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Post Info TOPIC: Power Inlet
DMaxer


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Power Inlet
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Never a dull moment in caravan life. The other day I was packing up my Windsor van to put in storage for a fortnight whilst visiting family. I tried to disconnect the power cord from the side of the van where it plugs in only to find it was stuck fast. There were some black marks inside the transparent cover where the three pins insert into the three openings on the power cord.

In attempting to remove the power cord from the side of the van, one of the three metal pins that go into the power cord from the van inlet snapped off. I rang the auto electrician near to where the van is stored and he will come and fix it when I return in a fortnight.

My question is this; Is this three pin thing on the side of the van a standard part or do I need to order one of these parts beforehand. I dont want to take delivery of my van from the storage yard only to be told by the auto electrician that he will need to source and order a part that will take days/weeks. I was planning on hitting the road the day i collect my van.

Sorry for the rambling and simplistic explanation but as you are probably aware, mechanical and electrical things are certainly not my forte. I assumed that this problem was probably caused by a power surge in the van park.

Thanks for your anticipated assistance.

Edit. I would have asked the auto electrician but he was away and his wife took the booking.



-- Edited by DMaxer on Sunday 3rd of February 2019 11:16:57 AM

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blaze


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your electrician should be doing the job, not auto sparkie. Standard fitting

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KFT


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This issue is often caused by a loose connection becoming hot enough to melt the plastic and join things together. The loose connection could be the terminals in the extension socket or the power inlet plug.

You should replace the lead too. An electrical contractor will need to do the work not an auto electrician.



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Kathy and Frank currently at Home near Quirindi NSW
DMaxer


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Thanks for the advice Blaze and KFT. I rang the auto electrician on the advice of the park manager. I only have a tentative booking so will cancel and book an electrician.

Am I right in presuming that this will be an easily accessed part?



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Bookleaf


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Yes

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DMaxer


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Muchas gracias everyone.



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Yuglamron


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I had a fire in my house years ago.

I had a powerboard  with a table lamp plugged into it and a vacuum cleaner, Not switched on.

We were out at a drive in cinema when a police car came around and told us our house was on fire.

After the Firies investigated it appears that the power board was at fault.

There is a little neon light to show it's live.

It appears that it is only a bridge between the live and neutral contacts in the powerboard. After a while the process of putting a plug in and pulling it out had broken the connector joint. There was a minute gap so the neon got enough power to light. It also allowed a small spark to arc about enough to ignite the plastic in the powerboard.

Substandard plastic that was not fire resistant. According to the fire investigator.

So maybe the very act of using the power cable for your van has allowed a bad contact and let the plastic melt and glue the metal pin. Hence pulling apart.

Lucky you didn't have a fire. Although modern RCD's and breakers do help.

It pays to check plugs and power boards for signs of burning or hot spots.

 

 



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Possum3


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Clipsal 435VFS15 | Weatherproof Inlet 15 Amp White IP34 435VFS15WE I think you will get a better& cheaper product here.
www.sparkydirect.com.au/caravan-inlets/

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Possum; AKA:- Ali El-Aziz Mohamed Gundawiathan

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Cupie


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Hi  ..

An easy job with a standard & readily available part.  Should take him about 30 min or less.

I am waiting the delivery of one for my Van  ..  $29.63 delivered from an Au supplier.  Probably around $45 from Camec or similar.  The flap hinge socket broke on mine so the whole unit needs replacing.

My Neighbour still has his Elect Cert so he will supervise my installation  (I used to hold a restricted licence that covered things like extension cord plugs & sockets).

 

  ... Good luck.



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Jaahn


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Hi smile

AS has been said the cause is most likely the socket on the extension lead. It will need to be replaced. There is no possibility a surge caused it IMHO just a crappy cheaply made cord. The extension leads you buy are poor quality and the crimping of the pins onto the wires can be badly done. The discolouration you can see inside the transparent cover says it all. 

Possibly you have been pushing the power near the max but the overload trip should protect the supply from drawing too much power if it is working correctly.

Jaahn



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DMaxer


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Great advice everyone, thanks heaps.  I have had the air conditioning and the fridge going full bore so maybe that could have added to the issues.



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Kevin 1955


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Dont need an electrician, you will find if you unscrew it there is a octet that plugs into your new inlet. Costs about 25 bucks. The same happened to me.



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Wannabes
Possum3


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It is considered an electrical installation and covered by AS3000/AS3001. Licenced Electrician installation is mandated. Consider what an insurance assessor will do to any claim - regardless of origin of event.

