AC Voltage

[Winnie 2000]

Hello All, while changing my tank sensors I noticed what felt like a shock as I was kneeling on the ground while changing the sensors. The unit was plugged into land line so I unplugged it and the shock went away. I could read 15 voltage AC with a multimeter with one lead on the MH frame and the other pushed into the ground (dirt). Not sure where to start looking. Any ideas

[Martind4]

Be very careful. We had a similar situation at work with a mobile shoe trailer and when our safety guy found it, he immediately red tagged the trailer until it was repaired. He said it could have been fatal under the right conditions.

First of all, I'd unplug and check the land line outlet to see if it's the problem. Do you know the history of the outlet? Something newly installed or been around awhile? Are you dealing with a 30 amp or 50 amp source? Can you plug into a different source and duplicate the problem? At least then you'd know it's an RV problem.

There are others on this forum that know a lot more about electrical grounding/neutral problems and how to diagnose, I'm sure they'll chime in soon.

Let us know how it turns out.

[SUMDALUS]

Winnie 2000,

What you are referring to is called a "hot skin". The shock was probably just a little "tingle" rather than a "bite". You noticed it when you were touching the body of the RV somewhere and the ground at the same time. It is caused by an open ground connection somewhere in the RV or the electrical grid you are connected to.

Because the RV is isolated from the earth by the rubber tires and your chassis is not connected to an 8 foot steel rod driven into the earth (a little impractical to do every time you move the RV), the GROUND PATH is connected back to the grid via the power cord.

Check for loose or open ground connections in your circuit breaker panel, check for loose or open connection where the ground wire from the panel connects to the chassis, and check from one end of your power cord to the ground pin on the other end for continunity. Also check (or have checked) the ground connection at the outlet on the post. If you are using an extension cord to plug in, check it for continunity as well.

Remember, the "ground" is not a normal path for electricity. It is just an 'emergency exit / back door' for errant electricity. If your ground wiring is "complete" you will not feel the "tingle".

Hope this helps.