shocked when touching metal on RV
- Thread starter Jeff Wood
- Start date
shocked when touching metal on RV
Sounds like a dead short. A wire was possibly touching bare metal surface and has rubbed through.
Or maybe a bad ground or lack of ground.
I think the wiring should be inspected by a reputable RV dealer or an electrictian!
2001 Nash 22H Loaded!
Edited by - FreddyK on May 28 2002 01:42:12 AM
Sounds like a dead short. A wire was possibly touching bare metal surface and has rubbed through.
Or maybe a bad ground or lack of ground.
I think the wiring should be inspected by a reputable RV dealer or an electrictian!
2001 Nash 22H Loaded!
Edited by - FreddyK on May 28 2002 01:42:12 AM
C Nash
Senior Member
shocked when touching metal on RV
Jeff,
Does your shore plug in have three prongs? If not you need one!! Has any plugs inside been rewired? If so, they could have one reversed (polarty). Has it happened at more than one campground? Some campgrouns have reversed polarty plugs. This could be very dangerous!! Have it checked
Chelse L. Nash
fulltimer03@yahoo.com
Jeff,
Does your shore plug in have three prongs? If not you need one!! Has any plugs inside been rewired? If so, they could have one reversed (polarty). Has it happened at more than one campground? Some campgrouns have reversed polarty plugs. This could be very dangerous!! Have it checked
Chelse L. Nash
fulltimer03@yahoo.com
shocked when touching metal on RV
Jeff, like mentioned above, reversed polarty. Yes, you can have reversed polarty with AC. And since it happens at your home, I would start with your RV. It could be as simple as your plug, or the connection where your cable connects to your inverter. You could pay a visit to Home Depot or your favorite hardware store. They have units you can plug into outlets and it will tell you if you have a bad ground or reversed polarity. If you are unsure at all, please seek a professional.
Dangerous? Very, this can kill you or someone else. Have it checked.
Steve
2001 f250 CC PSD
2002 Montana 5th Wheel
2 minature Dachshunds
http:// www.texasboomers.org
Edited by - Southstl on May 29 2002 6:03:57 PM
Edited by - Southstl on May 30 2002 5:15:56 PM
Jeff, like mentioned above, reversed polarty. Yes, you can have reversed polarty with AC. And since it happens at your home, I would start with your RV. It could be as simple as your plug, or the connection where your cable connects to your inverter. You could pay a visit to Home Depot or your favorite hardware store. They have units you can plug into outlets and it will tell you if you have a bad ground or reversed polarity. If you are unsure at all, please seek a professional.
Dangerous? Very, this can kill you or someone else. Have it checked.
Steve
2001 f250 CC PSD
2002 Montana 5th Wheel
2 minature Dachshunds
http:// www.texasboomers.org
Edited by - Southstl on May 29 2002 6:03:57 PM
Edited by - Southstl on May 30 2002 5:15:56 PM
shocked when touching metal on RV
Hello,
Agree with the reverse polarity comments.
There is a possibility your primary cable has been replaced and the hot and neutral (not ground) have been switched at the connection in the trailer.
It may be nothing more than swapping the 2 wires (usually black and white) at the entrance connection. The black should be on the line side and white on the neutral. If there is a 3rd wire (which there usually is) it should be green and grounded to the trailer.
I would be curious to know if you were standing on concrete/wet/asphast/dirt and were bare footed when this happens?
You may be able to test this condition by wetting an area on the ground (duplicate the condition that made you recognize the voltage) and using an ammeter/test light between the trailer/metal and the wet ground area - if you get a reading or light, you have voltage and a problem. If you swap the wires and duplicate the test and no light and things still work, you know what the problem was.
Bruce
Thats my guess...
Bruce A. Wittmeier
Home: MikeBrandn@aol.com
2001 Ford F250 PSD, Ext cab, Shortbed, Island Blue/Silver, 4X4 Off-road, SOF Auto, Alum Wheels, Chrome Step, Line-X bedliner, Reese 16K slider, Jordan Ultima 2020, AirLift Airbags, Sunnybrook 30RKFS
Edited by - wittmeba on Jun 06 2002 01:06:07 AM
Hello,
Agree with the reverse polarity comments.
There is a possibility your primary cable has been replaced and the hot and neutral (not ground) have been switched at the connection in the trailer.
It may be nothing more than swapping the 2 wires (usually black and white) at the entrance connection. The black should be on the line side and white on the neutral. If there is a 3rd wire (which there usually is) it should be green and grounded to the trailer.
I would be curious to know if you were standing on concrete/wet/asphast/dirt and were bare footed when this happens?
You may be able to test this condition by wetting an area on the ground (duplicate the condition that made you recognize the voltage) and using an ammeter/test light between the trailer/metal and the wet ground area - if you get a reading or light, you have voltage and a problem. If you swap the wires and duplicate the test and no light and things still work, you know what the problem was.
Bruce
Thats my guess...
Bruce A. Wittmeier
Home: MikeBrandn@aol.com
2001 Ford F250 PSD, Ext cab, Shortbed, Island Blue/Silver, 4X4 Off-road, SOF Auto, Alum Wheels, Chrome Step, Line-X bedliner, Reese 16K slider, Jordan Ultima 2020, AirLift Airbags, Sunnybrook 30RKFS
Edited by - wittmeba on Jun 06 2002 01:06:07 AM
Kirk
Senior Member
shocked when touching metal on RV
As an electriction for more than 40 years, I would caution you that you probably have more than one problem. If you had a good ground wire connection to the RV, that would never happen. So that is problem #1. A reversed polarity is the most likely of the suggestions to be the next culprit. If you had a short in the wiring that was direct to ground, there would probably be circuit breakers opeining in the circuit that is involved. But if you have the polarity reversed, some of the appliances only turn off one side of the line and others leave some power on for a memory or such. Those would cause the shock to you, if you do not have a proper ground. To me it sounds as though there is a problem in the wiring of the place that you are plugged in, or in the plug on the end of your RV's cord. Those are the two most likely locations. If the problem happens where ever you are plugged in, then the problem is in your RV, as some place would be wired properly.
I would suggest that you spend about $10 at Home Depot, or a store like that and get yourself one of those little circuit checkers that plug into one of your outlets in the RV,and that will indicate what the problem is if you have one. (reversed polarity, no ground, no neutral, etc) Those things can save your life. Do not allow this to go as the most common source of electrocutions is the common 120V-AC power source. It is dangerous!
Good travelin! ......Kirk
www.1tree.net/adventure
As an electriction for more than 40 years, I would caution you that you probably have more than one problem. If you had a good ground wire connection to the RV, that would never happen. So that is problem #1. A reversed polarity is the most likely of the suggestions to be the next culprit. If you had a short in the wiring that was direct to ground, there would probably be circuit breakers opeining in the circuit that is involved. But if you have the polarity reversed, some of the appliances only turn off one side of the line and others leave some power on for a memory or such. Those would cause the shock to you, if you do not have a proper ground. To me it sounds as though there is a problem in the wiring of the place that you are plugged in, or in the plug on the end of your RV's cord. Those are the two most likely locations. If the problem happens where ever you are plugged in, then the problem is in your RV, as some place would be wired properly.
I would suggest that you spend about $10 at Home Depot, or a store like that and get yourself one of those little circuit checkers that plug into one of your outlets in the RV,and that will indicate what the problem is if you have one. (reversed polarity, no ground, no neutral, etc) Those things can save your life. Do not allow this to go as the most common source of electrocutions is the common 120V-AC power source. It is dangerous!
Good travelin! ......Kirk
www.1tree.net/adventure