Electrical Shock!!

[littlemo]

Today I was working around my MH. I had a basin of water and was cleaning out my outdoor storage compartments. Of course my hands were wet as I was cleaning and I kept feeling a pinch when I grazed against the frame of compartment. This happened several times and not at the same place. So I guess my entire MH was "shocking". It was plugged into my usual area that we have in back yard with no visible breaks in cord or anything unusual about the receptacle. Any ideas? This had happened once before when we were at a campground and it was raining heavily and we kept getting small shocks when we went in the door. Thanks for any input!

[Ron3rd]

Littlemo, at a minimum, get one of those 3 prong testers with the lights on it like the others have posted photos of. Any hardware or big box store will have it. When you plug into the pedestal, plug that tester to an outlet inside your RV and see if the lights show correct wiring. Best advise is to buy one of those Progressive Industries EMS boxes; you plug that into the pedestal first then plug your RV into the EMS. A good on runs around $200-250 but can save all the electrical wiring and devices in your RV as well as alert you to any ground problems. I have a 30 amp EMS for my rig.

[wa8yxm]

Haulinhazmat wrote:
Would someone explain floating ground. Thanks

Ok, look at this:

RV----------GROUND (Earth ground rod)

This is normal ground, NOTE the earth ground rod is at the SERVICE entrance and there may be plugs, outlets and adapters not shown

Now look at this

RFV---X X-----Ground (Earth ground)

Notice the break in the wire?
This is a floating ground. It floats (Not grounded) usually at around 60 VAC.

[time2roll]

Haulinhazmat wrote:
Would someone explain floating ground. Thanks

Typical ground is bonded to the neutral back at the source and is connected to a ground rod.

Floating does not have such a connection such as when using a Honda 2000 generator. In this case you would have 60 volts to ground from each side. Measure it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floating_ground

[Haulinhazmat]

Would someone explain floating ground. Thanks

[westend]

littlemo wrote:
Thanks Bobbo and Westend.
Like I said I am ignorant of Electrical tech so don't laugh @ my next question, (and I know you won't;), but would something like a jumper cable work?

I wouldn't use a jumper cable, there is just too much chance of a poor connection. Remember, this is a safety device and has to be able to do it's job. You want a clean, bright piece of frame at the attachment point and seal that location so it doesn't rust. You want a good interface into the earth. I'd recommend that if you do go forward with this back-up ground, pour some water on the ground where you force the rod into the ground.

I hope that you will make sure that the primary ground through your load center and path to a shore pedestal is good and working. I don't want the electrocution of your pet on my conscience if somehow the cable came loose or the ground rod was pulled with this secondary ground attachment. IOW, this shouldn't replace your primary ground path.

[K3WE]

Bobbo wrote:

littlemo wrote:

westend wrote:
If you're really concerned about the Yorkies, you could trail a wire off the frame of your RV to ground. That would offer a better path to ground than the Yorkie foot on a metal step. Your shore connection should offer the proper path to ground.

Tell me more. I am ignorant about wiring and electrical issues. What kind of wire from frame to ground? A piece of electric wire?

Bare copper 10 gauge solid wire is best. I wouldn't get stranded wire for this. Go to any big box hardware store to buy it. If they don't have bare copper wire, buy the green wire and strip off the insulation from a long section of the end going into the earth, and enough off the other end to get a good connection.

I don't disagree with this- but where does it end? They say if you REALLY want to ground something, you should have a copper rod driven 3 or 4 feet into the ground to connect to- laying wire on the ground, or a paved pad may or may not be an effective ground.

[littlemo]

Thanks Bobbo and Westend.
Like I said I am ignorant of Electrical tech so don't laugh @ my next question, (and I know you won't;), but would something like a jumper cable work?

[westend]

littlemo wrote:

westend wrote:
If you're really concerned about the Yorkies, you could trail a wire off the frame of your RV to ground. That would offer a better path to ground than the Yorkie foot on a metal step. Your shore connection should offer the proper path to ground.

Tell me more. I am ignorant about wiring and electrical issues. What kind of wire from frame to ground? A piece of electric wire?

As said, your shore power should have a continuous ground path. That eliminates the need for any secondary ground.
A second path to ground would be insurance that, should the primary fail, you have another path other than the shore connection.

I don't have a need for Yorkie spark elimination so haven't given it a lot of thought. If I was to do it, I'd use a braided ground strap or stranded wire connected by clamp to a short length of copper bar. During setup, the YDS (Yorkie De- Sparker) would be pulled out of it's holder and the copper bar pushed into the ground.

[Bobbo]

littlemo wrote:

westend wrote:
If you're really concerned about the Yorkies, you could trail a wire off the frame of your RV to ground. That would offer a better path to ground than the Yorkie foot on a metal step. Your shore connection should offer the proper path to ground.

Tell me more. I am ignorant about wiring and electrical issues. What kind of wire from frame to ground? A piece of electric wire?

Bare copper 10 gauge solid wire is best. I wouldn't get stranded wire for this. Go to any big box hardware store to buy it. If they don't have bare copper wire, buy the green wire and strip off the insulation from a long section of the end going into the earth, and enough off the other end to get a good connection.

[littlemo]

westend wrote:
If you're really concerned about the Yorkies, you could trail a wire off the frame of your RV to ground. That would offer a better path to ground than the Yorkie foot on a metal step. Your shore connection should offer the proper path to ground.

Tell me more. I am ignorant about wiring and electrical issues. What kind of wire from frame to ground? A piece of electric wire?

[wa8yxm]

Last time I was parked where I'm parked (Well nearby, different site) when I was taking down I messed up a couple things and being as I was still connected to the park power while I worked on it.. I got a nasty shock off the steps (I bent them and had to straighten a bit, still need to do a bit more on them).

Well... as it happened, the box was re-built when I pulled in... I checked it with my 3LT and it tested proper... I tested my cord with my multimeter and it tested proper.

Not sure what the problem is.. yet.. but I will find out. (Suspect 1: Connection between shore cord and RV not 100%)

[2112]

Glad to hear you found and corrected your problem. I'm going to tell my story anyway.

A friend bought a new S&B home. They lived there for almost a year when they decided it was time to clean the windows. DW is outside standing on the wet ground, hosed a window with the garden hose and then touches it with a wet, soapy sponge. BAM, she got the shock of her life. Unharmed but sore and shaken, they call the builder to explain the situation.

The next day the builder sends out a handy man repair guy. He knew exactly what the problem was. He rips out a section of the interior drywall under the window to uncover a screw used to set the aluminum window penetrating a romex running under the window, coming in contact with the hot wire.

That has been sitting there waiting to be discovered in a violent manner from day one. The handy man didn't seem to be surprised and played it down as "it happens".

[traveylin]

I had a friend touch the aluminum door frame of his camper and was immediately electrocuted...dead.. Any ground should be cause for concern as the difference between a tickle and a death is simply the path taken (through the heart). Grounds do occur as a result of wires rubbing on edges as the vehicle vibrates down the road as well as improper wiring.

pops

[westend]

If you're really concerned about the Yorkies, you could trail a wire off the frame of your RV to ground. That would offer a better path to ground than the Yorkie foot on a metal step. Your shore connection should offer the proper path to ground.