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From: H. Russ Hughes (no email)
Date: Tue Dec 02 2003 - 17:19:53 EST
Reference:Burned shore power cord connectors
Edward Burke, one of the most common reasons for an over heated shore power
connector is a loose connection at the screw terminal where the shore power
wire connects to the parts, or prongs that insert into the socket of your
shore power connection. This causes a heating problem at the terminal and
causes a bad connection that only gets worse with time. The next most common
reason is that the load on the shore power cord is in excess of the cords
power rating. If this is the reason, the other end of the shore power cable
may be experiencing the same problem.
With the commercial shore power cords frequently having molded-on plug, and
socket ends, there is no way you can reasonably inspect the wire connections
inside without destroying the plug/socket ends of the shore power cable. These
wire connections are usually solidly crimped onto the prongs, or terminals
during manufacture. Then they are covered with the molded on covering making
internal inspections difficult, if not impossible afterwards. If a loose
connection is suspected and all other possible causes of the heating are
eliminated, then one option is to replace the damaged connector on the end of
the shore power cable with another connector rated for the same shore power
service. Besides the current rating, the new connector should be compatible
with the socket as far as keeping rain out of the connections.
Another thing to check is the dock side shore power receptacle itself. How
does it look? Does it get hot also? As the Dock captain responsible for the
docks at my yacht club, one of the members was having similar problems. Upon
examination, the male end of his shore power cable connector showed signs of
corrosion in the form of a green coloring. I ask him if his shore power cable
had ever been around salt water, or sprayed on by salt water. His answer was
"yes, it had been exposed to salt water". This probably explained the source
of the corrosion of the contacts. In any case, upon additional inspection of
the shore power receptacle after removal, the power leads were burned black
for several inches back from the connections. The loose connection between his
shore power cable and the shore power receptacle had gotten hot. The heat
damaged the insulation on the wires going in both directions from the
connectors.
The point is that even if you replace the shore power cable, or install a new
plug on the end of the cable, the problem is still half there with a damaged
shore power receptacle. After you plug in your new cable or connector, there
is still a bad connection on the other side that will probably eventually
cause a repeat of the same problem all over again. Have the marina operator,
or the appropriate qualified person in the yacht club take apart the shore
power receptacle, and examine it for any damage, and if it shows signs of
damage, replace it.
If you place your hand on the shore power plug and it feels hot, you either
have a problem with the connections, plug/wire, or are running an overload on
the cable. Both ends of each shore power connection, the plug and the
receptacle must be in good condition to carry the rated current without
damaging something. This is true for both ends of the shore power cable
system. A bad connection at the boat end of the shore power cable can burn
down the boat.
Russ Hughes
Slo-N-Easy
Richland, Wa.
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