New 50amp Plug?

Topic: New 50amp Plug? (Read 1195 times) previous topic - next topic

New 50amp Plug?

August 03, 2012, 03:54:15 pm

Today I unplugged the coach and when I plugged it back in, through a Progressive Industries box, I could not get power to the coach. Both lines were dead. Checked the main circuit breakers and they were fine. The PE box lit up with the usual info indicating I had good voltage and no errors (E=0). The PE box clicked after a couple of minutes, as it usually does, but no power in the coach.

Then plugged in the coach without the PE box and only had power to one leg (line 2 had 118volts, line 1 1 volt). I was finally able to get both legs with power after I moved the plug around in the receptacle, again without the PE box. Tried the same with the PE box, but could never get power.... none. So I plugged in the coach without the PE box and moved the cord until I got power in both legs.

This sounds like I might have a bad plug. Any other ideas as to what the problem might be?

Assuming it is a plug problem, does anyone have suggestions as to what brand of replacement plug I should get? The one shown below looks OK. I have found plugs for 3 or 4 wire cables. Does FT use 4 wires? Gauge?

Other tips?

Thanks in advance.

Re: New 50amp Plug?

Reply #1 – August 03, 2012, 04:10:43 pm

Quote from: George Hatfield – August 03, 2012, 03:54:15 pm

Then plugged in the coach without the PE box and only had power to one leg (line 2 had 118volts, line 1 1 volt). I was finally able to get both legs with power after I moved the plug around in the receptacle, again without the PE box. Tried the same with the PE box, but could never get power.... none. So I plugged in the coach without the PE box and moved the cord until I got power in both legs.

This sounds like I might have a bad plug. Any other ideas as to what the problem might be?

George,

I would investigate the receptacle you're plugging into at the park. Wiggling around to get and lose power on one leg would have me think the contacts of the park outlet are bad, could be corroded, or that the wiring could be loose in them. Also, if you have to wiggle to get power, you're not making a solid connection between plug blades/lugs and the outlet contacts. Poor connection could lead to arcing between the plug/outlet contacts, which could damage your shore plug.

Can you move and try another site?

Michelle

ETA I missed the part about the Progressive not showing an error. If it is your shore cord, be careful for the same reason - if the problem is a weak/damaged component of the plug end of the shore cord (like a loose lug/blade or wiring), the plug could get quite hot from the high resistance of the poor connection (especially as you draw higher amps).

We had to replace our shore plug due to a loose lug back in 2010. Bought it at CW and I don't recall the brand, but it's yellow with a assist handle. Looks similar to the one in the photo you posted.

Re: New 50amp Plug?

Reply #2 – August 03, 2012, 04:24:03 pm

Michelle..... Thanks for your thoughts. Here are the reasons I don't think it is the female plug in the park power connection.

1. The PE box seems to work fine and displays voltages and no error code. It clicks on after the usual 2 minutes, but no power to the coach. So I am thinking the problem is between the PE box and the coach.

2. The PE box female plug is very tight... might not allow the male cord plug the move enough to make good contact. While the power female plug is pretty loose. Without the PE box, the power inside is 122/121. The cord plug is not hot.

3. And finally, I have reason to believe that the male plug on my cord was damaged a few months back. I won't go into the details, but I bet you can guess.

Re: New 50amp Plug?

Reply #3 – August 03, 2012, 04:58:00 pm

George,

If you know the plug is bad and you are trying to get by....Menard's and others sell four prong "dryer plugs" for about $14.. Just match the pin arrangement, then replace your old plug.

Quote

<This sounds like I might have a bad plug. Any other ideas as to what the problem might be?

Assuming it is a plug problem, does anyone have suggestions as to what brand of replacement plug I should get? The one shown below looks OK. I have found plugs for 3 or 4 wire cables. Does FT use 4 wires? Gauge?

Other tips?

George Hatfield>

Re: New 50amp Plug?

Reply #4 – August 03, 2012, 05:19:11 pm

Marinco brand marine 50 amp plugs.

