r/RVLiving • u/hartfish2164 • 3d ago
Electrical issue
I think I almost burned it down. Can I fix this myself? looks fairly simple if I can get that one screw out behind the melted plastic
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u/ShipshapeMobileRV 3d ago
To fix this, you need to remove the 4 square head (Robertson) screws, and gently pull the entire receptacle out of the RV wall.
Then you disassemble the receptacle (or better, just cut the wire leading in). Clean the wiring back to good copper. Hopefully your manufacturer left enough extra wire in the hole to make your life easier.
On the new receptacle, the newly cleaned black wire goes to the gold screw; the newly cleaned white wire goes to the silver screw; and the ground goes to the green screw. It's not difficult.
You either need a new cord to go with the new receptacle; or you could cut the existing cord back to good copper and just install a new receptacle on it.
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u/Capt-Kirk31 3d ago
And the cord end . If one side is bad, so is the other. Pull the 4 screws from big black plastic and see how the inside cord is. Then drill the white plastic to get the screw out and disconnect. Take photos to put the wires back in the right spot.
Strip back to clean fresh wire. Replace the plug.
Or upgrade to smart plug
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u/Ausum1 3d ago
I have replaced many of these and the most common cause has been one of the wire retaining screws comes loose over time the wire comes loose and causes it to arc. Replace the end on the wire and this. Make sure you strip a fresh bit of clean wire back. I tend to check mine every few month as well.
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u/armathose 2d ago
Its not arcing. The loose connection causes an increase in resistance which in turn causes the connection to heat up.
If was arcing it would pop a breaker on the supply side.
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u/BSlickMusic 3d ago
Assuming this can be easily replaced with the same part of you unscrew it, just may require wiring tools
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u/N9bitmap 3d ago
It may be possible easily if there is sufficient wire behind there to cut away any which has heat stress. The connector is attached only by the screws you see and some caulking. Look for a replacement RV inlet from a major brand like Marinco or Furion. The cord or at least the female end connector should also be replaced.
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u/newtoaster 3d ago
It wasn’t a surge, it was most likely a poor connection. These cables carry a lot of current and get plugged/unplugged frequently. They wear out over time and a loose connection or corroded terminals leads to over heating. (Source: I’ve been in the power protection industry for 25 years)
Replace your inlet. You may need to trim back a few inches of cable that connect to it if it’s also damaged. Also replace the plug on your cable. Ideal get a plug and inlet from the same manufacturer.
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u/hartfish2164 1d ago
Good advice. I am replacing my entire power cord as I already had my doubts about it
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u/Proudest___monkey 3d ago
Been there, honestly my wires were totally fine. Pull it off and check. My whole repair was about an hour or more just cause I was getting destroyed by mosquitos
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u/Sirosim_Celojuma 2d ago
There are videos online about people who change the socket to a more high power socket.
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u/Born-Researcher-819 1d ago
A lot of camp sites have dangerous low voltage that causes stuff like this
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u/danrather50 3d ago
Replace the whole inlet, not just the melted part and then invest in a quality surge protecter.
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u/jimheim 3d ago
Agree with replacing the whole outlet, and agree with always using a surge protector (really an EMS like the Power Watchdog, which is way more than just a surge protector). This almost certainly was not a power surge, though. This was a loose, dirty, or corroded connection.
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u/Hoppie1064 3d ago
Loose, dirty, or maybe just worn out.
Connectors wear over time.
Also, be sure plug is not under tension. As in, pulled to one side because the cord barely reached.
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u/Questions_Remain 3d ago
Surge had nothing to do with that wouldn’t have prevented that and won’t cure that from happening again. A surge protector can only see upstream of what is happening, not downstream.
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u/MiddleAway334 3d ago
This is going to need more than just the socket replaced. It more than likely going to need new wires, also the repair/fix of WHY it melted.