Metal camper step shocked my dog!

[thomaskemper]

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

[thomaskemper]

thomaskemper wrote:

enblethen wrote:
Close up of breaker 15 amp is a little too close!
Have you located the GFCI receptacle? If you have disconnect the neutral and ground. Older units had an internal circuit.

OK, this is an older unit, and I have not seen a GFCI. I don't know where to look for an internal circuit. And I don't know what one looks like if I did look.

I'll post another picture of the panel. Try to get the wiring from the side...

It takes a while to get the picture, send it to my mailbox, download it, and upload to IMGUR. Be back in a bit. People who have been involved in this keep disappearing, so it's hard to keep continuity here. I keep expecting this to be a conversation with one or two people, but once I get rolling, someone goes away, and someone new takes over. It's frustrating.

So, here we have my meter. The first picture is the configuration I used all day, and which started out reading 00.0. Tonight, it is -00.0, and I get no reading when touching the truck with the meter grounded. I changed the plugs to the configuration in the second picture, and I get 2V, even with the amplifier on.

I'm cursed. There are demons in my truck. And in my meter. What the h*e*l*l.

[thomaskemper]

enblethen wrote:
Close up of breaker 15 amp is a little too close!
Have you located the GFCI receptacle? If you have disconnect the neutral and ground. Older units had an internal circuit.

OK, this is an older unit, and I have not seen a GFCI. I don't know where to look for an internal circuit. And I don't know what one looks like if I did look.

I'll post another picture of the panel. Try to get the wiring from the side...

It takes a while to get the picture, send it to my mailbox, download it, and upload to IMGUR. Be back in a bit. People who have been involved in this keep disappearing, so it's hard to keep continuity here. I keep expecting this to be a conversation with one or two people, but once I get rolling, someone goes away, and someone new takes over. It's frustrating.

[enblethen]

Close up of breaker 15 amp is a little too close!
Have you located the GFCI receptacle? If you have disconnect the neutral and ground. Older units had an internal circuit.

[thomaskemper]

smkettner wrote:
Has the supply been checked with a tester yet?
Doubt there is anything miswired in the RV.

Are you talking about the extension cord from the house? I didn't use the tester, but I traded it out with my neighbor's extension, and got the same result. Is this what you mean by "supply"? If you mean the outlet in the house, I am using a strip in the house. I'll go switch it out and see if there is a difference...

[thomaskemper]

thomaskemper wrote:

thomaskemper wrote:

thomaskemper wrote:

enblethen wrote:
Rewire no! check connections.
Can you open the electrical panel and post a photo?
If the panel is new, there could be a main bonding screw installed at the factory that needs to be removed for RV application. It is normally a green colored screw that goes through the neutral buss into the metal housing.
Did you run the shore power cable to a 30 amp breaker or attach it to the buss work?

Unfortunately, my tools are on the roof, so I can't open the panel all the way, but here's what I have so far. Tell me if you need a closer look, and I will try to get a couple of different angles. I think I can probably see into the inner compartment a bit more if I come from the side.

Unfortunately, my tools are on the roof, so I can't open the panel all the way, but here's what I have so far. Tell me if you need a closer look, and I will try to get a couple of different angles. I think I can probably see into the inner compartment a bit more if I come from the side.

************************************

I'm not sure why all three images did not come through but I will try another tack...

******************************************

I just noticed something: why is there a black wire going to the far left 15A fuse? Ground to hot? This isn't right, is it?

[thomaskemper]

thomaskemper wrote:

thomaskemper wrote:

enblethen wrote:
Rewire no! check connections.
Can you open the electrical panel and post a photo?
If the panel is new, there could be a main bonding screw installed at the factory that needs to be removed for RV application. It is normally a green colored screw that goes through the neutral buss into the metal housing.
Did you run the shore power cable to a 30 amp breaker or attach it to the buss work?

Unfortunately, my tools are on the roof, so I can't open the panel all the way, but here's what I have so far. Tell me if you need a closer look, and I will try to get a couple of different angles. I think I can probably see into the inner compartment a bit more if I come from the side.

Unfortunately, my tools are on the roof, so I can't open the panel all the way, but here's what I have so far. Tell me if you need a closer look, and I will try to get a couple of different angles. I think I can probably see into the inner compartment a bit more if I come from the side.

************************************

I'm not sure why all three images did not come through but I will try another tack...

[time2roll]

Has the supply been checked with a tester yet?
Doubt there is anything miswired in the RV.

[thomaskemper]

thomaskemper wrote:

enblethen wrote:
Rewire no! check connections.
Can you open the electrical panel and post a photo?
If the panel is new, there could be a main bonding screw installed at the factory that needs to be removed for RV application. It is normally a green colored screw that goes through the neutral buss into the metal housing.
Did you run the shore power cable to a 30 amp breaker or attach it to the buss work?

Unfortunately, my tools are on the roof, so I can't open the panel all the way, but here's what I have so far. Tell me if you need a closer look, and I will try to get a couple of different angles. I think I can probably see into the inner compartment a bit more if I come from the side.

