[C320-list] Shore power

[alahlm at comcast.net]

Rod

   727-544-6681

   Al Ahlman

-------------- Original message -------------- 
From: "Rod Boer" <rod.boer1 at verizon.net> 

> All, 
> 
> Lee and I arrived at the boat one evening in the late summer or fall and turned 
> on the A/C because it was pretty warm. We thought we smelled hot wires, like 
> insulation burning, so I shut the A/C off and checked all of the A/C wiring in 
> the aft compartment and the port lazerette and everything appeared to be okay. 
> So I turned the A/C back on and everything seemed to work properly and there was 
> no longer any smell of hot wires. I continued to use Odyssey through the fall 
> with no additional problems. 
> 
> After haul out, I removed the shore power cable and discovered that one of the 
> receptacles on the cable was very charred. I normally plug the shore power 
> cable into Odyssey in the spring and don't remove it until the fall at haul out 
> since I take the cable when sailing. 
> 
> This weekend I disassembled the receptacle on the back of the boat and 
> determined that the failure was where the black (hot) wire attached to the 
> receptacle and the wire itsself was burnt for two or three inches. Examination 
> of the wires yielded that the both the white and green wires had tin plating on 
> them as marine wire is supposed to have, but there was no evidence of tin 
> plating on the black wire. All three wires had printing on the insulation 
> indicating they were 10 AWG 600V marine wire. If that particular wire didn't 
> have tin plating on it from the factory, that could explain the problem that 
> occurred in that the copper could have started corroding which eventually 
> increased the resistance of the contact and caused the generation of the heat. 
> The contact screw that the wire attached to has evidence of severe corrosion 
> while the other two appear okay. If it did have tin plating then it is possible 
> that the excess heat vaporized it but the wires didn't apppear to have ever had 
> the plating. I will investigate further the next time I visit the boat by 
> stripping a portion of the jacket further away from the initial contact. 
> 
> I just want to alert those who have a hull number near mine, #688, to be aware 
> of this potential problem. If the wire wasn't tin plated when it was produced 
> then there was probably at least whole roll used during the 2000 model year. 
> 
> Also, the connector on the back of Odyssey, was manufactured by Hubbell. I 
> spent sometime on the internet looking for a similar connector but there isn't 
> much information from Hubbell. I understand that the C320's are manufactured in 
> Florida now and I only have the California parts department number. Does anyone 
> have the phone for the Florida parts department? Thanks. 
> 
> Rod Boer, 
> Odyssey, #688 
>