electric shock...small voltage - Montana Owners Club

mazboy · 03-21-2011, 11:09 AM

12 volt seems to be giving us a little voltage when coming in the door.
we both had shoes on.

any suggestions?

racerjoe · 03-21-2011, 11:16 AM

are you sure it is not static electricity ?

firetrucker · 03-21-2011, 11:44 AM

12V shouldn't give you a shock except under extreme circumstances. I'd be more concerned about 120V and a bad connection to neutral or ground at the pedestal, your power cord connection to the trailer, or something in the breaker box. Unplug the shore power to see if the problem goes away. If it does, don't plug it back in until someone checks the pedestal and the other things.

Bob

farmboy · 03-21-2011, 01:34 PM

When it happened to me the dealer found that the cable under the trailer was improperly routed and rubbed on the frame. They repaired the cable and rerouted it also. It was a minor tingle while using 30amp. and a dead short on 50amp service. Good luck finding problem.

Ozz · 03-21-2011, 02:55 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by firetrucker

12V shouldn't give you a shock except under extreme circumstances. I'd be more concerned about 120V and a bad connection to neutral or ground at the pedestal, your power cord connection to the trailer, or something in the breaker box. Unplug the shore power to see if the problem goes away. If it does, don't plug it back in until someone checks the pedestal and the other things.

Bob

Yep, dangerous. Get it looked at asap

BB_TX · 03-21-2011, 04:46 PM

Definitely have someone check it out. That is not 12 volts.

summers · 03-21-2011, 07:01 PM

I agree with the others, I do not believe this is 12 volt and I believe you have a dangerous situation. Rather this is your problem or not, a very good video that everyone should see is on You Tube called "hot skin rv proximity test full scale" Like I say it may not be your problem but then again it may be. Good luck and be sure and get it checked out.

HamRad · 03-21-2011, 09:28 PM

This very thing happened to me! Almost every time I would enter the rig I'd get a little tingle. It seemed to get worse with time. So I finally tried finding what was causing it. I must have checked every circuit in the rig at least twice! Could find nothing. It was still under warranty so I even had them check things out. Nothing!

Brought it home and started checking again. Decided I'd start at the beginning and just trace thru to the end. Well it was USER ERROR once again. This is at a time before I had installed a dedicated circuit for the RV. I was using a 50 foot 10 gauge extension cord plugged into a 20 amp circuit in my garage. Well a "friend" had borrowed my extension cord and had cut off the grounding part! I assume so it could be plugged into a non grounded receptacle.

I replaced the now defective plug and all was well. The tingle went away! Imagine that! Hope your problem is as simple as mine eventually turned out to be. Dennis

farmboy · 03-22-2011, 04:29 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by HamRad

This very thing happened to me! Almost every time I would enter the rig I'd get a little tingle. It seemed to get worse with time. So I finally tried finding what was causing it. I must have checked every circuit in the rig at least twice! Could find nothing. It was still under warranty so I even had them check things out. Nothing!

Brought it home and started checking again. Decided I'd start at the beginning and just trace thru to the end. Well it was USER ERROR once again. This is at a time before I had installed a dedicated circuit for the RV. I was using a 50 foot 10 gauge extension cord plugged into a 20 amp circuit in my garage. Well a "friend" had borrowed my extension cord and had cut off the grounding part! I assume so it could be plugged into a non grounded receptacle.

I replaced the now defective plug and all was well. The tingle went away! Imagine that! Hope your problem is as simple as mine eventually turned out to be. Dennis

I hate to tell you, but you still have a problem. The ground is there to protect you in case there is an issue not to hide one and in my opinion that is what you are doing. In my case the dealers tech tried to tell my I didn't have a problem with incoming power, but I had a bad bedroom tv and my microwave was shot. After a little face to face with him and the service writer about my qualifications and thier reading and troubleshooting skills they found the real problem and fixed it with a very sincere apology. Thats my opinion and I stick with it. Good Luck.

