Fried shore power 1

C

calcman05

Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2024
Messages
20
Fluid Motion Model
C-302 SC
Vessel Name
DINGLEHOPPER
Just got to Friday harbor on my 2015 R31 and was going to plug into shore power. Shore power 2 is working fine but shore power 1 is fried, black, and charged on the female end of the cord and the male plug connection on my boat. I'm going to need a new cord as well as a new plug portion for the boat. Anybody have any idea what part I need for my boat to replace the plug?

I hope this was just a fluke and not an indicator of larger problems.
1000005804.jpg
 
Looks like a pretty basic part I guess from looking around. I may go with a smart plug and see if it's worth the upgrade.
 
calcman05 said:
Just got to Friday harbor on my 2015 R31 and was going to plug into shore power. Shore power 2 is working fine but shore power 1 is fried, black, and charged on the female end of the cord and the male plug connection on my boat. I'm going to need a new cord as well as a new plug portion for the boat. Anybody have any idea what part I need for my boat to replace the plug?
i
I hope this was just a fluke and not an indicator of larger problems.
View attachment 24672
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I had the same issue on my R-23 and a very experienced owner recommended the Smart Plug. It works great and would highly recommend it. It was an easy change over and used the same holes on mine.
 
calcman05 said:
Looks like a pretty basic part I guess from looking around. I may go with a smart plug and see if it's worth the upgrade.
Click to expand...
It is.
 
Yep, not that one should ever need an excuse to convert to a smart plug. But now it’s a no brainer to convert. Both!
 
Please educate me. What is the advantage of a Smart plug? What does it do that a factory 2017 R29 plug doesn't do? Which one do you recommend, hopefully from Amazon?
Are prongs the same? Need adapter or new cord?
 
Mastercraft said:
Please educate me. What is the advantage of a Smart plug? What does it do that a factory 2017 R29 plug doesn't do? Which one do you recommend, hopefully from Amazon?
Are prongs the same? Need adapter or new cord?
Click to expand...
I’ve had the non-metallic version but it didn’t stand up to UV after 5 years.The PVC got brittle and cracked.
The stainless versionIMG_7133.png is what I recommend. Installed on our R-25 Classic And now on our C-28. Many places carry it. This is a screen shot of the etrailers.com page. Easy install on both the R-25 and C-28. Not cheap but I worry a lot less by having it.
 
Just ordered 2. Excited for the fix and upgrade!
 
I have not had any problem with the original style on 2017 R29. I saw Martin's video on upgrade. I can't see upgrading when I have at least three extension cords with original style. I also have three adapters and a pigtail splitter of original style. I can plug a Honda generator into adapter when not on shore power. It also seems odd to cut the nice molded led plug off a perfectly good extension cord. Am I missing something?
 
Mastercraft said:
I have not had any problem with the original style on 2017 R29. I saw Martin's video on upgrade. I can't see upgrading when I have at least three extension cords with original style. I also have three adapters and a pigtail splitter of original style. I can plug a Honda generator into adapter when not on shore power. It also seems odd to cut the nice molded led plug off a perfectly good extension cord. Am I missing something?
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Smart plug does a good job of tooting their own horn and explaining why here: https://smartplug.com/features/

Shore power cord connections are the biggest cause of boat fires. The traditional design works, but the smart plug design works better. I wouldn't say it's common, but it's not infrequent that I find charred, corroded, or overheating shore power connectors when surveying. Walk around a busy marina where boaters are running electric heaters or air conditioners inside their boats and use an infrared camera to look at all the shore power connections. I bet if you checked 100 boats with loaded AC systems 5 of them will be overheating.
 
I worked as an electrician and electrical contractor for 54 years and if you had told me before owing a boat that twist-locks could be problematic I would have thought you were nuts. But after noting the condition of twist locks on pedestals I was convinced there had to be a better way. I did some research and decided to install 2 Smart Plugs and purchased new Smart Plug cables.