Unfortunately, my tools are on the roof, so I can't open the panel all the way, but here's what I have so far. Tell me if you need a closer look, and I will try to get a couple of different angles. I think I can probably see into the inner compartment a bit more if I come from the side.

************************************

I'm not sure why all three images did not come through but I will try another tack...

[enblethen]

Remove the cover off the breakers side. Post photo on that side.
Some where near the shore cable entrance should be a junction box where the shore power cable splices to the rigs internal wiring. Check the connections there if you have not done it.

[thomaskemper]

enblethen wrote:
Rewire no! check connections.
Can you open the electrical panel and post a photo?
If the panel is new, there could be a main bonding screw installed at the factory that needs to be removed for RV application. It is normally a green colored screw that goes through the neutral buss into the metal housing.
Did you run the shore power cable to a 30 amp breaker or attach it to the buss work?

Unfortunately, my tools are on the roof, so I can't open the panel all the way, but here's what I have so far. Tell me if you need a closer look, and I will try to get a couple of different angles. I think I can probably see into the inner compartment a bit more if I come from the side.

[thomaskemper]

enblethen wrote:
Rewire no! check connections.
Can you open the electrical panel and post a photo?
If the panel is new, there could be a main bonding screw installed at the factory that needs to be removed for RV application. It is normally a green colored screw that goes through the neutral buss into the metal housing.
Did you run the shore power cable to a 30 amp breaker or attach it to the buss work?

I don't know if you've read the previous posts, but I have been working with people on this for two days. Here's what's up:

I am running shore-power to the cable that comes out of the side of the camper and runs straight into the breaker box. Inside the panel (which is original, and the wiring, although likely not original, may or may not be new), I can see where the black ground wire goes to a screw with a square housing. It's connected well, as are all the other wires. I will post a picture in a minute. Will take a few minutes to go through the process, of course. I have checked the ground wire under the truck. Two wires connected well to the frame. The breakers are a 15A service that runs all the outlets, and a 20A AC service.

I think it is significant, although nobody has answered this issue, that I get progressively more leakage as appliances are added, of course, when I am hooked to shore-power, but when I run the generator, as I add the appliances nothing changes. But it still leaking 20V consistently.

Photo file to come...

[enblethen]

Rewire no! check connections.
Can you open the electrical panel and post a photo?
If the panel is new, there could be a main bonding screw installed at the factory that needs to be removed for RV application. It is normally a green colored screw that goes through the neutral buss into the metal housing.
Did you run the shore power cable to a 30 amp breaker or attach it to the buss work?

[thomaskemper]

enblethen wrote:
All new wiring!
Something is not wired correctly.

No freaking way I am going to completely rewire this thing. It's brand new stuff!

If I can't figure it out, I will hire somebody. But first I am going to test the polarities. Something, indeed, is not wired right. Some hot wire is loading a ground. It's got to be. But... everything looks right! Dang it. 😞

Such frustration. Coupled with the issue I am having with a leaking AC unit, I am at my wits end and beating my dogs! (This is a lie. Except for the wits end part. That's true.)

[enblethen]

All new wiring!
Something is not wired correctly.

[thomaskemper]

westend wrote:

Oh, and I am using a standard multi-meter.

Does this "standard" meter have a swinging needle or a digital read out? Can you share the brand and model number of the meter?

If the voltage rises as different devices are powered, the most likely suspect is the shore cord. Is yours in good shape? I seem to remember from the one image that you posted that it may have had the male end replaced. It looked like that replacement end is a standard 120 V 15 amp end. If this is the case, a replacement molded 30 amp shore cord from Walmart (or similar) is not that much expense. You would also need a dog-bone adapter to plug into an extension cord or household receptacle. This is the standard setup for your Dolphin, AFAIK.

If replacing the shore cord, you will need to know how to wire it into the Dolphin correctly and enlisting an electrician or learned friend would be best.

Also, I see what appears to be an extension cord run through the door opening in your last image. What is that about?

I am using a CEN-TECH P35761 digital multimeter with DCV, ACV, DCA, 10A, and OHMS meters.

I tested my shore to cabin connection using my neighbor's extension cord, and nothing changed. All the wiring appears to be new, including the cord to the box, and the cord to ground.

"...It looked like that replacement end is a standard 120 V 15 amp end. If this is the case, a replacement molded 30 amp shore cord from Walmart (or similar) is not that much expense. You would also need a dog-bone adapter to plug into an extension cord or household receptacle. This is the standard setup for your Dolphin, AFAIK."

Thanks for this. I did not post any pictures of my cord, because I did not know how to post files. The picture of my truck is the only image I shared.

As far as the rating on the cord... I really don't know, but I will look into it. I suppose Jim's cord might also not be rated for this set-up. I'll check it out.

Funny that you would mention the cord coming out of the camper... it's a dog tie-out. Audie was inside. 😄

It is still a mystery to me that I am getting such low readings — albeit still positive voltage — when the generator is in use, especially because it remains at the same reading whether I power everything or nothing.

Thanks for your help. I hope to hear back from you soon.

~Thomas