any good thoughts on this electrical fix

[woodworm]

I have a 2015 landmark Newport. recently the connection on the 50amp power reel burned out and almost started a fire. luckily I caught it in time after smelling smoke! Its the connection in the reel that carries 120v a/c. The connection ends terminate on screws mounted on a board the contacts that revolve around a stationary commutator. This small part is most important because of the heavy 50amp load the spring contacts must carry at times. the manufacturer will not sell the replacement part or a upgraded part. The best crappy advice was to have one made but gave no specs on the materials to use. Had to do my own research . No one in town will touch it. My best guess is phosphor brass contacts harden to spring grade upgrading original .020 metal to .040 phosphor bronze 510 grade using 1/4- 20 threaded electrical copper plated steel studs as a upgrade instead of original 10-32 studs. I will use a new 1/8" phenolic plate as the original was, to mount the contacts and assembly to the rotating drum. Pictures included of burned part. Shame on the manufacturer for leaving me hanging! **** Trying to post pictures...... Okay.. got it.

 

[Garypowell]

I don’t have a real...and never really liked the idea when I first saw it.

but if it were mine I’d get a good water tight male and female combination plug and simply wire it into the system.

take the old wheel out and find the end of the cord that heads for the fuse box and hook one end of your plug on it. I would hope you could find enough cord to reach.

then splice in the other half.....and your in business the old fashioned way.

 

[lynndiwagoner]

After looking at the pictures it looks like the pieces that were contacting the rotating part were OK and the fixed wire connection was loose, causing the heat.

 

[woodworm]

I don’t have a real...and never really liked the idea when I first saw it.

but if it were mine I’d get a good water tight male and female combination plug and simply wire it into the system.

take the old wheel out and find the end of the cord that heads for the fuse box and hook one end of your plug on it. I would hope you could find enough cord to reach.

then splice in the other half.....and your in business the old fashioned way.

Yeah... it burns my butt to do it . $600 p.o.s for land fill

- - - Updated - - -

After looking at the pictures it looks like the pieces that were contacting the rotating part were OK and the fixed wire connection was loose, causing the heat.

Good eyes... very well could be the cause! Still have to fix or throw it away and hook up old fashion way.

 

[danemayer]

Moved the thread to the 120V AC subforum.

Also, someone else recently had a similar problem and was able to repair the damage. Here's a link.

 

[avvidclif]

There's a reason they won't sell you repair parts, think about it. It's a POS and they know it. My 2 cents.

 

[danemayer]

There's a reason they won't sell you repair parts, think about it. It's a POS and they know it. My 2 cents.

You know that sticker on consumer devices? The one that says "No User Serviceable Parts Inside". They probably need that sticker on this device. The skill level of RV owners varies tremendously on electrical devices. If they sold repair parts and the owner didn't get it quite right, the consequences could be severe. And some people would point their fingers back at the manufacturer for selling the repair parts.

 

[wdk450]

Besides making SURE that all electrical wire/stud connections are tight (they vibrate loose here going down the road just like at the breakers box), I would recommend spraying the spring contact and cord reel drum slip rings contact surfaces with Caig DeOxIt electrical contact restorer/cleaner spray on a regular basis (maybe once or twice a year).

 

[woodworm]

You know that sticker on consumer devices? The one that says "No User Serviceable Parts Inside". They probably need that sticker on this device. The skill level of RV owners varies tremendously on electrical devices. If they sold repair parts and the owner didn't get it quite right, the consequences could be severe. And some people would point their fingers back at the manufacturer for selling the repair parts.

Yeah.... that's what they told me... liability issues... BUT.... I'd like to sell them a car, tv, refrigerator, vacuum, etc.. When they break ... well .. I'll sell them new. Just about any repair job has potential harmful risks. Repair parts is still big business in any form.