HamRad · 03-22-2011, 11:47 AM

John,
I'll take your word for it since I know only basic stuff and let my brother do all the thinking when it comes to electrical or mechanical. All I know is that before I replaced the faulty plug and replaced with a properly grounded one the tingle went away.

If I still have a problem it has not manifested itself in any form that I've seen. Can you tell me what I should be looking for? How exactly will it show? Still the shocking thing?

Any input will help an ignorant soul to keep from getting shocked.

Thanks for reply, Dennis

pchaas · 03-24-2011, 01:07 PM

Oh boy I really hate hearing this. I was working on a leaking waterline this weekend and when I was in the process of replacing the plastic belly pan with the self tapping screws, I felt a tingle. At first I thought it was just in the way I twisted my wrist. I grabbed the screwdriver with my other hand and yea I got the same tingle. I immediately unhooked the power and finished the job. Now I guess I need to figure out were the problem really is. We were just on a 1 1/2month trip and hooked and unhooked in several location with no problems. Can anyone give me a hint as to where I should start the search.

Ozz · 03-24-2011, 01:19 PM

The 2x4 junction box under the super-slide, I think, if not check under all of the slides. It has been found full of water... never good.
I may be remembering this wrong, but simple to check.
Good luck my friend.

NCFischers · 03-25-2011, 12:54 AM

That's a good place to start checking. There have been problems in those boxes before. Make sure that your power cord is in good shape and the wire is not exposed at the connections.

racerjoe · 03-25-2011, 02:50 AM

what I can't understand is why if something like a junction box fills with water why dosen't it go to a direct ground and trip the breaker? In my limited knowledge on this I can't see how that works. I would have thought that the water gives it a direct path to ground and trip.

NCFischers · 03-25-2011, 03:40 AM

Moisture can provide enough of a path for a tingle.

farmboy · 03-25-2011, 03:50 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by racerjoe

what I can't understand is why if something like a junction box fills with water why dosen't it go to a direct ground and trip the breaker? In my limited knowledge on this I can't see how that works. I would have thought that the water gives it a direct path to ground and trip.

Racerjoe, It can depend on several things. The amount of water, the type of j-box and how it is mounted,the type of junction made just to name a few. You need a short good enough to draw enough amps. to trip the c/b. I have seen extension cord connections laying in a pool of water causing the water to bubble and not trip the c/b. Thus the reason you use a gfi for outdoor use of electrical equipment. Hope this helps. JOHN

mhs4771 · 03-25-2011, 03:57 PM

Also of note: Distilled/Pure Water is not a really good conductor, it's the minerals and such in the water, like salt water is a much better conductor.

DonPd · 03-27-2011, 03:52 AM

Here is a link to information on this condition. He has other youtubes for this condition.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8h64...embedded#at=19

SlickWillie · 03-27-2011, 04:14 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by DonPd

Here is a link to information on this condition. He has other youtubes for this condition.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8h64...embedded#at=19

Good link. I ran into that on a mobile home once. Had it moved, and one of the swag lamps pulled the hot wire loose. It got over against another wire, and every time I touched the screen door, it would knock the heck out of me. I drove a ground rod and grounded trailer good while I checked and found the problem.

Back to this particular issue....I would turn the water heater electric off if it is on. I have seen them arch to ground. I would also check the ground buss on the RV. If it had a good ground, it wouldn't be shocking anyone. The human body has a lot more resistance than a copper conductor that is properly grounded.

Ozz · 03-27-2011, 04:46 AM

I use the Fluke 'Proximity detector' I call them, to verify all my equipment is not hot as I do my service work. It is an additional check only, always use a meter you know is in good working condition.
Before using the detector on anything, RV or other uses, check a known live circuit first, to see if the thing is powered up and working correctly. Some don't have the 'heartbeat' flash even if it does, I verify on a known live circuit.
Just my 2 cents worth...
A great video, thanks Don.

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