I believe one issue is with boaters they do not take care to ensure the twist locks are properly seated and the 2nd issue is the multitude of times we connect and disconnect to shore power. The positive lock of the Smart Plug seems to overcome the issues with twist locks
 
I think the smart plug is a better design. I have had boats with twist lock plugs since the mid seventies, no problems so far. Push and twist and secure locking ring and the old design seems to work for me.
 
Rebel112r said:
I think the smart plug is a better design. I have had boats with twist lock plugs since the mid seventies, no problems so far. Push and twist and secure locking ring and the old design seems to work for me.
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When I installed the Smart Plug combo on our 7 year old R-25 Classic back in 2016, the three visible prongs on the connector on the outside looked perfect. During the Smart Plug install is where I saw signs of insulation scorching from overheating where the wires connected to the stock plug on the inside of the hull. So, just because the outside part of the plug that you can see when your connecting your shore power cord looks good doesn’t mean you are not having overheating connection problems. To be sure you would need to remove the connectors mounting screws and pull the connector out far enough to inspect it. You might be surprised by what you see. Or not. But without doing that inspection you really just don’t know.
Even with the Smart Plug I inspect the whole connection every couple of years fish signs of overheating. Takes about 15 minutes to do that.
 
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scross said:
When I installed the Smart Plug combo on our 7 year old R-25 Classic back in 2016, the three visible prongs on the connector on the outside looked perfect. During the Smart Plug install is where I saw signs of insulation scorching from overheating where the wires connected to the stock plug on the inside of the hull. So, just because the outside part of the plug that you can see when your connecting your shore power cord looks good doesn’t mean you are not having overheating connection problems. To be sure you would need to remove the connectors mounting screws and pull the connector out far enough to inspect it. You might be surprised by what you see. Or not. But without doing that inspection you really just don’t know.
Even with the Smart Plug I inspect the whole connection every couple of years fish signs of overheating. Takes about 15 minutes to do that.
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You nailed it!
Here is what I saw on the back. Need to take out my other one and inspect it.1000005809.jpg
 
I installed Smart Plug six years ago. At that time, a number of Tug owners were finding scorched wiring BEHIND the shore power inlet plug. Some of those who discovered scorched wiring found that some wiring was not secured properly or had somehow become loose. Some laid blame on poor installation by the factory.

I am the second owner of my 2012 R27. It had been in service for five years when I bought it. I made the switch to Smart Plug two years later because the location of the shore power inlet plug on the R27 Classic, down low in the cockpit aft port corner, can make it a challenge to line up all three prongs of the shore power inlet and the shore power cord. The Smart Plug’s indexed inlet and cord end make connecting shore power a breeze.

When I removed the factory-installed shore power inlet, I found all terminals clean, bright, corrosion free and secured tightly. The wiring showed no sign of heat distress.
 
Any connection on the conductor to the terminal screw is an improper connection or corrosion over a period of time due to water/salt water affecting the connection.
When I was inspecting the wiring on my boat I found several terminal screws that had never been tightened, the conductors pulled out easily with obvious space between the conductor and connector.
 
Rode Trip said:
Smart plug does a good job of tooting their own horn and explaining why here: https://smartplug.com/features/

Shore power cord connections are the biggest cause of boat fires. The traditional design works, but the smart plug design works better. I wouldn't say it's common, but it's not infrequent that I find charred, corroded, or overheating shore power connectors when surveying. Walk around a busy marina where boaters are running electric heaters or air conditioners inside their boats and use an infrared camera to look at all the shore power connections. I bet if you checked 100 boats with loaded AC systems 5 of them will be overheating.
Click to expand...
We'll be taking delivery of our 2025 R27 this spring. We come from the RV world where many folks use a surge guard on the pedestal before plugging the power cord from the RV. Are surge guards not used in a marina environment? (Google Watchdog surge guard or RV surge protector).

Thanks for adding to my boating education.
 
I own a 2014 r31CB 6 years. I thought it was "Friday Install" when my plug got fried last year. There was excessive stripped wire going into the connection, and after time and vibration energized. I purchased the tug 4yrs old with 200hrs. I have 2800hrs so that's a lot of time and vibration.
 
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