Chassis live when charger/ehu on

[herald_400rl]

At a site in the peaks for a couple nights, sat round the back of the van for the shade with the dog and (don't know why) I touch the towbar and there's a numbing feeling like a small voltage or earth leak of some kind.
Turned 240v off and it goes away (12v on) any ideas where to start? Could it be the site has an earthing issue with the ehu? Or are we so close that the earth rod near connected to the sites ehu is making me complete a circuit highlighting a loose wire somewhere on the MH? We are about 3m away.

 

[Tombola]

possible static and you have grounded it, hence not there when you disconnected...... not by disconnection but by you getting rid of it by grounding it.

but not worth risking it anymore until you have had it checked thoroughly, if it was 240v then Im guessing it should possibly trip.

 

[herald_400rl]

possible static and you have grounded it, hence not there when you disconnected...... not by disconnection but by you getting rid of it by grounding it.

but not worth risking it anymore until you have had it checked thoroughly

Don't think it's static, I stood in the van and turned the charger off whilst SWMBO then touched the bar to no numbness. Turn it on and numbness resumes.

Guess I'll have to get the multimeter back out when home.

 

[Tombola]

Don't think it's static, I stood in the van and turned the charger off whilst SWMBO then touched the bar to no numbness. Turn it on and numbness resumes.

Guess I'll have to get the multimeter back out when home.

100% if it comes back, be very careful and disconnect the ehu

 

[David and Sally]

If mains induced, don’t the RCDs deal with that?

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[herald_400rl]

I wonder if it could be a connection to the 12v system as it only becomes tingly when the charger is turned on...

 

[stevewagner]

Have you got a Martindale (or similar) socket tester? If not maybe someone on site will have one

 

[herald_400rl]

Have you got a Martindale (or similar) socket tester? If not maybe someone on site will have one

At home I have something like, although maybe not as posh as that. We've showered now so I've turned the charger off, unsure what this affects as the fridge is still running and sockets still work, obviously 12v still works from the leisure battery but isn't being topped up from the charger.

 

[Charlie57]

If mains induced, don’t the RCDs deal with that?

Its possible the RCD is stuck, they are supposed to be tested every 3 months.

AND that includes the one in the house

 

[herald_400rl]

Its possible the RCD is stuck, they are supposed to be tested every 3 months.

AND that includes the one in the house

Well it's 23 years old, the previous owner had it 3 months and the one before that 17 years (but didn't use it for 9 of them) so likely not done.
Doing now.

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[herald_400rl]

Tested, still numbing when charger on and doesn't trip. When chargers off all is well and everything still works (but leisure will be draining).

 

[autorouter]

If mains induced, don’t the RCDs deal with that?

If there's a good earth connection, yes. If not, they won't protect you. The hookup post RCD should trip if the MH RCD doesn't. Sounds like a real problem with the earth connection. Maybe even the hookup post too.

A socket tester will show up most wiring faults, is cheap and doesn't take much space. If the OP doesn't have one, maybe someone on the site can lend one. Something like this:

LAP 230V Socket tester

Effectively uses LED indicators to show condition of circuit sockets mains, which are easily understandable.

www.diy.com

I'd get it checked asap. It may be tolerable now, but it might be a different story when it rains and everything is wet.

 

[donkey]

Don't think it's static, I stood in the van and turned the charger off whilst SWMBO then touched the bar to no numbness. Turn it on and numbness resumes.

Guess I'll have to get the multimeter back out when home.

I just love that. You got in the van and fiddled with switches, while your dearly beloved got the unenviable job of grabbing hold of the electrically charged tow bar.
Can't see my other half agreeing to do that

Geoff

 

[Reallyretired]

Had exactly the same problem in France a few years back. The earth connection in the plug on my ehu lead had become loose and detached. Took minutes to find and seconds to repair.

 

[Emmit]

I got a 'tingle', (behave!) in my last van and on investigation, one of the Earth wires on the EHU cable was found to be not affixed as it should be.
Making new 'ends' to each terminal cured it.

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[Emmit]

Had exactly the same problem in France a few years back. The earth connection in the plug on my ehu lead had become loose and detached. Took minutes to find and seconds to repair.

"SNAP" (Only ours was Spain.)

