[C320-list] Shore power

[Gary Malcolmson]

Rod,

The phone number I have is:  727-544-6681 (but haven't used it in awhile).

Gary Malcolmson
C310 #230

Rod Boer wrote:
> 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 h
> ave 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
>
>
>