Community Forums

apfrizz · 01-21-2018, 10:36 AM

when hooked to shore power at home I have low voltage running through the frame of my rv. This is not a problem at a rv park .

F76Marion · 01-21-2018, 10:40 AM

Check that the ground and neutral are not reversed.

That is real common, but it does mean the the coach ground is no good.

Frank

Old-Biscuit · 01-21-2018, 11:05 AM

What is your set up at home....standard 120V 15/20A outlet, 30A outlet, 50A outlet?

You have 'lost' grounding via the extension cord, adapter or plug

And as suggested.check the outlet you are plugged into for proper ground/neutral

apfrizz · 01-22-2018, 07:02 AM

30amp hook up, I'll pick a new ground rod and try that I'll keep you posted thanks

Gary RVRoamer · 01-22-2018, 08:43 AM

You appear to have two problems.
1. There is a short somewhere in the RV wiring that is leaking voltage to the frame (chassis)
2. Your have no ground wire connection between coach and that outlet at home. The ground connector would safely dispose of that stray current in the coach chassis, but that just avoids you getting a shock (or worse). The short to ground in the RV still needs to be found and fixed.

Every outlet in a house should have a ground terminal and be safely connected to the ground bus in the hosue load center (breaker panel). The only exception would be houses over about 60 years old that were wired before there were such things. You might want to check that outlet for a broken wire, and maybe the entire house for a working ground system. It's your life that it is trying to protect!

Rambeau · 01-22-2018, 09:21 AM

I'll bet you do not have a Progressive Surge protector. If you did you would probably find it would not energize when you plug it in at home because you have a house wiring problem. They are worth every penny you pay for them.

wa8yxm · 01-22-2018, 10:05 AM

Ok, you have (most likely) an open ground..

IN electronics we have a device called a Voltage Divider.. In a DC system this is always a pair of resistors.. Like this.

Batt===/\/\/\---x---/\/\/\/---Ground
The voltage at X is a function of the battery voltage, and the two resistors (/\/\/\//)

IN an AC-System you can make one like that or you can use two capacitors...

Hot------!!----x----!!-----Neutral

The !! ios a capacitr, two metal plates separated by an insulator

In an RV however we have a 3-plate capacitor LIke this ---!!!----
The plate in the center... GROUND

Where is this 3 plate capaciive divider located....

ROMEX CABLE.. The The hot is on one side Neutral on the other and Ground in the middle.. And that's where your low voltage comes from .

apfrizz · 01-23-2018, 07:13 AM

Frank thanks that was the first place I check and that's why not sure where to go next.

nothermark · 01-23-2018, 07:29 AM

It's not unusual to have some leakage in an RV. That is why plugging into a GFI protected circuit is often a problem. In your case it sounds like a grounding problem at the house end.

The change Gary is referring to was adding the third hole to the socket and splitting ground and neutral. Before that we just twisted ground and neutral together an stuck them in the common bus bar. Neutral has always ended up connected to ground. That is the way the system works.Before I added a ground rod I would check the socket wiring. That is unless you know there is a grounding problem at the service entrance.

apfrizz · 01-23-2018, 03:26 PM

Thank you all problem solved had open ground on my sub panel put in new ground rod to the sub panel good to go.

THANK YOU ALL

Jim18655 · 01-23-2018, 03:34 PM

Is your sub-panel in the same building as your service? If so, it should have a 4 wire cable from the service panel and the ground system must be tied together. Driving a separate ground rod as the only grounding method for the sub-panel creates a dangerous situation and a shock hazard. If you have the sub-panel in an out building the panel can be connected as a sub-panel or a bonded service.
Yes, you can get a shock from ground to ground if the only grounding is a driven ground rod because of the soil resistance between the two panels.

hohenwald48 · 01-24-2018, 08:44 AM

The bonding of neutral and ground is a complicated topic but generally should not occur anywhere in an RV (exceptions apply). Installing a separately derived ground (additional ground rod) is an even more complicated topic and you will get much bad information on both topics on this forum.

You can search Google and get better info than you will here.

Jim18655 · 01-25-2018, 06:02 AM

40 years as an electrician and electrical instructor. I'll put my knowledge of grounding and bonding up against anyone, including electrical engineers. Stand-alone ground rods as the sole method is dangerous!
The problem with google is people will search the web until they find an opinion that agrees with what they want to do and call it quits and good enough.