RV "Hot Skin" and GFCI?
Yesterday I discovered I had the troubling “hot skin” condition. After some troubleshooting and testing of different configurations, I determined I could only resolve the hot skin condition by physically disconnecting the RV power cord from the pedestal. Our cord is old and even the power input on the side of our RV shows wear so I purchased a brand new cord and power input.
Before connecting the new cord (I haven’t swapped out the power inputs), I used my multimeter to confirm the power at the pedestal was good. I then connected the new cord but did not energize the 50A circuit. The hot skin condition returned. Here is where it gets interesting.
I decided to test the 30A and 20A circuits at the pedestal using the multimeter; both circuits were off and I had not touched them since we arrived at this campground a few days ago. I flipped on the 30A breaker and tested voltages with the multimeter. No issues. I then flipped the 20A breaker and noted the GFCI plug was tripped. I reset it, and flipped the breaker. On a whim, I checked the RV and the hot skin condition was GONE. I have since tripped the GFCI and turned off the 20A breaker, but the hot skin condition has not returned.
So, especially for any electricians out there, what the heck happened? How could a pedestal be wired such that clearing a probably-blown GFCI (on a different circuit) could have led to this? And why didn’t the EMS system in my coach pick up the problem?
Thanks in advance.
Tim
Before connecting the new cord (I haven’t swapped out the power inputs), I used my multimeter to confirm the power at the pedestal was good. I then connected the new cord but did not energize the 50A circuit. The hot skin condition returned. Here is where it gets interesting.
I decided to test the 30A and 20A circuits at the pedestal using the multimeter; both circuits were off and I had not touched them since we arrived at this campground a few days ago. I flipped on the 30A breaker and tested voltages with the multimeter. No issues. I then flipped the 20A breaker and noted the GFCI plug was tripped. I reset it, and flipped the breaker. On a whim, I checked the RV and the hot skin condition was GONE. I have since tripped the GFCI and turned off the 20A breaker, but the hot skin condition has not returned.
So, especially for any electricians out there, what the heck happened? How could a pedestal be wired such that clearing a probably-blown GFCI (on a different circuit) could have led to this? And why didn’t the EMS system in my coach pick up the problem?
Thanks in advance.
Tim
