Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 11-20-2010, 06:47 PM   #1
kcv
Junior Member
 
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 9
Electrified SMB

After dealing with a plethora of battery related issues, I was plugged into shore power and was checking fuses under the dash. Lo and behold, when I touched the metal frame under the dash I was surprised to find my van was electrified. I'm basically a novice still with electricity, though I've learned a lot after replacing batteries, separators, and soon-to-be Solara solar panels.

How would someone go about tracing the problem of an improperly grounded vehicle?

kcv is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-20-2010, 08:57 PM   #2
Site Team
 
daveb's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Turlock Ca
Posts: 10,407
Garage
Re: Electrified SMB

AC power is polarized. Make sure your shore power is set up correctly. On a 110 outlet one side is ground and the other is hot. Many AC items don't care what side is ground or what side hot to work. But it does matter in some circumstances. I'm not saying this is your problem but sounds like it. They make testers that you can purchase at a place like Radio Shack which tells you the polarity is wrong in an AC receptacle.
http://www.gcaudio.com/resources/howtos/acpolarity.html
__________________
2006 Ford 6.0PSD EB-50/E-PH SMB 4X4 Rock Crawler Trailer

Sportsmobile 4X4 Adventures..........On and off road adventures
daveb is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-20-2010, 09:31 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
Ford_6L_E350's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Washington - Ridgefield
Posts: 4,728
Re: Electrified SMB

It sounds like you got a shock when you touched the metal frame under the dash. Is that right?

In order to get a shock, you must touch 2 things at different potentials, the dash metal and ???? What else were you touching when you felt the electricity? Chances are the dash metal is grounded, and you touched some other voltage source to get a shock.

Do you have an inverter in your van? Was it turned on or off?

Is your shore power and cord grounded?

Did you have a drop light or any other AC powered device in the van?

Mike
__________________
Alaska to Key West, Labrador and more
Prostate cancer survivor. See Thread Prostate cancer and Sportsmobiles
2015 VW GTI 2020 Fiat 124 Spider
2012 E250 Hitop camper
Ford_6L_E350 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-21-2010, 08:12 AM   #4
Site Team
 
Gooseberry's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Covina
Posts: 1,317
Garage
Re: Electrified SMB

IT sounds like your neutral and hot are swaped on the plug or receptical.


You can get a potential tester that when next to the body will light up.
http://www.pronto.com/mpm/compare/green ... 1501036603

with this you can fallow you problem by unpluging from shore power. If it goes away theys it.

Turn on inverter and if it comes back its the van.
__________________
Kelly, Claudine, Sophie dog, Bell the redheaded step child and Gooseberry RIP.

Most the time the Copilot is Now Sophie dog the noise maker.

2000 7.3 PS Quigley/RB30 with a 6 window poptop.
Gooseberry is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-21-2010, 08:24 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
jage's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Parker, CO
Posts: 7,643
Re: Electrified SMB



I carry one of these in the van- shows all kinds of problems easily. I have 2 in the house too, useful for testing and verifying outlet work!
__________________
it was good to be back
jage is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-22-2010, 12:56 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
joey2cool's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Pacific Northwest
Posts: 378
Re: Electrified SMB

Electrical jobs are not something to teach yourself on. Get some good help to begin the learning process. Shock, no matter how small, needs to be taken very seriously. It can cause your heart to skip beats, get off rythm, any number of disfunctions that you might not notice at first. This can lead to death by heart attack. Don't discount it. Just because you didn't get a flash burn or worse, doesn't mean you aren't playing with fire (DC or AC).

Next thought. Did you test the GFI outlet? Since you mentioned use of shore power, that's the first place I would expect you to get protection from shock. If you don't have one, you need one. I've heard from at least one person regarding the GFI device being damaged and initiating all sorts of other electrical system problems.
__________________
2010 Ford E250 5.4L V8 Gas 2WD
SMB Mod RB36 w/PH Prop Stove & Furn Frig 10G Wtr Elect
Silver Bullet
joey2cool is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-22-2010, 01:12 PM   #7
Senior Member
 
Roonie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: PNW WA
Posts: 618
Re: Electrified SMB

Great theft deterent system if you could get a little more shock going to all parts of the body of the van.
Roonie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-22-2010, 02:54 PM   #8
Site Team
 
daveb's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Turlock Ca
Posts: 10,407
Garage
Re: Electrified SMB

Yeah if you're getting shocked be careful so the basic rule applies...if you don't know how to handle AC voltage, find someone who does.
Fluke makes a great little probe that lights up red and supplies a audio tone when AC voltage is present. It even can tell you something is hot (like an extension cord) through the insulation.


Fluke 1 AC-A1-II

After you rule out the shore power (or the shore power cord) is not the problem, kill all the breakers and see if the voltage is still there. If not, turn on each breaker and test for voltage. Rated electrical gloves should be used but a dry pair of leather gloves at minimum should be worn. Something as simple as a crushed or bare wire may be touching the van chassis. You’ll have to use a process of elimination.
Attached Thumbnails
Fluke.jpg  
__________________
2006 Ford 6.0PSD EB-50/E-PH SMB 4X4 Rock Crawler Trailer

Sportsmobile 4X4 Adventures..........On and off road adventures
daveb is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-22-2010, 04:09 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
Ford_6L_E350's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Washington - Ridgefield
Posts: 4,728
Re: Electrified SMB

Dave,

I'm going to repeat what I said above:

- Even if the van chassis is hot (120V), he still needs to be touching a ground. Not going to have the van chassis be hot and ground at the same time. Where is the other potential coming from?

- Most likely the van chassis is at ground and he touched some other source of power.

Mike
__________________
Alaska to Key West, Labrador and more
Prostate cancer survivor. See Thread Prostate cancer and Sportsmobiles
2015 VW GTI 2020 Fiat 124 Spider
2012 E250 Hitop camper
Ford_6L_E350 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-22-2010, 10:30 PM   #10
Site Team
 
daveb's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Turlock Ca
Posts: 10,407
Garage
Re: Electrified SMB

I agree Mike and that's possible but he has not told us what kind of shock he got, if any at all, only that it was hot. AC, DC??? If the Van isn't grounded properly and the plug polarity is backward, touching the van might wake you up if the chassis is hot (120v). The other potential is the earth. But yes, he should have felt it in the door handle like Roonie was thinking about. I can handle a hot 120 leg with tennis shoes on, but put my knee on the ground...Yikes. Kcv wasn't too explicit on what is happening. I think a good point you made was if the inverter was on but he might be talking about a DC problem as well.
__________________
2006 Ford 6.0PSD EB-50/E-PH SMB 4X4 Rock Crawler Trailer

Sportsmobile 4X4 Adventures..........On and off road adventures
daveb is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Sportsmobile SIP or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 07:50 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.