RV is shocking me!!

[CoChris]

Hey guys, here is an update to this ….. this past Sunday we disconnected the exterior Furrion power inlet plug-in outlet (where I connect my 50amp power cord to my RV) and found the ground wire on the outside of the ground connection point. The set screw was completely seated and not making any connection to the ground wire.
We backed off the set screw and inserted the ground wire and re-set the set screw.

I was a bit overwhelmed at this …. I hope this solves my problems.

Thanks everyone for all your very helpful suggestions!

I am so glad you found this as it is a real safety issue. As Jerry says, please check (or have checked) the integrity of the ground system in the trailer. This (a very key safety connection) was done wrong, who knows what else was done incorrectly.

And please let Grand Design know if this serious safety lapse in their manufacturing.

Good luck and enjoy your trailer

Chris

[phonemannn]

So if the hot leg was touching the ground, it should have tripped a circuit breaker. If not, you have another issue.
Never mind, I finished reading the post. Thanks.

[Luv2Ski]

So to summarize...

Both the disconnected ground at the RV's 50A service inlet and the short at the bedroom outlet were necessary to create this very dangerous situation. If it weren't for the faulty wiring job at the bedroom outlet, the RV's ground system wouldn't have been energized. This energized RV ground system included the RV's frame, exterior steps, the pin box, exterior door jambs as well as metal surfaces of appliances like the microwave, fireplace, washer/dryer and refrigerator.

As others have pointed out, the disconnected ground at the RV's 50A service inlet isolated the RV's ground system from the building ground system. This prevented the bedroom outlet's breaker in the RV's breaker panel from tripping because there was no path back through the ground system to the neutral to complete the circuit. Note that the building's main panel is likely where the building's ground system is bonded to the service neutral. When tcamper touched the door and got a good shock, he was bridging the RV ground to a wet earth ground - the same wet earth that the building ground is bonded to. Good thing he wasn't barefoot!

If on RV generator power, the bad bedroom outlet would have tripped its breaker the moment the generator went online. This is because the RV's ground system is bonded to the generator's neutral thereby completing the circuit and tripping the breaker.

[JCZhome]

A disconnected ground is always a problem. A hot skin test is so easy to do if you just know how to do it.

Hot skin has killed more than one person's dog as the dog jumps up on the steps.

[Luv2Ski]

A disconnected ground is always a problem. A hot skin test is so easy to do if you just know how to do it.

Hot skin has killed more than one person's dog as the dog jumps up on the steps.

There are multiple ways to get a hot skin condition. In the original poster's case, two codependent faults created the situation. A disconnected ground (at the shore power inlet) by itself won't make the skin dangerously hot. What it will do however is allow the skin to float until something else energizes it. That "something" can be a shorted appliance, a poorly wired outlet or even an inductive field created by nearby high voltage power lines.

This probe (or similar) will sense hot skin as well as other energized conductors.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004FXJOQO

Here's an A/C outlet tester that detects improperly wired outlets. It also is a GFCI tester that will flag faulty GFCI protected outlets.
https://www.amazon.com/Receptacle-Te.../dp/B01AKX8L0M

It's a good idea to have both.

[Luv2Ski]

Years ago I worked for OPPD, a utility company in eastern Nebraska. We had a complaint from a rural mail carrier about getting buzzed when he touched a metal mailbox that was situated under one of our high voltage cross country lines. The problem had been getting worse over time. A newly hired engineer was dispatched to investigate. He concluded that the mailbox was being energized by the inductive field of the overhead lines so he and the tech drove a ground rod next to the mailbox and tied the mailbox to it with a copper strap. He confirmed there was no voltage between the mailbox and ground. Problem solved.

The next day when the letter carrier touched the mailbox, he got lit up. Of course, it was the the mail truck that was being energized, not so much the considerably smaller mailbox. The "buzz" the mail carrier had been getting was really due to wet rot in the wood mailbox post making it partially conductive. Our engineer had just significantly improved the mailbox's path to ground for all that induced hot skin energy on the mail truck. In the end, the farmer got a new fiberglass post and mailbox. The mail carrier got a well-deserved apology.

[orbiker]

There are multiple ways to get a hot skin condition. In the original poster's case, two codependent faults created the situation. A disconnected ground (at the shore power inlet) by itself won't make the skin dangerously hot. What it will do however is allow the skin to float until something else energizes it. That "something" can be a shorted appliance, a poorly wired outlet or even an inductive field created by nearby high voltage power lines.

This probe (or similar) will sense hot skin as well as other energized conductors.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004FXJOQO

Here's an A/C outlet tester that detects improperly wired outlets. It also is a GFCI tester that will flag faulty GFCI protected outlets.
https://www.amazon.com/Receptacle-Te.../dp/B01AKX8L0M

It's a good idea to have both.

That's interesting Steve. I use the (magic stick) Klein Tools NCVT-2 Dual Range Tester almost every day while working on coin washers and dryers. There's one in the RV tool kit. So; moving it from the tool kit to the box that holds the power cord for the rig would be a great idea. Plug in and wave the magic stick before touching anything else might make for a safer setup.
Thanks, KEN

[JCZhome]

Ken a volt meter is much more telling than the light wand.