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Old 11-22-2010, 11:14 PM   #11
kcv
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Re: Electrified SMB

I've touched the frame many times since unplugging from the shore power; it is after all our 'daily driver' vehicle. We just never plug in since we're running it every day.

I'm not certain what kind of shock it was, only that I definitely felt the buzz. My guess was DC since it didn't exactly knock me off of my feet. I'm quite sure I was grounded outside with my feet while I was digging under the drivers side dash.

I plan to pick up a non contact voltage tester, as recommended, on my next trip to the hardware store. Then, I'll plug back in and try recreating the problem.

Does anyone else have an audible buzz in the air at the point of the shore power connection outside? This was another thing I noticed when unplugging after receiving the shock.

I've had 3 different pro's of sorts work on the van since I purchased it used last year. It all started with a bad solara panel that didn't charge, then a bad battery separator, followed by bad battery and now a second (original, non-replaced) battery. It's always something, right? Someday I'll have it al running and charing like a dream... I hope

Thanks to everyone on this forum. Even though it's my first post, I want to thank everyone as I've been a constant visitor in my pre and post purchase research.

I'll likely be posting again once I get a few of your recommended tests worked out. Thanks again.

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Old 11-22-2010, 11:34 PM   #12
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Re: Electrified SMB

Kcv, if you feel it more than likely it's AC. Unless your hands are wet you'll never feel DC at 12v unless you complete the current path. The way I hear you, you're getting shocks from the van only when plugged into shore power and the inverter is off...correct?



BTW this is not a joke but Just to be sure, you don't happen to live close to lines that look like this:
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Old 11-23-2010, 08:31 AM   #13
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Re: Electrified SMB

My money is on a swaped neutral on the house plug. little side should be hot and the big the neutral.
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Old 11-23-2010, 03:27 PM   #14
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Re: Electrified SMB

Not only get the non contact tester, get the plug in type ($4-$5) Jade posted a picture of. Start at the house end and make sure the house outside plug is wired correctly. Then work towards the van and into the van. I also ASSUME that your outside outlet (on the house or in the garage) is not GFI protected. If it was you should be popping the GFI.

Are SMB's designed with GFI protection? I have a GFI as the first devise the shore power goes through when it comes into my van.
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Old 11-23-2010, 03:49 PM   #15
kcv
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Re: Electrified SMB

Actually, I blow a lot of GFI switches when plugging into exterior home outlets...

There is a GFI inside the van which rarely trips.
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Old 11-25-2010, 06:16 PM   #16
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Re: Electrified SMB

If you need to plug into a GFCI protected outlet first turn the inverter charger to the auto invert position. Wait a couple of minutes then you should be able to plug into the GFCI without tripping it. Once you are plugged in you can turn the inverter back to the charge only position.

As far as the chassis being electrified I am assuming this is 120 Volt current you are feeling since 12 volt is not strong enough to give you a shock. Keep in mind you can touch both terminals on a 12 volt battery without feeling s shock. You has to much resistance for 12 volt current to flow.

Assuming this is 120 volt current you have a short between the ground system and one of the current carrying conductors, this could either be the hot or neutral (black or white wires). If you live in a house that was built prior to 1970 most of the outlets would have originally been ungrounded two prong outlets. In these houses people sometimes wire a jumper wire between the neutral and ground terminals on the outlet when installing three hole grounded type outelts. This will trick the tester Jage pictured into thinking the outlet is properly grounded. This is called a false ground and is a very dangerous practice as the neutral conductor carries current and will create a situation where people can be shocked. Since the ground connection on the shore power should be connected to the chassis of the van this could account for the current you are feeling. The only way to check this without an expensive circuit tested is to pull the outlet and verify that it is wired correctly.

If the outlet is wire correctly check to see if there is a sub-panel feeding the outlet you are plugging into. This would be a second smaller panel downstream of your main breaker panel. Many homeowners and handymen wire these incorrectly and connect the ground and neutral conductors to the same bar. While they are connected in the main panel they should never be connected downstream of the main panel.

If you are not sure what you are looking at take some pictures and post them and I or someone else will help you verify that things are wired correctly. I will be of the forum until Monday, I will be out enjoying my SMB.

Happy Turkey Day
John


Cheers,
John
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Old 11-25-2010, 09:06 PM   #17
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Re: Electrified SMB

I realize we are all guessing here but there is a lot of good info for future use. Here is a good link. It doesn't cover stray voltage which is a more complicated issue but it does offer some good basic info:
http://www.misterfixit.com/hotnot.htm
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