[C320-list] Shore power

[Rod Boer]

Al,

Thanks for the number.

Rod
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <alahlm at comcast.net>
To: "C320-List" <c320-list at catalina320.com>
Sent: Monday, January 14, 2008 7:48 PM
Subject: Re: [C320-list] Shore power


> 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
>>