rekoj71
Jul 04, 2015Explorer
Stray Voltage?
My RV has a stray voltage problem, and I'm wondering if anyone has any good ideas on how to find or fix the problem. My daughter complained to my wife that she thought she was getting shocked when ...
Vulcan Rider wrote:My brand new unit had a hot skin in '05. Did not pop any c/b's while on 30 amp service, but pop the pedestal 50amp as some as I turned it on. Stopped using it and got it fixed immediately under warranty only after a heart to heart with the tech when he told me he could not find the problem and said I had bad tv's and microwave. It was written up as a dead short on 50 amp, but no issues till I found the hot skin by pure accident. He had not plugged it into nor troubleshot it on 50 amp.john&bet wrote:
My view is that there should never ever do any level of ac voltage on the frame, period. If there is there is a problem with the trailer not the pedestal.
While that is possible it is highly unlikely.
There is no earth ground on the trailer until you connect to the shore power. Then all the common and ground wires should be at or within a few tenths of a volt to earth ground.
A fault in the internal wiring should trip something; most likely a GFI. The internal "GFI" detectors typically can't detect a fault in the feed. That's why the units that plug in between the main power cord and the shore power receptacle are so important.
As others have said, this is a serious situation; potentially fatal. If the CG can't or won't get serious about fixing the problem, a report to their power company should result in a fix or a "no power" condition.
What do others think about driving your own temporary ground rod ?
I don't like that solution because it likely leaves others at risk and might potentially route a fault current through YOUR wiring.
(Edit: IF you are not connected to shore power AND the gen is not running AND the battery switch is OFF.....you might very well be seeing a voltage induced from an external source. If that is the case, an extra ground rod from the frame could be an acceptable fix.)