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thomaskemper's avatar
thomaskemper
Explorer
Aug 12, 2016

Metal camper step shocked my dog!

I realize that I have an electrical issue, as sometimes I get a little shock when I step into the cabin wearing no shoes. My dog got shocked on the wet step last night, and it really traumatized her.

I know electrical issues are a whole can-of-worms, but I wonder if anyone might have some tips and directions about me feeling my way through a repair. The last thing I want (of course) is my home burning down. If there is a short, how do I go about finding it?! I've had to dig into a wire harness before on my motorcycle, and so I know it's tough, but how are RVs wired?

I have a 1988 Toyota Dolphin. Two breakers that run 1) the AC, and 2) the outlets. I also have one solar-panel with four storage batteries that run the lights and water-pump.

So how would electricity be getting into the body of the truck? (For those of you who are concerned about my dog's well-being, know that I have installed a rubber mat on the step, so once I can get her over her PTSD and into the cabin through that door, she is not going to get shocked.)

I appreciate this forum and I hope that someone can help me solve this serious issue before I take off for a 2200 mile journey in three weeks (September 1st).

Thanks for any and all help.

~Thomas
Seeking Advice
  • Gdetrailer's avatar
    Gdetrailer
    Explorer III
    Aug 12, 2016
    Mandalay Parr wrote:
    thomaskemper wrote:
    So, I tested the tow-bar, and using the 200ACV setting, I got readings of upwards of 50. So that's a thousand volts? It's the only setting, besides the 750V, that gave me any sort of reading. Obviously, I don't know anything about electricity. Just the bare minimum. I know how to test my battery and fuses.

    I tested the doorway, too. I tested the step that shocked Audie, and got no reading, but I have applied a rubber mat, so apparently, that stopped the flow. ??? I'm practically clueless. Anyway... on to the videos...

    You are not reading the meter correctly. 50 is 50.
    You really need to get a qualified person before you get hurt.

    Jerry Parr


    You have an open or no ground connection.

    Since the RV breaker box should not have the ground and neutral bonded there CAN be "floating" voltage potential above ground..

    Time to do some checking with a ground/polarity tester.. Like this..



    You can buy them at Home Depot, Lowes or even Walmart and should be something you carry with you to make sure campground outlets are good..

    Start at the outlet you plugged into first to make sure the house outlet is wired correctly.

    If home outlet tests good, then try the ground/polarity tester in one of the RV outlets..

    Things to consider, extension cords often will not have very robust plugs and sockets and often are a source of this problem AND those flat 15A to 30A adapters tend to have problems with grounds.

    If RV outlet tests bad and home outlet tests good then problem is from the shore cord on into the RV..

    You may need to open the RV breaker box and inspect and tighten all the connections inside.. Sometimes the connections in the breaker box work loose and need tightened.. Loose connections can cause this problem at the least but sometimes causes the wires in the box to overheat..
  • Diesel_Camper's avatar
    Diesel_Camper
    Explorer
    Aug 12, 2016
    enblethen wrote:
    The genset should have the ground and neutral bonded.


    I'm reading in some other places that this is true when the genset is operating, but when it's not in service there needs to be a transfer switch that takes the genset out of the equation, effectively un-bonding the ground and nuetral.

    If this is accurate, then possibly the OP has a stuck transfer switch if he has a genset at all?
  • thomaskemper's avatar
    thomaskemper
    Explorer
    Aug 12, 2016
    RoyB wrote:
    It would be neat to know how you are plugged into shore power. I think you are getting your power from a garage or house is this correct???

    How are you hooked up using your your 30A Shore power plug.

    You have to use a RV30A-15A Long Adapter (WALMART) to adapt your 30A MAle Plug to get down to the 15A/20A 120VAC house Receptacle...

    Looks like this


    I never had any luck using one of these small adapters like this. They always got hot on me...


    Your problem could simply be the 120VAC receptacle you are plugged into has no ground connect to it.

    If this is what you are doing you should use the LONG dog bone type adapter and if you have to run an extension cord to get to your truck trailer then it should be 12-GAUGE or even better 10-Gauge size wiring. The red-orange type extension cords from WALMART won't hack it...

