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Old 02-22-2021, 08:35 AM   #1
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Bad 50amp Inlet?

Hi all, I'm running into some issues that I can't quite figure out with my entire power supply to my 5W. It's a Highland Ridge 374BHS, and I can no longer hook up to shore power, and the batteries are long dead. The inlet and power cord are both Furrion.

When I plug in the power cord to shore power, I get two blue LED lights at the male end, and all the voltages check good with a multimeter at the female end. However, when I then connect the female end to my RV's 50amp inlet, the inlet indicator light doesn't turn on (when the trouble first started, it was an extremely dim indicator, before that the indicator always worked) and the male indicators change from two solid lights to ONE solid light (on the right if that matters). I also have zero discernable power reaching the RV.

My thought is that some wiring in the inlet itself have fused together. It's going to be a pain in the ass if I try to take it somewhere for service since the slides are out and I have zero power to move them or raise the jacks.

Anyone have other thoughts? Other trouble shooting to try? I'm about to buy a new 50amp inlet and try installing that. I haven't had much luck trying to pull out the current inlet, it moves out about an inch then won't budge. Haven't pulled the panel underneath the inlet yet. Thanks for any ideas or help!
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Old 02-22-2021, 08:50 AM   #2
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Lugs on your RV's inlet could be loose. Strange that you can't pull your inlet plug out, never had that problem. Might try pulling it out at a different angle. Might want to check that all of your connections at the fuse/ breaker panel (including any bus bars) are "tight" while your at it.
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Old 02-22-2021, 08:56 AM   #3
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Fuse box connections are a fair thought. I'll take a gander at it and report back, as well as trying different angles on the inlet. My inlet thoughts were 1) maybe they didn't leave any extra wiring behind the inlet and 2) if something did fuse back there it could be causing a physical obstruction to pulling out the inlet.

One thing I didn't include in the write-up - I had this issue start about 3 weeks ago. Plugging, unplugging, and generally yanking around the cable resulted in power being restored. Which makes me think it's a physical problem at the inlet itself. (Or the power cord, but again - everything looks fine, both indicators and multimeter readings, before the cable plugs into the inlet)
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Old 02-22-2021, 09:17 AM   #4
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You MUST get that inlet out. If it is a loose lug and you just keep wiggling etc. you are risking a fire. Loose connections cause resistance, resistance causes heat, heat causes fire.
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Old 02-22-2021, 09:43 AM   #5
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I like the idea of a loose lug, that sounds easiest to repair! I do have the entire electrical system disconnected already. No imminent danger, but I do understand your concern and will not connect it again until I've inspected the back of the inlet!
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Old 02-22-2021, 10:08 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Patevers View Post
I like the idea of a loose lug, that sounds easiest to repair! I do have the entire electrical system disconnected already. No imminent danger, but I do understand your concern and will not connect it again until I've inspected the back of the inlet!
Yep... get that inlet removed and see what you find.
I've never seen one that couldn't be removed.

Be prepared to replace it.
If the lugs are loose, they likely have caused more damage (burned/melted/stressed) than tightening of the lugs will cure.

If you do replace it, SmartPlug is another option other than the OEM.
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Old 02-26-2021, 12:55 PM   #7
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Update

I got the plug out and have done a good bit more trouble shooting. Current status:

Good 50A power indicated from the shore and cable (120V on each leg). Two blue LED at plug, one good blue LED at inlet. When I got the inlet pulled out everything seemed okay, no indication of arcing. The only potential issue I saw is that the wires seemed to have the insulation pinched so I made sure the insulation wasn't interfering with the contacts when I reattached the wires to the inlet.

Next step was my batteries. I have never (2 years) added water to the batteries. (yes I'm a moron, this is my first rig and I'm embarrassed that I didn't know this was a required maintenance upkeep). I added about a half gallon to each battery, I have two 12V.

Left the batteries to charge overnight, only got up to 12.0V. Checked the converter (disconnected battery first) and it's putting out 13.66-13.62 V (within spec'ed 13.6). Think the converter is just fine.

Started checking voltages at power distribution panel and I think I'm finally on to something there. Everything DC looks good (13.61 V, but of course they're all hooked up in parallel so any deviations there would really throw me off). However-

My AC breakers are getting different voltages, when the Converter CB and/or front GFCI CB are turned on.

With Converter ON, GFCI OFF, I get varying Volts on the left side from 50-90AC (varying+/- 10V per second while the converter cycles), but generally about 60V. With GFCI ON, Converter OFF it's down to 8V on the left side! The double 50A 'main-main' breaker has 245 V across it all the time, which seems great to me.

One additional data point, with both of those CBs off, I'm getting good Volts indicated but can't run the microwave. It turns on (display, light, and fan all fine) but when I try to run it the microwave either turns off or just counts down without actually running.

Thoughts at this point?
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Old 02-26-2021, 01:00 PM   #8
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Two other data points -

With only the Converter on, voltage drops to 90.

With only the converter, and reconnecting the batteries it drops to 70V. (All other voltages were with the batteries disconnected)
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Old 02-27-2021, 08:17 AM   #9
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That sounds like a loose neutral somewhere.

I'd start at the power center and work back to the shore power plug to make sure the neutral is good all the way. Check all the neutral connections on the neutral bar in the power center.
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