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DMaxer


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Thanks for the advice Kevin but as an electrician or mechanic I would make a good cook. For the sake of a few dollars I would rather know that I am not about to electrocute myself or some poor b*gger who leans against the van to say hello.

Do they use the same fitting on most vans or does each brand and length use a different one. The reason I ask is that the van is still up north and I am down south.



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Possum3


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DMaxer wrote:

 

Do they use the same fitting on most vans or does each brand and length use a different one.

 Normally same depth of fitting. Safe to pre-order on line.



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Possum; AKA:- Ali El-Aziz Mohamed Gundawiathan

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DMaxer


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I have spoken to the electrician and received enlightenment. He can get the part easily, will meet me on site next week and take about 30 minutes to install and test the circuit.

After that, I will be free to work on my next drama. Never a dull moment.

Thanks so much for the answers and the assistance everyone. It is much appreciated.



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Possum3


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Use a Sikaflex to seal the unit. Normal silicon RTV not up to the job Sikaflex 512 is available from most caravan spare stockists, best to remove any loose sealant before applying new. I use a plastic scraper as this wont damage the bodywork should you slip.

Cut and paste from site:-
The sikaflex 512 caravan sealant is an all purpose adhesive and sealant used in the build and repair of caravans and motor homes. It can be used on both the inside and outside of caravans and it bonds and seals in one operation. It is UV resistant, colour stable and will not cause staining and is resistant to ageing and weathering. It comes in a 300ml cartridge for use with a cartridge gun.


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Possum; AKA:- Ali El-Aziz Mohamed Gundawiathan

Sent from my imperial66 typewriter using carrier pigeon, message sticks and smoke signals.
Cupie


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DMaxer wrote:

I have spoken to the electrician and received enlightenment. He can get the part easily, will meet me on site next week and take about 30 minutes to install and test the circuit.

After that, I will be free to work on my next drama. Never a dull moment.

Thanks so much for the answers and the assistance everyone. It is much appreciated.

 Ha Ha ... Looks like I guessed right for once (about time taken & parts availability)  ... LOL



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PeterD


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Kevin 1955 wrote:

Dont need an electrician, you will find if you unscrew it there is a octet that plugs into your new inlet. Costs about 25 bucks. The same happened to me.

 So what brand of van does DMaxer have? The majority of manufacturers do not use the plug and play wiring systems. The ones that do have only been using them for the last few years. If the van in question does have plug and play system the inlet will be hard to access. Bunnings does not have either type. CaravansPlus only have the hard wired types. When contacting an electrician, see if he can source a power inlet before proceeding. A lot of caravan repair places will have them. If you have a Jayco with the plug and play system then a Jayco repair place will be your best source for the inlet

DMaxer, firstly what van and year model do you have, that is important to identify which inlet you have.

See if you can clean up the pins in the inlet to take a new lead. That will give you a little breathing space if you need to replace the inlet. If you can do a good enough job you may not have to replace it at all.

When you get a new power lead i suggest you get a 20 or 25 metre length one. I seem to be needing longer leads these days. I occasionally have to break out my specially built 30 metre one occasionally.



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Terryt


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PeterD One of the pins snapped off. Could be hard to clean up

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DMaxer


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Hi Peter. One of the pins snapped off when I was trying to remove the power cord. My van is a 2012 Windsor Genesis 535. It is 17.5 feet long.

I contacted Windsor and they told me it was a standard fitting which is available from Camec. There is a Camec distributor in Casino where the van presently is.



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Aus-Kiwi


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Loose connections cause high resistant conections
Any plastic or insulation will fail once things start arching !! Often pays to keep contacts clean . I know its hard but I push plug in a few times every so often to keep clean . Especially around sea areas

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oldtrack123


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Kevin 1955 wrote:

Dont need an electrician, you will find if you unscrew it there is a octet that plugs into your new inlet. Costs about 25 bucks. The same happened to me.

 Do You Know that that model van has a plug & play, "soft Wiring ' system??

It is relatively new ,especially the power inlet socket  , that has only recently been  added to the product range!



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oldtrack123


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DMaxer wrote:

Hi Peter. One of the pins snapped off when I was trying to remove the power cord. My van is a 2012 Windsor Genesis 535. It is 17.5 feet long.

I contacted Windsor and they told me it was a standard fitting which is available from Camec. There is a Camec distributor in Casino where the van presently is.

 

You are rather lucky that you still have a van

That could easily resulted in a fire destroying the van.

To all members .

Any sign of overheating of any electrical connection is a warning of a bad connection which often leads to a fire

Your overload  or RCD circuit  breaker gives no protection against such fires

Have such investigated ASAP

If it is a plug & socket connection ,both parts will very likely require replacing



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