    Like said above all three wires must be used all the way from the house receptacle to the trailer.

    Give us some more info on how you are hooked up...

    I do this all the time at my house with NO problems on getting shocked...

    There is a neat tester you can pick up from WALMART or LOWES... Looks like this...


    Plug this into the house 120VAC receptacle first and it will tell you the receptacle is OK or not... Then plug your HD extension cord in it.

    Then test again at the end of the extension cord to see if the extension cord is ok. Then you can plug your RV30A-15A long dog bone adapter into this extension cord. Then you can plug your 30A Trailer shore power plug into the ADAPTER.

    It hard to figure things out and not be there if you know what I mean...

    Roy Ken


    Hey, thanks for all the info, Roy. Here's me: I'm plugged into the house via two connected extension cords. The second extension goes into the side box which holds a converter (which I never use, and don't know how or why; lots of questions. Haven't owned this long.), and it is plugged in to the cord which leads to the breaker box. Seems simple enough. What should I do? Sorry to be a pain in the ass, but I don't fully understand your advice above. A lot of variables.

    So, here is a picture of what I have. I'm going to test the voltage on the skin with the generator running to rule out the cord to the house. Or not. I hope you will continue to give me advice. And rest assured, I'm being very careful.
  • thomaskemper's avatar
    thomaskemper
    Explorer
    Aug 12, 2016
    Hmmm... I think it's odd that you can't post a photo from your hard drive. It wants a URL, so I posted to my photography page, and included the URL, and... nothing. What you see above. Weird.

    Anyway, it's just a cord from the breaker box to the extension, and then to the house.
  • thomaskemper's avatar
    thomaskemper
    Explorer
    Aug 12, 2016
    westend wrote:
    Using that same voltage setting on your meter, stick a piece of metal in the ground, positive (+) phase meter lead to unpainted part of step and negative (-) phase lead to that metal piece. What does it measure?

    With a meter you can also check continuity from any place in your camping rig that has a ground to the ground in the receptacle powering your camper. It should show continuity, 0 ohms (or close). Usually, it's a faulty extension or shore power cord as folks yank on them to disconnect, breaking the ground prong on the cord.


    I'll try this. And you should know that the ground plugs are all intact.
  • wnjj's avatar
    wnjj
    Explorer II
    Aug 12, 2016
    thomaskemper wrote:
    Hmmm... I think it's odd that you can't post a photo from your hard drive. It wants a URL, so I posted to my photography page, and included the URL, and... nothing. What you see above. Weird.

    Anyway, it's just a cord from the breaker box to the extension, and then to the house.


    The URL you tried isn't a direct link to the picture. It's a URL to a page which displays the picture.

    your picture
  • 2oldman's avatar
    2oldman
    Explorer II
    Aug 12, 2016
    thomaskemper wrote:
    You'll have to get a direct link to your picture if you want it displayed here. I would have done it but it won't let me.
  • wnjj's avatar
    wnjj
    Explorer II
    Aug 12, 2016
    thomaskemper wrote:
    westend wrote:
    Using that same voltage setting on your meter, stick a piece of metal in the ground, positive (+) phase meter lead to unpainted part of step and negative (-) phase lead to that metal piece. What does it measure?

    With a meter you can also check continuity from any place in your camping rig that has a ground to the ground in the receptacle powering your camper. It should show continuity, 0 ohms (or close). Usually, it's a faulty extension or shore power cord as folks yank on them to disconnect, breaking the ground prong on the cord.


    I'll try this. And you should know that the ground plugs are all intact.


    The pins may be intact on the extension cords, but they also need to be intact between the house receptacle and the house panel as well as between your RV plug and the RV frame/skin. This ground connection ultimately should connect your RV frame back through the cords (via the 3rd prong) to the house panel which is grounded to the earth via grounding rods (bare copper green wires to a metal rod). It may also be connected to metal water pipes. Hence the reason for Westend's test. There should be no voltage potential between the earth and your RV frame, when properly functioning.

    Find where your black RV cord connects to the RV panel. Be sure the ground wire is tightly connected to a ground bar and/or the RV frame. The neutral (i.e. white) wire should NOT be connected to the same place, only to the other white wires in the panel.

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