Date:         Thu, 1 Apr 2021 07:00:02 -0700
Reply-To:     Steve Williams <sbw@SBW.ORG>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Steve Williams <sbw@SBW.ORG>
Subject:      Shore Power Hook-Up Glitch
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed

My camper hasn't been started for months.  I'm planning to start it
today, because it's due for a California smog test.  If it's running
well, I'll also drive it across L.A. to the nearest available
vaccination site on my first day of eligibility!  (The other car is in
the shop.  And the other car is on loan to a family member.  And the
other car is in storage hundreds of miles away.)

Since I knew I needed to start it, a few days ago I plugged it in to
charge the batteries.  For all these months, I've been checking every
few days and plugging it in whenever the house battery gets down to 12
volts.  The built-in Pro-Sport 8 charger makes it convenient.  (It's in
shared parking, or I would just leave it plugged in all the time.)

This time, when I plugged it in, the charger didn't come on.  I checked
the breaker, no luck.  Next, I plugged the charger directly into the
extension cord, and it fired right up.  So I checked the hook-up more
closely and noticed one of the blades had pushed back through the
plastic, not quite all the way into the van.

The hookup is GoWesty's "modernized" version, purchased in 2013,
installed in September, 2015.

https://urlzr.mp/8rb (GoWesty)

I removed the hook-up, pushed the blade back into position, and
loosened, then tightened the screw that secures the wire.  That screw
also appears to screw into the plastic molding to hold the blade in
place.  Anyway, it seems secure now.

It's possible I didn't quite engage the screw in the plastic molding
when I installed the hook-up, so I can't count this glitch against
GoWesty's product.  I've been happy with the GoWesty hook-ups.  I like
how the doors stay open on their own.

I reinstalled the hookup, plugged the charger back into the outlet under
the sink, plugged the extension cord into the hook-up, and everything
worked great!

So today I'll start the van and use my extra-bright shop light to
closely examine the engine, particularly the fuel lines, all replaced at
Buslab in October 2019, a few months before the van went idle.  If
everything looks good, it's off to the L.A. County vaccine
drive-through!  And the smog test.