Melted 110 Volt wiring

Post your general and technical information, questions or responses in this forum. Viewing messages is open to all with no registration or log-in required. Prior to posting a new message or a response to an existing message, registration or login is required. Please do not post FOR SALE or WANTED ads in this section!

Moderator: bfadmin

Post Reply
User avatar
Dallas Baillio
Posts: 1181
Joined: Sun Jul 02, 2006 10:52 pm

Melted 110 Volt wiring

Post by Dallas Baillio »

I have had a problem recently with my 110 volt AC tripping the circuit breaker. I noticed that the electrical panel metal cover in the converter box was extremely hot. I determined that the fan that vents the box is operating. I removed the metal panel cover on the 110 volt side the converter and discovered that several of the wires have heated to such an extent that the insulation has melted. I am not sure how this first started, but suspect that it began several months ago when we were plugged into 110 volt power / 30 amp service at a state park here in Alabama. I knew I had a problem when we prepared to leave and I discovered that the electrical cord at the outside connection had partiallly melted. I pass this along for information. BF owners may want to check this wiring. Of course, be sure you are not connected to 110 power and that the house batteries are disconnected just in case you inadvertently cause a short.

Incidentally, any suggestions as to how I might easily repair this damage myself, instead of taking it in to a RV repair shop would be appreciated.
Dallas Baillio
2001 26RSB
Born Free Leap'n Lions RV Club Member
robert newby

Post by robert newby »

without being able to see the problem first hand it is hard to really tell what is wrong -- with the power cord dis-connected -- check all the wire connections in the pannel to make sure that they are securley connected and tight -- especially look at the ground connection and netural connections -- make sure that the box is grounded -- also make sure that non of the multple wires making up each main wire is not touching another wire -- I carry an inexpensive tester that tells me if the circut is properly wired - I recommend the everyone carry a tester like this -- it can be plugged into the 20 amp plug on the parks box or into one of the plugs in your coach -- it has 3 lights that light up with different colors and by looking you can tell if everything is OK or if there is a problem- there is a code on the tester -- the ground/ netural wiring on the park box may have been the problem -- good luck in finding the problem
Brent
Posts: 314
Joined: Tue May 16, 2006 4:53 pm

Post by Brent »

Sorry to hear of your problem Dallas.

This is also a time to mention to the club to consider using a surge protector when plugging into shore line. One of the protectors that also shuts off power if the in line power is too low, improperly grounded, or causes overheating of wiring and appliances. Units for 30 amp are about $270 at camping world.

It may not be the cause in this situation but after getting burned twice (literally) I now use a surge protector (one of the in line units that also shuts off if power is low) any time I plug in somewhere.

In my situation (apparently) low power caused over heating in the unit and burned out wiring in the converter box at least one of the two times.
Bornfree (1999 Rear Kitchen)
Traveling with Chester (The Boxer) - at least in spirit
sutton
Posts: 58
Joined: Sun Oct 05, 2008 10:28 pm

Melted 110V wiring

Post by sutton »

I'm and RV newbie...

This weekend, the power from shore and the generator died in my 2003 24RB that I bought 2 months ago. Battery power OK and power to Fridge from LP just fine.

I had the strip heater in the roof AC unit and the fridge running on 30A shore power (down converted from a 50A shore connection).

No fuse tripped at the fuse box (though the main fuse switch did trip 2 weeks ago when I ran the roof heater unit....).

I got it repaired today. There were melted wires behind the converter/fuse panel and lots of carbon so possible arcing and shorts that could just have been because wires were poorly connected or allowed to touch. You could see faint signs of arcing on the front of the fuse box but since I have not smelt anything strange since owning the RV, I think that the arcing could have occurred before I got the RV so there were intermittent shorts going on perhaps or issues that only occurred under heavy load -- the strip heater?

Questions:
- Should I be concerned that there are other wiring issues? I worry about a fire -- I leave my dogs in the RV for an hour or so at a stretch

- What circuit voltage tester do you recommend?

