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10-29-2019, 09:44 PM
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#1
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 14
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2014 Georgetown 328 TS 120 Volt Question
I'm looking for a schematic for the 120 volt system. I was working in the bay/door where the leveling pump is located. I was plugged into a 120V / 15A outlet with a 100 foot cord(missing the ground prong). As I was working (kneeling in damp grass) when I brushed the tips of my fingers against the aluminum of the outside wall I would get a tingle on the tips of my fingers. I'm trying to determine if there is a ground connection between the 120 volt system and the chassis frame. Thanks for any help
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10-29-2019, 09:57 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: x
Posts: 12,423
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You will not find a wiring schematic for your rig they don't exist outside the Mfg.
__________________
Retired Navy
Jake my sidekick (yellow Lab) 10/04 - 05/20
2017 RAM 2500 CC 4X4 Cummins Diesel
2016 Flagstaff 26 FKWS
AF&AM & El Korah Shrine of Idaho
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10-29-2019, 10:13 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Family room couch
Posts: 4,526
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JDEthan
I'm looking for a schematic for the 120 volt system. I was working in the bay/door where the leveling pump is located. I was plugged into a 120V / 15A outlet with a 100 foot cord (missing the ground prong). As I was working (kneeling in damp grass) when I brushed the tips of my fingers against the aluminum of the outside wall I would get a tingle on the tips of my fingers. I'm trying to determine if there is a ground connection between the 120 volt system and the chassis frame. Thanks for any help
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You've got two problems. You've got current leakage through something to the structure and you used a cord without a safety ground. If you were plugged into a GFCI outlet with the ground prong intact it would have tripped.
Normally a person cannot feel a current below roughly 10 milliamps and a GFCI will trip well before that. Currents between roughly 10 milliamps and 100 milliamps (one-tenth of an amp) can induce cardiac irregularities.
If you have an AC voltmeter I'd check to see how much leakage you see. You can start tripping breakers in the RV to see if you can make it go away and then investigate that piece of equipment.
Ray
(former paramedic and former registered advanced cardiac life support instructor who has worked with electrical and electronics for a half-century)
__________________
2020 Georgetown GT5 34H5
2020 Equinox Premier AWD 2.0L/9-speed
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10-30-2019, 02:52 PM
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#4
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 14
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Would I want to use a voltmeter or an ammeter between the aluminum and the ground? Following your suggestion I will kill the main breaker in the panel test, then turn main on, shut off all individual breakers and turn them on one at a time until i get a reading on the meter.
The reason for shutting off the main is because the transfer switch was replaced before we accepted delivery.
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10-30-2019, 03:06 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 7,645
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If your ground pin is missing in the drop cord then your unit is not properly grounded and I think that would be shocking. Use a drop cord with all the pins and see if the issue goes away. I think you are becoming the ground.
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10-30-2019, 03:15 PM
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#6
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 14
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Yes, I realize I'm becoming the ground. (Not the first time, probably not the last) My concern is the connection between the 120V system and the aluminum skin on the body. I don't believe the two should be connected.
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10-30-2019, 03:28 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: x
Posts: 12,423
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JDEthan
Yes, I realize I'm becoming the ground. (Not the first time, probably not the last) My concern is the connection between the 120V system and the aluminum skin on the body. I don't believe the two should be connected.
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Take a couple of minutes and watch this video
good luck
__________________
Retired Navy
Jake my sidekick (yellow Lab) 10/04 - 05/20
2017 RAM 2500 CC 4X4 Cummins Diesel
2016 Flagstaff 26 FKWS
AF&AM & El Korah Shrine of Idaho
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10-30-2019, 06:24 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Family room couch
Posts: 4,526
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JDEthan
Would I want to use a voltmeter or an ammeter between the aluminum and the ground? Following your suggestion I will kill the main breaker in the panel test, then turn main on, shut off all individual breakers and turn them on one at a time until i get a reading on the meter.
The reason for shutting off the main is because the transfer switch was replaced before we accepted delivery.
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That should work. Make sure you have a voltage reading between the skin and the ground first.
I'd probably turn off the main and assure the reading goes away. If not, start there. It could be something as simple as corrosion on that line.
Then I would turn on one breaker and turn it off before turning the next one on. You may have a couple of things leaking current and the additive amount is what you felt.
BTW, are you having second thoughts yet about being completely honest and thorough about the missing ground lug?
Ray
__________________
2020 Georgetown GT5 34H5
2020 Equinox Premier AWD 2.0L/9-speed
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10-30-2019, 09:23 PM
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#9
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 14
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No second thoughts, if I don't include all relevant information then the answer I get may not be complete.
I have used that same cord previously with no tingles, the only difference is that the weather had been dry(drought conditions according to weather.com).
Now it is wet . Which is another variable.
My thing is understanding how the skin is connected to the electrical power. Loose wire, long screw that is touching the skin.
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10-30-2019, 11:03 PM
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#10
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Family room couch
Posts: 4,526
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My guess would be a piece of electrical equipment bolted to the metal structure has an insulation failure internally and is leaking current to its metallic case.
Ray
__________________
2020 Georgetown GT5 34H5
2020 Equinox Premier AWD 2.0L/9-speed
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10-31-2019, 10:51 AM
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#11
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Phat Phrog Stunt Team
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Tipp City, OH
Posts: 7,154
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It's called a "hot skin". The missing ground is probably the culprit, but there are some really good videos describing it and how to fix.
__________________
2016 Georgetown 364TS
2017 Jeep Rubicon Recon toad
Nights Camped 2019 - 17
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10-31-2019, 11:17 AM
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#12
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Family room couch
Posts: 4,526
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AquaMan
It's called a "hot skin". The missing ground is probably the culprit, but there are some really good videos describing it and how to fix.
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The missing ground would be why he felt it but that's a safety feature. I think he also needs to find the source of the stray voltage. If it's a defect it could keep leaking more current until it trips a breaker and those never happen just after arriving at home from a long trip.
Ray
__________________
2020 Georgetown GT5 34H5
2020 Equinox Premier AWD 2.0L/9-speed
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10-31-2019, 01:20 PM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Raleigh, NC
Posts: 9,458
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Lots of possibilities
Quote:
Originally Posted by NXR
My guess would be a piece of electrical equipment bolted to the metal structure has an insulation failure internally and is leaking current to its metallic case.
Ray
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Leakage is sneaky and can take lots of paths. It can be tough to find. The one-breaker-at-a-time is a possibility.
There was a poster on this forum, maybe a year ago, who talked about bonding neutral to ground at the trailer so he could use a three-wire cord instead of four-wire. If he had done that, and the neutral-trailer-ground opened, the trailer skin would become hot. This one's subtle. An open at the cord causing hot skin.
Any appliance that has leakage from the hot side to grounded case could be the cause. It's even possible at junction boxes, wet areas, and at the circuit breaker panel.
__________________
Larry
"Everybody's RV is not like your RV."
"Always take pictures with the button on the right."
"Always bypass the water heater before opening the low-point drains."
Sticks and Bricks: Raleigh, NC
2008 Cherokee 38P: at Ivor, VA permanently
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