50 amp cable failure

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Joined
May 15, 2017
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I have a 50 amp cable that has two blue LEDs that light when I plug it in. I came back to my camper last night, both LEDs were out and the camper was running off the battery. I had it plugged into a surge protector and verified the surge protector had power. It seems like the cable failed. Anyone have something similar?
 
are these lights at the end that plugs into the surge protector ??? ?
If so, they are saying there is no power from the surge protector. If you have a meter, check output from it. A cable failing is a real rarity, failure is usually at connection points and there is usually visible evidence of failure including melted plastic, charred and burnt plug connectors.
 
Yes. They are at the end that plugs into the surge protector. I tried plugging it directly into the box without the surge protector. Still no power. No evidence of charring or over heating. The plugs on my cable seem to be molded. There are no screws to take plug apart. It's like the cable has some sort of internal fuse.
 
To be sure, plug temporarily into another pedestal known to be good....
 
I've never seen a power cable like that, but it is probably no more immune to plug-end wear & tear than others. The cord gets a lot of flexing at a rather stiff joint and inevitably wires break inside. And that cord has at east some basic electronics there as well, so even more vulnerable to problems.

Searching around, I find the Furion brand has cables with blue leds. Is yours like this?  Maybe a replacement plug is available?
https://www.furrion.com/store/energy/cables-inlets/50a-rv-cordset-25-black-p-1015.html

If push comes top shove, you can simply cut off the led plug and replace with a standard 50A plug for a lot less than replacing an entire cable.  One like this will work nicely:
https://www.amazon.com/Camco-55255-PowerGrip-Replacement-Plug/dp/B000PGVZ30/ref=sr_1_2
 
PatrickandLisa said:
Yes. They are at the end that plugs into the surge protector. I tried plugging it directly into the box without the surge protector. Still no power. No evidence of charring or over heating. The plugs on my cable seem to be molded. There are no screws to take plug apart. It's like the cable has some sort of internal fuse.

When you have the surge protector plugged into the shore power box, are there lights or some type of indication that power is available?  On mine when I initially plug the surge protector into the power box, there is a delay I think around 90 seconds before the power to the trailer gets turned on.
 
Are there any indicators on the surge protector? 
Check pedestal with meter for 120 VAC on both legs to return.
Just don't seem right that you lose both legs on 50 amp cord (unless the return connection failed). Hmmm? On your cable check for continuity between return and neutral. It should show ap very low resistance. If open, indeed cable problem.
 
Verified power at pedestal. All LEDs on my surge protector show nothing wrong. I didn't bring a multimeter (lessened learned there). After reading posts, I think I must have an open, probably on return leg.
 
Gary, the one end with the LEDs is very similar to mine. The other end, I have a locking style connector, but with a 90 elbow.
 
I used to have a 30 amp cable like that save they were neon bulbs and they burned out

Sounds like the plug is bad if the LED's are on the plug end

IF they are on the RV end (Outlet end) same #1 suspect but we now add more suspects.

As I often say when chasing power issues "Problem exists between bright and dark"
In your case the Outlet is "Bright" (Lights on) and the plug is Dark, so it's the plug.
 
To make sure I understand:

Pedestal has power.  Surge protector plugged into pedestal has power.  Power not getting from surge to camper through the power cord.

Cables RARELY go bad. (the wire between the ends)  The plugs on the ends, where the electrical connections are made, do go bad.  Due to flexing, power surges, moisture, and other physical abuse, a connection may become broken or corroded.  Often, but not always, this is accompanied by that end overheating, partially melting, or other visible sign.  Replacing the bad end will fix the cord for far less than replacing the entire cord.
 
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