- What surge protector do you recommend?

Thanks!!
Angela Sutton

www.angelasutton.com
Angela Sutton ..... and the labradors and border collies :-)
2003 24RB
George Boley
Posts: 89
Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2007 1:52 pm

Post by George Boley »

Dallas,

Mystery solved--- You have a loose connection somewhere in your distrbution panel. During times of heavy current draw a poor conection will cause heat and melted and discolored conductors (wires).

The wires will have to be stripped back to expose clean copper, the connecters will have to be cleaned and once the wires are reconnected to them will have to be tightened securely. Normally this condition can be corrected without new parts. Good luck, George B
George Boley
Knowledge will never be lost, provided it is shared
hrgermany

melted 110 volts wiring

Post by hrgermany »

I had the same problem on my 1995 BF 26 FT RSB.It was the loose nega-
tive wire connection.Lucky I can fix those problems myself.I orderd a new
distribution block and cleaned the wires and tighted all connections.

Hans Rueckert
1995 BF 26 FT RSB
sutton
Posts: 58
Joined: Sun Oct 05, 2008 10:28 pm

Post by sutton »

Yes -- Many thanks -- The mechanic cleaned and replaced the melted wiring and tightened the connections up.... He also replaced the Ground block (the block that you connect all the ground wires to) since it was very carbonated and messed up shall we say.

Lesson learnt about using that heat strip at all for extended periods of time during the night.... and about making sure that your wiring is tightly connected. I am thinking that I will just run a second extension cord directly from the pole to run a standalone space heater when I am in the RV.

Any advice on what meters you all use to check your connections and on good surge protectors would be very welcomed since I'm still in learning mode but have a EE background shall we say!!!! Some wonder whether that's the reason why my hair is curly!

Thanks once again... I am learning so much from reading your posts!

Angela
Angela Sutton ..... and the labradors and border collies :-)
2003 24RB
User avatar
Dallas Baillio
Posts: 1181
Joined: Sun Jul 02, 2006 10:52 pm

Post by Dallas Baillio »

My post is from 2006. I had the converter box replaced and new wiring installed. I really think my problem was related to hooking up to shore power in a state park since the shore power cord was melted a bit. Reverse polarity or some such. It has been more than two years so I can't remember that far back! It was a costly repair so PLEASE don't tell me that a simple inexpensive solution was possible.
Dallas Baillio
2001 26RSB
Born Free Leap'n Lions RV Club Member
sutton
Posts: 58
Joined: Sun Oct 05, 2008 10:28 pm

Post by sutton »

Glad that things worked out. Yes -- We stay at Fairgrounds and so you never know whether there's an issue with the shore electric. Do you use anything to protect the coach from bad shore electrical? If so, what do you use....

In my case, about a $400 repair (mainly mechanic labour to replace the cables) -- they had to do a lot of cleanup of the leads and some rewiring. I got a souvenir box of chard parts in return !!

I'd love to know how to avoid having this happen again if the issue stems from poor shore power!

Thanks
Angela
Angela Sutton ..... and the labradors and border collies :-)
2003 24RB
Dave&JanPotter

Post by Dave&JanPotter »

The lesson here is that RV wiring connections should be checked periodically to be sure that they are tight. BF uses standard commercial grade connectors which can loosen over time when subjected to the vibrations present in a moving vehicle. A couple of years ago I found a loose connection in the 110v power coming into the bus transfer switch that could have caused a fire. I have now taped up most of my connector/wire nuts to keep them from loosening. As for what kind of meter to use for troubleshooting, any good digital multimeter will work; it doesn't have to be fancy. I've found that when working with 12v systems, a digital multimeter is much better than the analog type as it is sometimes hard to tell how much the needle has moved on the analog scales.
sutton
Posts: 58
Joined: Sun Oct 05, 2008 10:28 pm

Post by sutton »

