Generator Transfer Switch Melt Down/Fire Hazard

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Are you sure Loctite is not an insulator, there is a lot of information online that says it is, though I am not sure how authoritative it is.
 
I measured two screws on a terminal block and got 0.01 ohms

I put Loctite on two screws and put them back into the terminal block and still got 0.01 ohms.

I'm pretty sure it doesn't affect continuity.
 

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The plug being damaged would not cause the other problem. It sounds like your loose connection was on the generator side. If it was the connection to the shore power cord and had been replaced that could have been when the problem began but a damaged plug would not cause it.
As far as I remember just the plug was replaced on the end of the cable, no other issues were found or had.

As for loc-tite: Being a automotive technician, I don't like to use loc-tite on anything that isn't designed for loc-tite (usually only used on certain brake caliper bolts and other misc. fasteners.) While electricity will take the path of least resistance, I would also think that the loc-tite may inhibit the continuity path all together, but I could be wrong, I don't favor loc-tite, unless absolutely needed.
 
And a little more. Electricity doesn't travel through a wire, it travels on a wire or connector. That's right- on the outside surface. That's why a cable with many very thin wires can carry more current than a cable with fewer but larger wires.
 
And a little more. Electricity doesn't travel through a wire, it travels on a wire or connector. That's right- on the outside surface. That's why a cable with many very thin wires can carry more current than a cable with fewer but larger wires.
Skin Effect only holds true at RF frequencies, not at very low frequencies used in power transmission (50 or 60 Hz). There it is strictly the resistance of the conducting material that determines how much power it can handle.

On the other hand, microwave RF systems are at such high frequencies that skin effect is the only means of conduction. They actually use waveguides which are just hollow pieces of pipe or ducting to get the energy from one end to the other.
 
Ahh, I remember microwave class, we set up a long set of waveguides to do some labwork and Rudy was watching us from the end of the lab bench. He started to get fidgety, then he grabbed his crotch and said "why are my balls so hot"

Turns out we forgot to put the end cap on the waveguide, we had been microwaving his nuts for the last five minutes.

I lost track of Rudy after college, I wonder if he ever had kids...
 
Remember, your RV, be it a motor home or trailer, is going thru a magnitude 7 earthquake every time you roll down the road. Stuff gets shaken loose. When an RV is new to you, you should go thru every electrical connection on it, and tighten every screw. After that, depending on the amount of use every year or couple of years, it would be a good thing to do.

Charles
 
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