Burned out WAGO connector behind the WFCO 2024 Boondock

pthomas745 · July 13

Not my trailer, but this showed up on one of the FB pages today. Owner was having problems with battery charging, and intermittent loss of 12V power. He searched hard enough and found this scorched WAGO connector behind the WFCO. I'm trying to get more info…but what would cause a connector like this to fail in this way?

Yoshi_TAB · July 13

Hi, It's hard to really see from the resolution of photo but is the scorched wire larger diameter than the others? A larger diameter wire leads you to think a higher amp circuit.

The most obvious would be an overcurrent or overloaded current situation that exceed the wires capacity. Really need to know what is on that entire circuit.

-What items does that wire provide current to?

-What fuse protection is on that circuit?

-Improper or loose connections can heat up wires.

-A short circuit can also cause damage like that.

Horigan · July 13

That WAGO connector looks undersized for that large diameter wire…

MuttonChops · July 13

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/comment/222323#Comment_222323

That was my first thought on seeing (poor quality) picture plus a usage event above the connector rated amperage.

WAGO appears to have two 5-terminal blocks:

221-415 UL rated 20A, 12-24 AWG wire compatible
221-615 UL rated 30A, 10-20 AWG
Note: IEC rates both about 10A higher then UL testing

The picture suggests the connector is on a higher current circuit, if part of the battery charger or an electric tongue jack circuit high currents will be common.

pthomas745 · July 13

I managed to get a better photo of the WAGO and asked the owner to see if they can spot where this wire connects to the WFCO.

MuttonChops · July 13

pthomas745 said: managed to get a better photo of the WAGO

Helpful, it is the 30A WAGO Model

Grumpy_G · July 14

Here's a pic of the clamping mechanism, note that the wire is supposed to reach all the way to the end of housing which I don't see in the picture of the damaged connector. So either the wire wasn't stripped far enough (there are markings on the housing), not inserted far enough or pulled out (which shouldn't happen).

pthomas745 · July 14

The owner is telling me this wire is the positive 12V wire from the battery, and it runs to the 12V connection in the WFCO

SLJ · July 14

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/comment/222338#Comment_222338

Battery runs should be binding posts, never WAGO connectors.

MuttonChops · July 14

IMHO, at a minimum @pthomas745 should recommend the "owner" replace that WAGO with a binding post.

Ideally, if owner could provide detailed information on the three wires:

one goes to power center with no additional connections
two goes to XYZ and has another wago or whatever in-line
three goes to ABC . . etc

Would also be good to know what production model year and TAB Model this is and the full 12VDC configuration; battery type/size, solar size, etc

If owner can provide the greater detail 'we owners' could ask nüCamp why they are using this questionable configuration and suggest/request a higher quality connection part become the factory standard.

subkron · July 15

@MuttonChops

A binding post is an alternate method for connection, but I think most (all?) lever nut failures may be attributed to cockpit error. Please note that a connection to a binding post is still subject to proper operator procedures, and include additional failure sources as improper torque that could be either operator and/or tool issues. Lever nuts, as stated, do require proper operator/tool processes:

proper wire strip length to guarantee the insulation is backed away far enough during installation
The wire, when stripped, must have all strands intact. If the stripper cut thru/removed strands the wire current capacity has been compromised
The wire needs to be inserted to proper depth

The wire size that is in the connection that failed in the pic does actually appear to be the same as the other wires in the connector (it looks like it is a larger size but the pic is misleading) and they all seem to certainly be within the 10-20AWG.

ckjs · July 15

pthomas745 said:… managed to get a better photo of the WAGO

In both pics it seems that the problem wire is not inserted far enough. I just test inserted a wire into the same model WAGO. The first image shows the wire visible all the way inside the WAGO. The second shows the clear space because there's no wire there.

Compare the latter to the FB poster's pics, and you can see no sign of the wire in the problem report.

I don't have any WAGO's in my 2018 CSS. Has NuCamp started using them since then? I suspect that it was added after it was built.

MuttonChops · July 15

@ckjs said:
. . . don't have any WAGO's in my 2018 CSS.
Has NuCamp started using them since then? I suspect that it was added after it was built.

nüCamp is now using WAGO connectors in all trailer/camper models.
I don't know what production year the change occurred. Guessing it was the within the past few years.

MuttonChops · July 15

@subkron

Agree the correct usage of any connector type is required and maybe a factor here.
My concern (beyond correct installation) is if the Facebook Owner is correct and this WAGO is part of the Battery Charge circuit currents above 30A could occur with a Li-Ion battery/charger system.

After switching to Li-Ion nüCamp had a year of blown fuses and tripped breakers until the Power Center and Gloss Breaker were revised to 40A (might be even higher now).

Additional pictures or actual wire size data is needed to solve a wire size discussion. For myself wires 2 and 3 appear the same . . . wire one is larger or the insulation is damaged due to the heat/current/connector issue.

Burned out WAGO connector behind the WFCO 2024 Boondock

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