Many thanks!! Where is the bus transfer switch located? I'll be sure to check things periodically from now on! Are there other connections that you also check routinely?
Angela Sutton ..... and the labradors and border collies :-)
2003 24RB
sutton
Posts: 58
Joined: Sun Oct 05, 2008 10:28 pm

Post by sutton »

I haven't re-opened the area behind the converter box where the connections are made... but I can tell you that the mechanic found some of those plastic red screw-on electrical wire connectors used to make 2 wires connect. These screw on connectors had also been wrapped in electrical insulation tape once they were screwed onto the wires that they were connecting. The tape had melted and was included in my box of "souvenirs" that the mechanic showed me .....

BTW, the factory told me that a good protocol, if your shore power fails is to check the Transfer switch box. This is the switch that switches between 110V sources (either the shore power or the generator). If no shore power, disconnect coach from shore power and switch on the generator. If still no 110V power into coach then your Transfer switch may be hosed.

In my unit the transfer switch is located behind the converter box under the sink.

In my case, there were shorts galore it seems at that Converter box.
Angela Sutton ..... and the labradors and border collies :-)
2003 24RB
User avatar
bechlumber
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Aug 20, 2005 1:28 pm

Heat Strip

Post by bechlumber »

I just wanted to comment about the heat strip. I have run the heat strip many times 10-12 hours with no problems. To improve the function of the heat strip I just recently installed a thermostat.
2002 24' Rear Bath 4x4 7.3 Diesel
sutton
Posts: 58
Joined: Sun Oct 05, 2008 10:28 pm

Post by sutton »

That is great to know --My next question of course is, how did you add a thermostat to the heat strip....? That sounds like a fine idea

Last weekend, sans heat strip, the dogs snuggled under the blankets of the incline bed in the coach
http://picasaweb.google.com/angelaamysi ... 8838428530

They always make the best of things!
Angela
Angela Sutton ..... and the labradors and border collies :-)
2003 24RB
User avatar
Mike Jean Bandfield
Posts: 513
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2005 3:43 pm

Post by Mike Jean Bandfield »

We also had subtle power problems for the first couple of years. I carry a digital voltmeter and was often seeing low voltage in the coach but didn't think to also check voltage at the pedastal and just assumed it was poor park service as it often is. It became chronic last year with signs of over heating on both ends of the Marinco power cord. At that point I noticed the voltage drop any time we were using a high current appliance even on our 30A connector at home. After talking with Kim Olson, Marinco provided a new power cable and coach receptacle under warranty. The Marinco tech I talked with explained that once the connections overheated they could spread damage like a cancer and that I was to replace the entire cord and the receptacle all at the same time to prevent any reoccurrence. They sent me a new cord and receptacle. Note: If you replace the marinco cord ends he indicated you should replace both ends and the coach receptacle at the same time and remove 8" of cord at each end as well.

When I replaced the outside receptacle I found the problem. The factory had pushed the neutral wire too far into the connector and tightened the screw down onto a significant area of the wire's insulation limitting the contact area at that point on the neutral wire.

I sent a photo of the bad connection to Kim for his QC file and reminded him that Marinco graciously repaired Born Free's mistake at their cost.

I'm embarassed to say that I should have caught this earlier. The signs were there all along and I ignored them for too long when I really knew better. When I saw the bad connector I knew that I had exposed my family to a danger I could have secured much earlier.

Don't over look the connections on the backside of the Marinco connector on the outside wall of the coach as you check every connection in this circut all the way to the distribution panel. I was lucky to have caught this before big trouble happened. Low voltage is very hard on expensive appliances like microwaves and airconditioners and can cause wiring failures and fire.

I've had zero problems since making the repair. All connection are now operating much cooler at 20+A.

Mike
Attachments
BF_Pwr_Recept.jpg
BF_Pwr_Recept.jpg (73.37 KiB) Viewed 14339 times
Mike & Jean
2005 26' RSS Diesel
Post Reply

Return to “General and Technical Information, Questions, and Responses”