Hot Skin - Montana Owners Club

navybanker · 09-21-2011, 10:37 AM

Yesterday, I was crawling around under the side of the camper and touched a cross beam to get out from under it. I was shocked (electric shock) and noticed the weak shock came from several places around the frame. My volt meter registered .2 volts in places. The Monty is hooked up to 110, 20amp from the stick house with the correct adapters on the 50 amp power cord. Camper is under warranty and was scheduled for a visit today. Service manager called it "hot skin" and said it happens when the camper is not grounded properly. He said they will look for the problem and fix it. I have never heard of this and would appreciate any advice before picking it back up and being told it is "fixed". Not being an electrician, this is scary. Thanks,

NCFischers · 09-21-2011, 11:08 AM

You are right to be concerned. This usually happens when you don't have a good ground in the outlet you are connected to or a loose ground in one of your power cords. Have the techs check the male and female ends on your power cords and the ground connectio ns in your circuit breaker box. This problem has happened to others. It needs to be fixed. It can be dangerous.

HamRad · 09-21-2011, 11:13 AM

NavyBanker,
As indicated by Jim this is a "Hot" topic. It was just discussed in some detail here on the MOC. I had the problem and it turned out to be a bad extension cord with no ground on it. The fellow that just had the same problem it turned out to be something in his garage outlet. Look for and test the various places where a connection is made and you'll probably run across the problem. Good luck and keep us informed. Dennis

navybanker · 09-21-2011, 11:48 AM

Upon our return to the stick house from a trip several weeks ago, the extension cord used to connect to the camper seemed to not be working. But, later determined it was. The camper is hooked up to a 110 outside outlet all the time the camper is home. The extension cord is out in the weather all the time. The outlet is outside the garage and has a cover for the individual outlets if no cord is attached. The cord is 100' and is supposedly an "outside/water proof" cord which is yellow and expensive. I forget the rating on the extension cord but believe it is "12". The 50 amp cord for the camper was not taken to the dealer since am always concerned it may 'walk off'. Besides the dealer checking the camper, need to hire a real electrian to check the outlet on the stick house. Also may rethink keeping the camper powered all the time with the extension cord when home. Please keep your comments coming. Thanks,

jimcol · 09-21-2011, 04:15 PM

The loose ground NCFisher is talking about could be in your 50 amp cord. The dealer won't find it as the cord is at your house. If you have any experience with a volt/ohm meter you can check the ground in that cord on your own. Good luck and let us know what the final solution is. Jim

NCFischers · 09-21-2011, 11:38 PM

Sometimes, a volt/ohm meter won't find the problem. If the connection is just loose, the meter may read ok but the connection won't carry a load. I recommend a physical inspection to verify that all connections are tight and the wiring is properly seated in the set screw connections in the plugs.

jimcol · 09-22-2011, 12:58 AM

Great point Jim! The meter will only show the complete absents of continuity.

PatnRich · 09-22-2011, 08:36 AM

I had a similer situation after the builders electrician installed a 30 amp recepticle at the house for the rv. In damp weather I would get a slight shock. The problem was an improperly wired plug, (hot neutral) As Jim said it is dangerous.

farmboy · 09-22-2011, 01:52 PM

NCFISHERS
I have a question on this issue. Is it not the purpose of the equipment ground(green) wire to drain off any voltage that comes in contact with the frame, and you would only have voltage on the frame if there was a problem in the trailers systems some where? That is my understanding of the equipment ground anyway. Thanks John.

NCFischers · 09-23-2011, 02:00 AM

John,
There is almost always is a small amount of buildup from all the appliances and equipment we all use everyday. Without the ground, it can build up until it finds a path to dissipate. We're sitting on four insulators (tires) so there is nothing but the green wire to provide that path to ground.

farmboy · 09-23-2011, 05:11 AM

Thanks Jim,
But in my case I had a wire that was installed wrong and had rubbed bare and touching the frame. My point is that the problem can be caused by things other than a bad grounding system.

navybanker · 09-23-2011, 05:36 AM

Still trying to locate the problem at the stick house. All outlets used from the house are reading 119 volts along with 50 amp cord (two posts reading this), 50 amp with 30 and 15 connectors, and the 110 extension cord. Someone said the volt meter may not indicate the problem but doing everything possible to check here. Connections on the various cords and connectors were checked and nothing suspicious thus far. Dealer has not started on my camper at this time.
Should you leave an exposed extension cord out in the weather attached to the camper? Have done this for about three years with no problems previously with Montana and Cardinal that was traded in on Montana. Thanks,

farmboy · 09-23-2011, 12:31 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by navybanker

Still trying to locate the problem at the stick house. All outlets used from the house are reading 119 volts along with 50 amp cord (two posts reading this), 50 amp with 30 and 15 connectors, and the 110 extension cord. Someone said the volt meter may not indicate the problem but doing everything possible to check here. Connections on the various cords and connectors were checked and nothing suspicious thus far. Dealer has not started on my camper at this time.
Should you leave an exposed extension cord out in the weather attached to the camper? Have done this for about three years with no problems previously with Montana and Cardinal that was traded in on Montana. Thanks,

I just found this site and it may help you in your troubleshooting efforts. NOSHOCKZONE.ORG He talks about hot skin and other rv electrical issues.

NCFischers · 09-23-2011, 02:03 PM

John,
You are right, a wire rubbing on a sharp surface can also cause this problem. I always try to check the easy causes first and then keep going until I find the problem. Sometimes, it can take a while to find the source of the problem but you need to keep at it until it's found. it's important that's fixed.

navybanker · 09-26-2011, 04:18 AM

Checked the outside outlet on the garage and testing the neutral and ground got a 6-7 volt reading. This is the outlet the camper was hooked to. Read you should not have over 2-3 volts max. Other outlets in the garage have zero volts on this test. Also checked the volts going thru the 100' extension cord and reads 118 volts so no noticeable voltage drop. The website "noshockzone" has a lot of good info. Now, if the dealer will get to the camper and check that end out. Thanks,

HamRad · 09-26-2011, 12:27 PM

John,
That noshockzone is an excellent site! I've saved it in my bookmarks and will use it often. Thanks for sharing it. Dennis

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