Electrical shock problem

[bigbear1737]

So I'm no electrician by any means. I'm pretty new to have a tt. We park it next to the garage and keep it plugged in as our veteran trailer owners has told us to do. We have been doing this since February with no problems. However the week or so we have gotten a very large amount of rain. Now if I touch anything metal on the trailer I get a shock. Even the smallest screw. The cord is not laying in water. Now the 50 amp would have been in the water as its rolled up under the trailer. But the plugs were kept up off the ground. Obviously the trailer is not plugged in right now as I don't want to damage any electronic inside. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

[Mich F]

I'd suggest the first thing to do is get/use one of these.
Electric Receptacle Tester

[nothermark]

The first thing I would do is take the power cord and measure between the safety ground pin on the cord and the safety ground hole in a receptacle with an ohm meter. Should be close to zero. I would not panic at an ohm or so as it it probably an error reading that low. If that is good add whatever adapters you have and check through them. Make sure the outlet you are plugging into is grounded and no one has removed a ground pin. IF all that checks out then it's time to do the same thing with the neutral wire. If all that checks then get back to us for the next step.

The receptacle tester is also not a bad idea. ;-)

[Skip426]

" the 50 amp would have been in the water "

Are you using adapters down to a 15 amp, or 30 amp , house circuit ?

Possible ; hot neutral, sometimes called reverse polarity ; at the house end.

[bigbear1737]

It's a 50 amp power cord reduced to a 30 amp plug reduced to the house circuit. Again
We never had a problem until all this rain

[bigbear1737]

Ok. So I just did a little experimenting and I plugged the extension cord into a different outlet in the garage. It seems to have solved the problem. Still kinda wonder what the deal is with the first outlet all of a sudden..

[Sweetbriar]

The one time I ran into the same was before I added a proper 30 amp outlet and was powering the coach off a 15 amp extension cord plugged into an exterior outlet. My problem was the house was built in 1960 and outlet grounding was code at the time but a prior owner changed the outlet but didn't add a ground. In other words the coach was no longer grounded. Probably the hot neutral was swapped. Can't recall considering I rewired the outlet all the way back to the house panel.

Test your coach with a three light outlet tester or do a You Tube search using "30 amp RV outlet testing". And as soon as your RV budget will allow get a surge protector but get one that also checks for high/low volts, open ground, open neutral and such.

[mel s]

Originally Posted by bigbear1737

It's a 50 amp power cord reduced to a 30 amp plug reduced to the house circuit. Again
We never had a problem until all this rain

bigbear1737
Apperenly you have what is called a "hot skin condition".
See this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8h64X33aKg

Unfortunately that video explains what a "hot skin condition" IS... how to TEST for it...and how DANGEROUS it is....but it doesn't explain the cause(s) of a "hot skin condition"... or how to eliminate it.

Does anyone have those important answers?

Mel
'96 Safari

[stormrider15]

Originally Posted by mel s

bigbear1737
Apperenly you have what is called a "hot skin condition".
See this video:

Unfortunately that video explains what a "hot skin condition" IS... how to TEST for it...and how DANGEROUS it is....but it doesn't explain the cause(s) of a "hot skin condition"... or how to eliminate it.

Does anyone have those important answers?

Mel
'96 Safari

This is the guy that knows everything there is to know about RV electrical. He helped me figure out a ground issue on a teardrop I'm building.

[nothermark]

The short answer to hot skin is that the AC distribution system has a grounded leg from the distribution transformer on the pole. It feeds 120 VAC from each side of that grounded center tap. If continuity is lost to ground on the load side it leaves the neutral floating at some level compared to ground. That is why checking continuity to ground for both the neutral and safety grounds is important. The outlet you plugged into may have had a missing ground connection or a bad connection as a lot of older wiring has had 3 hole outlets installed improperly to facilitate 3 wire power cords. We have also seen many reports of defective grounds or reversed wires in adapters.

FWIW I have seen those video's. IMHO take them with a grain of salt. He belongs to the one whiff of pot will lead you to dying in the gutter from a heroin overdose school of teaching. Useful information but way too scary a presentation.

[mel s]

Originally Posted by nothermark

The short answer to hot skin is that the AC distribution system has a grounded leg from the distribution transformer on the pole. It feeds 120 VAC from each side of that grounded center tap. If continuity is lost to ground on the load side it leaves the neutral floating at some level compared to ground. That is why checking continuity to ground for both the neutral and safety grounds is important. The outlet you plugged into may have had a missing ground connection or a bad connection as a lot of older wiring has had 3 hole outlets installed improperly to facilitate 3 wire power cords. We have also seen many reports of defective grounds or reversed wires in adapters.

FWIW I have seen those video's. IMHO take them with a grain of salt. He belongs to the one whiff of pot will lead you to dying in the gutter from a heroin overdose school of teaching. Useful information but way too scary a presentation.

nothermark
I have a hot skin condition which can be found anywhere on the skin of my coach and/or on the Splendide itself when the drum in my Splendide washer/dryer is turning, (using a non contact AC Voltage Detector).
But ONLY when DRYING... (not while washing, rinsing, or spinning).The condition is there when the drum is turning in either direction... gone for a moment while the drum stops to change direction....there again when the drum turns in the opposite direction....repeat ...repeat...repeat...until the dryer shuts off.

How can I find the cause, and the cure?

Mel
'96 Safari

[nothermark]

I think there are two threads about this. I don't think you have a problem. With a non contact probe I think you are measuring the static charge on the clothes in the dryer. Try dryer sheets if you are really worried. I'd be interested to know if that solves it.

[meddiver]

I just realized that I have a hot skin after servicing my Hot Water heater. I was getting tingling sensation while servicing it. I am new to RVing and we made a huge leap from zero to a 41 ft Newmar Diesel pusher, and now live in it.
So I have hot skin only when plugged into shore power - 50 amp. When my generator is running no hot skin?
I shut off the breakers one by one and checked for power none of them led me to an issue.
Any ideas as to where to start looking. I do have a transfer switch?

[Dale & Mark Bruss]

So I have hot skin only when plugged into shore power - 50 amp. When my generator is running no hot skin?
I shut off the breakers one by one and checked for power none of them led me to an issue.
Any ideas as to where to start looking. I do have a transfer switch?

When you are on the genset, your trailer frame is grounded to the genset. When on shore power, the Ground in the power cord is not being connected to Ground through the receptacle. It doesn't matter how many adapters you use, Ground is common in all adapters.

The problem could be in the receptacle with the receptacle not grounded.

I had this problem once from a replacement 50 amp cord end. The #6 conductors are very strong and the Hot leads were just a bit longer that the Ground wire in the plug. The Hot leads extended themselves and pulled the Ground wire out of the plug prong.