[C320-list] Shore power

[Chris Burti]

Seaworthy, Boat U.S.'s claims prevention magazine did an article on these
shore power connectors as being a substantial source of boat fires. Here is
a link to a brief mention online.

http://www.boatus.com/seaworthy/fire/default.asp

On Jan 14, 2008 6:24 PM, Rod Boer <rod.boer1 at verizon.net> 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 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
>
>


-- 
Chris Burti
Farmville, NC