HALP! Getting electrical shocked from bus 110V electricity shocking shock

[Oregonconversion]

When standing outside and its raining I sometimes get shocked touching the outside of the bus. It is plugged into shore power. Is this super dangerous? Can I eliminate this by grounding the chassis to a metal rod into the ground? How far down would I have to pound it into the earth?

[Oregonconversion]

I just noticed that my shore cord is missing the ground pin. Is that my problem? Do I need to ground the bus when using shore power only?

[GreyEagle]

YES It's dangerous and yes you need a ground pin on you plug.....
People have died from shock's like that......
Be careful and get it fixed!!!

[GreyEagle]

additional info
From Issue 492 of RV Travel Newsletter 07/30/2011
Editor's corner
With Chuck Woodbury


Your RV can kill you. Not just in a traffic accident, but by merely stepping into it.

Here is the gist of an article from last Monday's Muncie Indiana Starpress newspaper:

A Muncie teen died early last Sunday after being electrocuted by his family's RV. David L. Boyle III, 18, was pronounced dead at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital shortly after he was shocked, according to Delaware County Coroner Scott Hahn.

Hahn said a camper behind the residence became energized after an electrical wire was run from the house to the camper. "When they would go (into the camper), they would feel a little jolt, so they wrapped the door knob in electrical tape so when they turned it, they wouldn't get shocked," Hahn said.

Boyle, who Hahn said was barefoot was electrocuted as he stepped from the wet ground onto the camper's metal step. "It caused an arrhythmia in (Boyle's) heart," Hahn said.

What a terrible, unfortunate accident -- one that was so easily preventable. I asked our RV electric expert Mike Sokol to comment. He said:

"Anytime you feel a shock or even a tingle while touching the body or doorknob of an RV, it's a warning that the vehicle has a hot-skin condition. The same goes for any sort of power tool or appliance, you should NEVER feel a shock or tingle. If you do feel a tingle it means there's at least 30 volts AC on the chassis and body of the vehicle. And as little as 30 or 40 AC volts through your heart can cause it to go into fibrillation. Without intervention from emergency rescue personnel, you'll almost certainly die from electrocution."

Why this accident happened
"I would suspect that they plugged the RV into a non-grounded power outlet or extension cord with a broken-off ground pin. That allowed the body of the RV to drift up to 100 volts or so. That's why they put electrical tape on the doorknob; they were feeling an electrical tingle on the knob earlier that week which wasn't enough to cause electrocution since they were most likely wearing shoes. But they didn't realize that the entire RV body was hot-skin energized, and the boy was standing in bare feet on the wet ground while touching a hot-skin RV which completed the electrical circuit. His heart went into fibrillation, and he died from coronary arrest.

"If you ever feel of any kind of electric shock or jolt from your RV you should always unplug from shore power and examine all ground connections. NEVER accept feeling a shock from your RV. It could kill you the next time."

"Time to start checking those plug-ins at all RV camp sites.....

[Oregonconversion]

Do I also need to ground the chassis to the earth?

[David Anderson]

Yes fix the ground pin; however you have voltage leaking to the frame and finding a path through your body when you touch it.  Not good.  

Hopefully when you get the ground bond fixed it will blow the circuit breaker on the circuit that is leaking the voltage and you can narrow it to one circuit, or perhaps it was finding a current path in the wet environment and may go away after you fix the grounding conductor pin.

[Oregonconversion]

I guess my question actually is... Should I drive a metal rod into the ground and hook it up to the chassis? I have never done that before, is it necessary?

[Emcemv]

Yikes! This is a real bad one. The ground pin of the shore cable should be grounded to the frame of the bus, this should already have been done so once you replace the ground pin, you should be good.....but do it right now!  Many electrical appliances have some intentional conductive path to ground from the 120v leads so that is the shock you are feeling, if there was a short to ground and the bus had solid 120v on the chassis, it would have knocked you on your butt, not just a tingle.  Fix this quick!!!

[Emcemv]

I do not think you need any kind of ground rod, just a good ground connection to the shore power ground.

[Oregonconversion]

OK thanks guys!!!! On my way to home depot!

[GreyEagle]

I guess my question actually is... Should I drive a metal rod into the ground and hook it up to the chassis? I have never done that before, is it necessary?

no, not if you get ground  fixed....
Plus check your hookup, power source to be sure it's correct.......... and the power cord it's self....
if it's not the same you can and will have problems.....
If you cannot or feel you don't have the expertise then by all means find someone that does.......
better safe than sorry

[robertglines1]

Hate to say use search function but in this case is complicated.  Lots of factors;30 amp plug-50 amp  earth ground bonds,power transfer switch, and more. You should never get shocked! If not ask more. How many wire in your cord? What colors? Green should be earth ground. white neutral . black and red hot.for 50 amp.  We never know what someone may have switched.   Bob

[expressbus]

I would not trust that cable ... period. Go get a new cable that matches your coach electrical connection, or at the very least a new connector. West Marine is but one place on line that carries replacement sockets.

Oh yeah, if you don't have basic electrical skills, call on someone that does. The wife won't let me do anymore household electrical jobs since I sparked a live wire off some BX cable several years ago. I had the cable held between my knees while relocating a wall switch. The wife was concerned for the family, well, jewels!

Speaking of that, take off any jewelry before beginning work on anything electrical. My uncle got a ring caught between a battery post and the fender well of a car, result was a second degree burn around the finger. Only 12 volts but several hundred amps and a direct connection to ground.

Oh, and no you don't solve the problem by driving a ground rod. In fact, depending on your soil conditions an 8' copper ground rod can be totally ineffective at establishing a good ground. In sandy soil you may need to go multiple 8' lengths deep or drive a pattern of 8' rods tied together to get a satisfactory ground connection.

Will

[Sam 4106]

In my opinion you have at least two problems that need to be fixed. The missing ground pin needs to be addressed immediately, which it sounds like you are doing. The second thing is to determine where you have an electrical path to the bus skin. One possible cause is that the outlet that your shore cord is plugged into is mis-wired. Check that. Another is that neutral and ground are connected together in the bus electrical panel. There should be an insulated neutral bar that only has white wires on it, and a ground bar attached directly to the panel that has only green or bare wires connected to it .  Another less likely possibility is that there is an appliance problem. Turn off all breakers in the bus panel to see if the problem goes away. If it does, turn on one breaker at a time until you find the problem. As has been said, if you don't feel qualified to diagnose the problem, find someone who is. Above all work safely. DO NOT touch the bus skin with the shore cord plugged in until you find and fix the problems.

Good luck, Sam    

[bevans6]

I know what I would do - fix the ground path and put a ground stake in the ground for the bus chassis instantly, only because I've been there and done that, but I don't know the real answer about independently grounding the bus chassis.  I think it's always OK, but I have some doubt...  People go on about how you need a 8 foot copper bus bar driven into the ground, but I have fixed this with a big screwdriver stuck in the ground and a 4 gauge battery boost cable.  Maybe the Sailor Sean will drop in...

Brian