Westy 110volt input, Why is extension cord burnt, melted?

[clatter 28]

Okay I'm not that familiar with Electrical loads so maybe someone else has an explanation.

The 110volt camper input is rated for 15amps, the extension cord is rated for 30amps, the female socket for the cord is rated at 15amps. So why is the Hot terminal on the extension cord socket getting burnt, melted around where the blade enters the socket? It is supposedly a Leviton weather resistant female socket- the third one! In winter we use an electric space heater, draw 12amps and maybe another amp for house lighting. The Vanagon input male socket appears undamaged.

Shouldn't the extension cord socket be undamaged? Maybe I should go to one of those twist lock 30amp sockets?

[DanHoug]

first, a bit of chiding... since 1984, 39 years ago, the grid has been 120 volts in North America <cough>.

your heat is coming from high resistance connections. look inside the cord port and you'll see black brass prongs sticking out. that corrosion creates localized heat during high amp draws, like a heater, and melts things. take your Boy Scout knife and scrap the brass all clean and shiny on BOTH sides of the prongs AND the round ground contact. then try it again and i'll bet you a donut there's no meltage.
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-dan
60% of what you find on the internet is wrong, including this post.

'87 Westy & '89 Westy both 2.1 4spd

Past projects can be found at--
www.thefixitworkshop.com

[clatter 28]

Thanks! Ill try it!. I'm guessing that 12 amps is close enough to the max that some corrosion could cause that heating or prolly make it worse.....

[zerotofifty]

Keep in mind that the high heat caused by high contact resistance do to corrosion, dirt or loose connectors can be enough to anneal the springy connectors found in some sockets. Once annealled by the high heat, the spring property of the metal will be lost, and the connector will no longer be tight, thus creating high resistance again.
So if she got hot enough to anneal any spring parts, you need to replace. The stock fuse panel is another place where spring connectors can become annealed and hence ruined.
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