When we bought the Southwind, I noticed the 30 amp plug appeared to have been hot at one time, so I ordered a new plug. It arrived just as we were hitting the road, so I tossed it in the parts box.
When we arrived at our camp-sight on day four, its was hot and muggy. When I turned on the AC units, I noticed it was taking a long time for the units to start and the shed lights were blinking back and forth. Both units finally started, so we hopped in the car and drive up to the grocery store.
When we got back, I noticed there was no electric. I checked the breakers and all were OK.
When I disconnected the 30 amp plug at the pedestal, DUH, I knew immediately what happened. One of the wires that connected to the plug was burnt off.
REPLACING THE PLUG
I cut the wire back a couple inches to get away from the overheated portion that was connected to the old plug.
On the new CAMCO plugs, the trick to getting a screwdriver on the screw terminals is to push the pins out of the shell a little bit. You can do this by gently tapping on the pin to push it out (see arrow). You only need to push them out enough so you can tighten the screws. Then push the pins back into the connector shell. When you install the back part of the shell, this keeps the pins from pushing out.
The pins are color coded so the black goes to the dark screw, White to the light screw, and green to the ground pin.
WHAT CAUSED MY PLUG TO GO BAD
Obviously a lose connection inside the plug will cause it to overheat and go bad. But the more common problem is a bad 30 amp receptacle on the pedestal. When plugging into the shore power pedestal, if the plug fells loose when plugged into the 30 amp receptacle, its a sure sign that the receptacle is not going to make a good connection. I carry a 50 amp adapter just for this occasion. If the 30 amp fells lose, I’ll use my adapter and plug into the 50 amp receptacle. ALSO, I always carry a spare 30 amp plug just in case mine goes bad.
This is how the pedestal receptacle connector should be wired.
This is what can happen if the pedestal receptacle is bad and causes your connector plug to overheat.
