.

[CanoeStream]

Originally Posted by MG911

...I should probably buy a new cable as the one I have is clearly an after market cheapy.

Exactly. I gave you the Marinco link since I think that's OEM. You'll probably verify that if you look at the side of your Safari.

Originally Posted by MG911

...twist connection as opposed to the common direct plug-in style as found on just about every other RV.

The twist is due to a very small detent you can see on one of the electrodes in the side of your trailer. It's there but just not a very big twist.

[MG911]

The only other place I've seen this type of connection is on a Honda generator. And yes, it's a very small detent but enough that it's a pain in the butt to find a replacement part at your local gas station.

By the way, am I out to lunch on the 4 prongs?? Maybe it's only 3?! It's been too long since I've seen my baby.

[MG911]

Hi Canoe..it would be nice if the female end would 'light up' once powered. One less thing to check when problems arise.

[MG911]

This is the end that was causing the problems...looks exactly like mine.

Female Cordset Connector 50-Amp - Camping World

[Foiled Again]

I know the big units use a 50 amp, but my 25 uses a 30 amp. Make sure you get the right cord. I'd buy the whole thing rather than splice, but that's just me. Lazy I guess.

Paula

[CanoeStream]

Yes, your Airstream would have only the 30A hookup. Thanks Paula.

See Marinco - Products for 30A products. The 90-degree plug I linked to is not OEM, so may have been confusing.