Re: New 50amp Plug?

Reply #5 – August 03, 2012, 05:45:52 pm

My molded 50 amp male plug also went into dead mode, lost the neutral line, replaced the male connector with one that looked like the one in your picture, it has the handle to pull, love it. Anyway, it has the better wire clamping lugs inside, so was able to do a very neat clean retro fit, looks and works great.
Luck
Dave M

Re: New 50amp Plug?

Reply #6 – August 03, 2012, 05:46:47 pm

Quote from: George Hatfield – August 03, 2012, 04:24:03 pm

Michelle..... Thanks for your thoughts. Here are the reasons I don't think it is the female plug in the park power connection.

George - see my message edit above; I'd missed the Progressive no-error details

Quote

3. And finally, I have reason to believe that the male plug on my cord was damaged a few months back. I won't go into the details, but I bet you can guess.

Power cord reel, eh? That's what got ours (pulled it in too far, jamming under the bar once too many times and one of the blades loosened up).

-M

Re: New 50amp Plug?

Reply #7 – August 03, 2012, 05:53:59 pm

Far more stupid than the power cord reel going too far! But the plug has worked fine since the incident so I have not given it any more thought until today. Hate being without the Progressive Industries Box.... thunderstorm passing over Asheville as I write this, but hopefully the surge protector in the coach will provide some protection. I will order a new plug and go from there.

Re: New 50amp Plug?

Reply #8 – August 03, 2012, 06:39:21 pm

I wouldn't use a "dryer" plug on a shore power line. You need something that is waterproof. I don't know from personal experience, but I would assume that if you were using a plug or cord that wasn't rated for outdoor use and you had a fire/accident, your insurance company might use that as an excuse not to pay.

There was a post a week or two back that had a link to a really good site that had lots of good electrical information. I thought I had it bookmarked, but I don't see it right now. I'll look for it tonight and if I find it I'll share it on this thread. I'll also make sure that it IS bookmarked.

Re: New 50amp Plug?

Reply #9 – August 03, 2012, 07:02:36 pm

Quote from: kb0zke – August 03, 2012, 06:39:21 pm

..................................There was a post a week or two back that had a link to a really good site that had lots of good electrical information. I thought I had it bookmarked, but I don't see it right now. I'll look for it tonight and if I find it I'll share it on this thread. I'll also make sure that it IS bookmarked..............................

David,
Maybe this RV Electrical reference?
RV Electric
This is one of the better references.
Neal

Re: New 50amp Plug?

Reply #10 – August 03, 2012, 07:21:09 pm

George, I replaced our male plug with the type you show from Amazon. Easy to follow directions and it works great with the built in handle for pushing it in and taking it out of a receptacle.
It was hard to get a good grip with the original one. I was glad I replaced it.

Re: New 50amp Plug?

Reply #11 – August 03, 2012, 07:51:14 pm

Since this is our first RV that needed (or could use) 50A and it came with a power plug with a handle, I just assumed that they all did. Nice to know that they all don't and that if (when) I need to replace it I will need to make sure a handle is included. I can imagine trying to connect and disconnect without one... with one it's a piece of cake.

Craig

Re: New 50amp Plug?

Reply #12 – August 03, 2012, 08:30:19 pm

Do not trust 30 or 50 amp moulded cord ends, I have seen too many problems with them. Replace with yellow handle style male ends.

Re: New 50amp Plug?

Reply #13 – August 03, 2012, 08:44:44 pm

Quote from: sam7 – August 03, 2012, 07:21:09 pm

It was hard to get a good grip with the original one. I was glad I replaced it.

I use the Plug dogs from Coil & Wrap. It makes it a lot easier to pull the plug out of the receptacle.
PLUG DOGS 50 Amp 4 prong - Coil nWrap a Cool RV Products Store

Re: New 50amp Plug?

Reply #14 – August 03, 2012, 09:34:06 pm

Thanks, Neal. That's the one! It is bookmarked now.

