Woke up to this (burned 50 amp plug)

jassson007

Founding Louisiana Chapter Leaders-Retired
I woke up earlier this AM to no electric, we were expecting a storm last night so I thought power was out for that but looked outside and street lights were on and street was dry. Go and check breaker panel inside, flip main off and back on and get one leg of power. Something is odd so I go outside and check ems, reading on it is fine but I want to by pass it so I turn breaker off and go to unplug cord that is when I find what I have taken pics of.

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Not sure what caused it yet although I noticed some drips of water from the area near water heater and was planning on checking that out this weekend but now I guess I will be doing that sooner rather than later as I noticed tonight that it looks like water was trying to seap out from under my breaker/fuse panel inside.


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klindgren

Retired Virginia Chapter Leaders
Re: Woke up to this

WOW! Thank goodness the plug fried and not a fire in the camper. Sorry you lost power, but glad you are stll able to tell us about it. I'm really interested in hearing what caused the fried plug and surge protector. Electrical issues like this alway worry me. Glad you and Joanne are OK.
 

JWalker

Northeast Region Director-Retired
Re: Woke up to this

Wow! Hopefully it’s a simple fix. Let us know.

How’s Rowdy doing?
 

jayc

Legendary Member
Re: Woke up to this

Wow, that looks serious. Please let us know what you find.
 

TravelTiger

Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
Re: Woke up to this

Andy, this is exactly what happened to our Camco plug, but ours caused 220v through the camper and fried some things! You are very lucky!

It was likely a loose wire in the plug. Ours was plugged into a portable Surge Protector by SurgeGuard.

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JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
Re: Woke up to this

Looks like that plug was added, not OEM. And the cable jacket into it was not secured. Good chance the internal connections loosened over time from stress and caused a short.


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jassson007

Founding Louisiana Chapter Leaders-Retired
Re: Woke up to this

Progressive Industries would probably have an opinion.

Short of the melted plug the ems appeared to be working or atleast the lcd screen made me think it was.

As far as what may have caused this I was thinking about it while laying in bed, I had noticed some discoloration on the melted blade last couple times I unplugged and told myself I need to replace the plug just never got to it. Well now I will I guess. Will also check other things but for now that is my thoughts.


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jassson007

Founding Louisiana Chapter Leaders-Retired
Re: Woke up to this

Looks like that plug was added, not OEM. And the cable jacket into it was not secured. Good chance the internal connections loosened over time from stress and caused a short.


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My thoughts exactly.


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jerryjay11

Well-known member
Re: Woke up to this

My thoughts exactly.


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Yup! Seen it many time in the appliance repair business on electric stoves and dryers. Most of the time it is due to the terminals screws loosening and sometimes it is due to the plugs blades not fitting tightly into the loose blades of the receptacle. First sign is the discoloration of the plug blade.
 

jassson007

Founding Louisiana Chapter Leaders-Retired
Re: Woke up to this

Yup! Seen it many time in the appliance repair business on electric stoves and dryers. Most of the time it is due to the terminals screws loosening and sometimes it is due to the plugs blades not fitting tightly into the loose blades of the receptacle. First sign is the discoloration of the plug blade.

Picked it up a few minutes ago to look at it in daylight and the blade was no longer attached to the wire, it just fell out in my hand.


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jassson007

Founding Louisiana Chapter Leaders-Retired
Re: Woke up to this

Decided to just replace entire cord instead of plug since it is 5 years old. Not sure what I will do with other cord yet.


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porthole

Retired
Re: Woke up to this

Decided to just replace entire cord instead of plug since it is 5 years old. Not sure what I will do with other cord yet.


Is it a flexible cord or one of the older anacondas?

If flexible, buy new ends and make an extension cord.

Never know when you could use a longer primary power supply or you have just too many electric cookers going at a rally. Use the cord to plug into another site and feed the electric cooking appliances.
 

jassson007

Founding Louisiana Chapter Leaders-Retired
Re: Woke up to this

Is it a flexible cord or one of the older anacondas?

If flexible, buy new ends and make an extension cord.

Never know when you could use a longer primary power supply or you have just too many electric cookers going at a rally. Use the cord to plug into another site and feed the electric cooking appliances.

It’s a heavy anaconda. Lol. I already have a 30’ 50 amp extension cord now. I’ll save it for awhile and see if I want to mess with it.


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jayc

Legendary Member
Re: Woke up to this

When mine burned up last year at Mill Creek in Canton, I kept the old cord for awhile and ended up giving it away. I was concerned about internal damage that could not be seen without opening up the cord. Not worth the risk IMHO.
 

TravelTiger

Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
Woke up to this

Ok but it is a good solution for those crappy twist-to-connect plug ins!
 

carl.swoyer

Well-known member
Re: Woke up to this

Short of the melted plug the ems appeared to be working or atleast the lcd screen made me think it was.

As far as what may have caused this I was thinking about it while laying in bed, I had noticed some discoloration on the melted blade last couple times I unplugged and told myself I need to replace the plug just never got to it. Well now I will I guess. Will also check other things but for now that is my thoughts.


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I also had a meltdown. Opening the transfer switch I found three loose connections and L1 completely out of the socket. So I reinstalled it and tighten everything up to include the breaker box and the power cord.
I unspooled the power cord and opened the access plate, there I found loose connections as well.

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