Community Forums

Shadoenight · 09-04-2017, 08:11 AM

So my girl an I are becoming full time RVers we bought this 1978 Dodge The Diplomat II with 53,000 miles on the 440 engine. It doe's need a little TLC someone already helped me with one problem but in doing so it raised another question.

I have Two cord's in my box one was wired to an what I am assuming was an outlet and thought someone was just trying to make the cord longer an until now I was plugging it into the other cord that I had hooked into a 110 ac outlet. By doing that would I make it to were I would receive a small jolt if I touched the RV without shoes on or do I have a different problem?

Skip426 · 09-04-2017, 10:28 AM

Welcome to iRV2.

The shock your getting ( sometimes in posts referred to as " hot skin " ) can have several causes , reversed hot and neutral wiring in the outlet you're plugged into, ( found that at a friend's house , when I got a shock changing a water heater element with the circuit breaker off ) or the cord it's self.
Important to track this down as you don't want to be near the unit if it's raining.
First thing to try would be, plug into a different outlet.
After that , any wiring that doesn't look like it's original, to the coach, can be suspect.

Google " RV Hot Skin " for more info on the subject.

Mr_D · 09-04-2017, 10:34 AM

from WA State!
If the wiring has been modified then it's suspect.
As was said, it's not something to ignore, it must be fixed.

beamisl · 09-04-2017, 11:14 AM

Shadoenight,

Take a picture of the wiring area you are talking about so people can see what you mean.
It helps them to sometimes better answer question s.

This could be a nice rig. If you have questions this is the best place to ask, lot's of knowledge here.

When you decide to wash the outside, try Simple Green. Full strength on hard areas, and with water where not so badly soiled or stained. Wait to wash until you get the wiring issue resolved though please.

Good luck and keep taking pictures as you work on her and let us see your progress, we love to see these brought back to life.

Lynne

And what are your names please????

beamisl · 09-04-2017, 11:17 AM

Shadoenight,

Sorry, thought about a couple things. How old are the tires? Don't care how good they look, how old are they? They have dates on the side to let you know. Anything over 7 or 8 years should be replaced as RV tires age out before they mile out.

Also, you will find some CG's (camp grounds) will not allow rigs over 10 yrs old into their CG's unless you send a picture showing it is in good shape and or repair. Keep a picture of her in your phone or on a tablet for your convenience. After you clean her up of course.

Watch YouTube videos about everything RV. Good Luck, Lynne

Shadoenight · 09-04-2017, 12:45 PM

Thank you for the advice and will check on it as soon as I finish reading the response's will even do a video to be sure everything I'm looking at gets seen maybe someone will see something I don't.

My name is Charles but everyone calls me Chuck my girl is Christina but she likes to be called Tink.

beamisl · 09-04-2017, 02:35 PM

Chuck and Tink,

You have one of the older well made rigs. Usually what goes wrong with them is someone messing around and not knowing what they were doing or poor maintenance. They need some loving care.

I Love camping and this rig will do you well once you get it tuned up.

Congrats on the purchase, she will need some work but she will give you lots of fun too. Lynne

Shadoenight · 09-05-2017, 11:18 PM

So is it me or the AC outlet I'm hooked up to?
I had to get power from my generator today and found out that the hot skin problem was gone.
Is this common or do I need to look at something else?

Skip426 · 09-05-2017, 11:30 PM

Actually a very good question , that's part of the ; hot skin ; problem I've haven't heard discussed before .
Question .
To power the coach from the gen set, do you have to plug in the shore power cable to an outlet in the coach , or is there an auto transfer switch , to power the coach automatically shortly after the gen set starts ?

Shadoenight · 09-06-2017, 10:35 AM

I have to plug our blue cord into an outlet in the what I am calling our power box. But the blue cord is also used to plug into AC power. An as I am explaining this it's not making sense because in in order to get power from the generator the blue plug has to be plunged into a outlet in my power box but for AC power we only plug our blue cord into the AC outlet. If this isn't making any sense I will be happy to add pictures for better understanding.

beamisl · 09-06-2017, 02:10 PM

Chuck,

I would post some pics since that seems odd to me and I am no expert. I think the previous owner did some re wiring and did not know what they were doing.

Lynne

4x4van · 09-06-2017, 04:21 PM

Pics of the cords and outlets will definitely help. Is one cord hardwired to the coach (male plug on one end), and the other cord not (male plug on one end, female plug on the other end)? If so, the hardwired one is your power cord for the RV, the one with plugs on both ends is just an extension to use if needed to reach a power pedestal farther away.

Most newer coaches have an automatic transfer switch to switch the supply between shore power and generator. But many (most) older coaches don't. Instead, the generator output is routed to an outlet box, usually located in or near the compartment where the power cord is located/stored. Think of that outlet as an onboard power pedestal. To power your MH, you must plug it in to either the onboard power pedestal (which is powered from the generator) or the shore power pedestal (campground, garage, etc).

Shadoenight · 09-06-2017, 09:18 PM

Alright pic two is the spliced blue cord that go's straight to the beaker box. Pic one is where I have to plug the blue cord to receive power from the generator I now believe the blue cord was put in to act as an extension in order to reach further. Pic three is what I use to get power from AC and the generator.

So why is it that plugging into AC power cause's hot skin an plugging into the generator doe's not cause hot skin?

Skip426 · 09-07-2017, 11:06 AM

First two things to try .

1, RED circle, the wiring connection of the green wire ( ground ) to the cable clamp is not to any code , because the cable clamp is not a solid connection to the metal box, where the green wire from the other cable is hooked up to the box . The connection needs to be redone with a proper 120 volt wiring connector ; NOT a 12 volt crimp connector like it has.
2. Blue circle , remove the tape and check for the proper ; wire nuts , connecting these two sections of cable together .

EDIT: BTW , pick up some ; non-flamable spray contact cleaner to , remove the rust and corrosion from the gen set power plug , those connections are nasty, and when you've made the proper connections tuck the wiring back into the box and get a proper metal cover on it.