Country Coach Electrical Cord Issue

[dreamchasers]

During recent work in my inverter bay, it was discovered that my electrical shore power cord needed attention. The electrical box where the shore power cord connects to coach's power system system, the strain relief fitting had come loose. To make matters worst, the shore power cord looped under a sheet metal wall to where the cord coiled up from the automatic cord retractor. When the shore power cord was fully extended, the cord stop retainer was adjusted in such a manner it allowed the cord to pull hard against the connection box and up against the metal wall. Repeated full extensions of the shore power cord could have resulted in cutting through the shore cord by the sharp metal wall.

To protect against accidentally cutting the shore power cord against shore power cord sheet metal enclosure, we did several things. First, we adjusted the end of cord stop to allow extra slack to prevent the shore power cord from being pulled to tight. Secondly, as the shore power cord looped through the hole in the sheet metal, we added cable clamps holding the cord down on both sides of the sheet metal opening. And third, we replaced the metal box with a water tight electrical enclosure to assure water tight connections.

I posted this particularly for Country Coach owners to check their installation to assure the possibility of a major electrical short can be avoided.

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This photo is what we found after removing the battery case. This junction box can be accessed without removing the battery case.

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This is a photo of the new junction box and the shore power cord has been anchored to the floor on both sides of the sheet metal wall.

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The finished installation.

I hope this helps.

Hector

[Alek&Lucia]

Hector,

Good catch !
I think that everybody with Glendining Auto retract should check their connections !
Stop the Prevost conversions "wars" for a while, this is serious problem !!!

Alek

[phorner]

Hector,

Good job! When I had our shore cord replaced at Liberty, we also found that the strain relief clamps had either come loose over time, or had not been properly replaced the last time someone was in the box.

Also, the electrical tape that had helped to seal the connections was rated for a lesser voltage than should have been used.

Although this connection is rarely inspected (and can be a real project on my vintage Liberty) it deserves a look see.

Thanks for the photo's.

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Fine job Hector, wondering how many hours do you think you have invested.





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[Jon Wehrenberg]

Jim,

You are getting into dangerous territory if you start considering hours spent working on a coach. Once we start doing that the next small step is to calculate the value of an hour's work, and then we start to realize the cost of ownership in a different light.

Repeat after me: "It's just a hobby, it's just a hobby, it's just a hobby......"

[Will Garner]

Jim,

If you follow through on your cost of labor for working on your love, I think there is another word you will want to chant softly to yourself. That is, take a dep breath first, letting it out slowly and sofly like trying to keep a feather floating in air, "Prozac, Prozac, " I'm told it works and is cheaper than having to get a prescription! All together now, "Prozac, Proza , Proz , Pro , Pr , P . See how well it works.

I'll mail you my bill for services rendered!

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Fine job Hector, wondering how many hours do you think you have invested.





.

You guys are putting too much of your own way of looking at things into my simple question.

How many hours did it take to do the job, period!

It's just something I wanted to know. Not to judge him in how he spends his time or how much time he spends working on his bus.

Thanks JIM

[phorner]

Whenever I was questioned about my countless hours spent working on one of my collector cars, or one of my Harley's, I would always explain this by saying that as I worked/polished/whatever, that I was "bonding" with it.

There is actually a smidgeon of truth in that. As I occasionally get greasy pawed turning a wrench here or there on the bus, I do feel a closer "bond" to this massive chunk of stainless.

If that helps me be more protective of it when placed in the hands of a service technician for repairs, I see that as a good thing. If I become more observant of the slightest performance abnormality, another benefit.

And, whenever I correctly diagnose and repair something on the bus (yeah, I know, a rare event), I'm thrilled to think I'm earning a minimum of $100/hr. which is a considerable raise for me