Re: New 50amp Plug?

Reply #15 – August 04, 2012, 11:19:53 am

Thanks for all the input. Much appreciated. I ordered the ParkPower plug shown above in my original post. So far, no further problems. There is another, less expensive, yellow plug with a handle (Power Grip), but one of the reviews on the CW site was not favorable.

Re: New 50amp Plug?

Reply #16 – August 04, 2012, 05:43:34 pm

George: If this is the one with the very convenient handle on the reverse side made by some outfit there in North Carolina, it is available in nearly all RV outlets in various configuration, including a replacement 50A head only. I have one on my coach, installed it myself, a relatively easy task. I have used it for 6 years with no problems, Sure makes disconnecting from those sharp edged pedestals less traumatic. I love it. I put it on electively just to avoid skinning up my hands. One caveat: at the time that I got mine they were NOT URL approved.

Re: New 50amp Plug?

Reply #17 – August 07, 2012, 04:17:14 pm

Michelle.... You were right....sort of. It was a bad circuit breaker. One side was out. Why it gave normal readings with the Progressive Industries box is hard to explain. But the owner of the park (Bear Creek, Asheville) is a nice guy and came over and checked out our power. He thought it was the circuit breaker and he was right. He said on many coaches the two 120v circuits are not well balanced with an excess of draw on one leg. This tends to burn out the circuit breakers (i.e., evidently this is not an unusual occurrence).

I did put on the new plug, unnecessarily it seems, but I like the handle a lot. It took awhile to get the wires trimmed just right, but overall not a difficult job. I think the ends would be more secure if they had some solder, but there is no way to do that here. Might do that this winter in Tucson. Here are a couple of shots of the new plug.

Re: New 50amp Plug?

Reply #18 – August 07, 2012, 04:30:31 pm

George,

Nice job. No need for solder-- just make sure the screws are tight.

Brett

Re: New 50amp Plug?

Reply #19 – August 07, 2012, 08:55:20 pm

Quote from: George Hatfield – August 07, 2012, 04:17:14 pm

It was a bad circuit breaker. One side was out. Why it gave normal readings with the Progressive Industries box is hard to explain. But the owner of the park (Bear Creek, Asheville) is a nice guy and came over and checked out our power. He thought it was the circuit breaker and he was right.

Well now that's strange. I'm perplexed as to how your Progressive EMS wouldn't pass any power despite no errors and how if you wiggled the shore cord plug you could make or break one leg of the 50 amp.... The latter wouldn't depend on a circuit breaker. I know when we have plugged in and one side of the 50 amp breaker was bad, one leg on our HW50C showed 0 volts and there was an error on the display.

If it weren't for your Progressive EMS not showing an error, I would wonder if there might have been another issue with the campground receptacle that was resolved when the new breaker was installed - perhaps loose wiring to the outlet that was tightened up when the breaker was replaced.

Just don't know in this case. Very puzzling.

Michelle

Re: New 50amp Plug?

Reply #20 – August 07, 2012, 09:23:40 pm

Michelle.... After I replaced the plug, the Progressive Industries unit showed E=0, but no power to the coach with the new plug in the PE Box. Tried moving the plug around, but no power. Then tried plugging in without the PE box. Got one leg only (L2=118 volts, L1=001 volts). Down below in the "electronics bay" the coach surge protector only showed one of the two green lights lit.

After I tried plugging everything in several times the PE box showed E=6 (low voltage) and that is when I called the manager over to have a look. And that is when he found the bad breaker. Maybe the breaker was marginal and all that fooling around made it fail completely. After he replaced it all was well. The PE Box showed no errors and I had power to the coach on both legs.

I know, it does not seem very logical. Maybe there is something else wrong, but for now, all is well. I will keep an eye on things.

Re: New 50amp Plug?

Reply #21 – August 08, 2012, 05:40:18 pm

George, That is a nice clean looking installation. It was fun getting that white wire attached. Hope you enjoy yours as much as I do mine.

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