 

[funflair]

I got a 'tingle', (behave!) in my last van and on investigation, one of the Earth wires on the EHU cable was found to be not affixed as it should be.
Making new 'ends' to each terminal cured it.

Excuse my ignorance but doesn't the "tingle" suggest that there was a fault that was looking for earth ? fixing the earth doesn't fix the fault or have I got it wrong again.

 

[Reallyretired]

The tingle may well be static which would normally be sent to earth, if the earth wasn't disconnected. We are not talking about a serious shock here.
No reason to assume any fault other than the lack of an earth

 

[Emmit]

Excuse my ignorance but doesn't the "tingle" suggest that there was a fault that was looking for earth ? fixing the earth doesn't fix the fault or have I got it wrong again.

You are excused

You are actually probably right but it not only stopped the 'tingle', it stopped the noise in my left ear!

 

[herald_400rl]

I just love that. You got in the van and fiddled with switches, while your dearly beloved got the unenviable job of grabbing hold of the electrically charged tow bar.
Can't see my other half agreeing to do that

Geoff

Wine! Achieves many goals...

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[Clive Mott]

1. Check the continuity of your hookup lead, especially the earth wire (Yellow/green)
2. Measure the voltage between the vehicle metalwork and something metalic you can put on the ground, If this is more than 10 volts AC then report it to the site management as this indicates a badly unbalanced loading.

 

[Davecrawf]

Excuse my ignorance but doesn't the "tingle" suggest that there was a fault that was looking for earth ? fixing the earth doesn't fix the fault or have I got it wrong again.

Correct! The earth is there to protect you if there is a fault. Electrical current runs to earth and RCD is activated. I believe.

 

[Bodoge]

Don't think it's static, I stood in the van and turned the charger off whilst SWMBO then touched the bar to no numbness. Turn it on and numbness resumes.

Guess I'll have to get the multimeter back out when home.

Hi,
I always carry one of those 13A type plugs that electricians use for a quick test of circuit, it has a series of lights that indicate, correct polarity, correct earthing and a few other tests that you should be aware of. As soon as I connect up I plug it in, it shows if alls well or otherwise. I also carry a " pigs tail " earthing stake and lead just incase earthing isn't what it should be. The plug is available at Toolstation, Screwfix, Amazon etc.

 

[ctc]

If mains induced, don’t the RCDs deal with that?

No

 

[Bodoge]

No

No, the RCDs and RCBOs rely on a good earth to trip on earth faults, if the van is isolated from earth or has a very poor earth, then there is no reference point for tripping. The van could take on any earth leakage, may only be a few volts, to be grounded on touching metal parts. As a retired electrician I've always said that safety is all about 3 things, live, neutral and earth, two can potentially kill you but earth will save you. I find it strange and dangerous for motorhome and caravan users to just plug in and assume everything is as it should be, get a tester, peace of mind.

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[Reallyretired]

Agree about the plug in mains tester. If one like mine it has an rcd test button. Do not press this on a site.

 

[autorouter]

Agree about the plug in mains tester. If one like mine it has an rcd test button. Do not press this on a site.

I agree too. I always carry a socket tester, and a round blue plug to 13A socket adapter. I can test the hookup post, hookup cable and MH sockets to see where the fault is.

 

[Davecrawf]

I agree too. I always carry a socket tester, and a round blue plug to 13A socket adapter. I can test the hookup post, hookup cable and MH sockets to see where the fault is.
View attachment 773775View attachment 773776

Very practical

 

[BouncyBoatFolk]

Have you got a Martindale (or similar) socket tester? If not maybe someone on site will have one

Martindale you,re an oldie like me, that's what I always call them much to the amusement of our electrician son.
Mike.

 

[Raul]

Excuse my ignorance but doesn't the "tingle" suggest that there was a fault that was looking for earth ? fixing the earth doesn't fix the fault or have I got it wrong again.

Van pluged into EHU becomes a apliance. Any metal apliance is bonded to earth to equalise the potential. If earth path is missing/ broken, then the potential is looking for a path back to source. As soon as you touch the metal path Van) and earth/soil, you become the bonding conductor to form the return path. The tingling is the few volts traveling trough you back to source. Hence this disappears when you restore the real return path earth conductor.