Earth leakage

maroon13 · Member

Earth leakage

oldtrack123 · Guru

Hi '

You have an Earthing problem . Have you tried a different extension lead ?? The one you are using may be defective!!

If that does not solve it, i would strongly suggest you call a licensed electrician, to determine where is coming from & very importantly ,if it is potentially dangerous

Just a few questions ,where are you plugging the lead into.i? laundry, kitchen, bedroom etc ?<

How old is the house? does it have RCD /Safety switch fitted in the switchboard?

-- Edited by oldtrack123 on Thursday 21st of February 2019 11:32:49 PM

Leshill · Veteran Member

Tis important to find the problem. I use an "Ampfibian" device 10Amp to 15 Amp to connect connect the van to the house 240volt socket in my shed. A standard 10amp lead cord with a 15 amp plug attached is not suitable & illegal. Commonly referred to as "a dead man's lead"
Trust you have the correct lead. Have you added something to your van / has a screw cut into a wire.

Do a " search" in the forum for ...RCD devices....some good reading.

-- Edited by Leshill on Friday 22nd of February 2019 04:39:34 AM

Bill B · Guru

maroon13 wrote:

hi fellow gromads
When I set up my van to go, I connect to 240 ac to get the fridge cool and when it comes to hook up time I get a tingle when I create an earth by touching both frame and concrete slab (more so when wet) I have tried isolating appliances in the van and still get a tingle ( volt meter says 3 to 7 volts fluctuating) Seems to only be when ac is connected.

Does the same thing occur when connecting 240v at a caravan park ?

Do you plug into a 15 amp power point at home ?

oldtrack123 · Guru

Leshill wrote:
Tis important to find the problem. I use an "Ampfibian" device 10Amp to 15 Amp to connect connect the van to the house 240volt socket in my shed. A standard 10amp lead cord with a 15 amp plug attached is not suitable & illegal. Commonly referred to as "a dead man's lead"
Trust you have the correct lead. Have you added something to your van / has a screw cut into a wire.
Do a " search" in the forum for ...RCD devices....some good reading.

-- Edited by Leshill on Friday 22nd of February 2019 04:39:34 AM

Or better still a "RVD" which gives shock protection even with a generator biggrin

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

Hmmm polarity ? Get it checked by electrician
. Covering this up with devices wont fix it !! Is there moisture in range hood ? Does it happen when everything is isolated ,plugs pulled ??

maroon13 · Member

Thanks guys
I think the Ampfibian sounds like the go as I am plugging into a 10 amp pto in the new shed.
Eventually I will be setting up a 15 amp dedicated pto in the shed
By (I) I mean an electrician
Safe Travels

markf · Senior Member

I wouldn't mess about trying to diagnose the issue. One wrong move and you're dead. Get a licenced electrician to give the whole setup the once over and fix problems as they are found.

JBDUBBO · Veteran Member

Hi I would get a licensed electrician to install a 15 amp RCD protected power point in the shed, and while he is there get him to check the earth at the shed. Could be your problem.

Whenarewethere · Guru

Get an electrician, I would be even more worried if someone else died. How would you feel then? Plus the legal consequences!

Jaahn · Guru

maroon13 wrote:
hi fellow gromads
When I set up my van to go, I connect to 240 ac to get the fridge cool and when it comes to hook up time I get a tingle when I create an earth by touching both frame and concrete slab (more so when wet) I have tried isolating appliances in the van and still get a tingle ( volt meter says 3 to 7 volts fluctuating) Seems to only be when ac is connected. I have a solar set up working well.
My thinking is if it was worn wiring casing i' d get a hell of a lot more than a tingle.
Thanks for the brain power
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi maroon
It has already been said several times but to save your life potentially I will say it again. There is a fault in your shed wiring or in your van. That needs to be found and fixed before you or your family get zapped again, possibly fatally. This is qualified electrician work. It is not unqualified user test with a cheap multimeter work.
After you have done this safety fix then you might consider fitting some other extra protection unit. Our basic Aussie electrical system as designed and backed by the Electrical Code of practice should prevent any tingle happening at any time. That is why we live safely in Australia !
In times past I have experienced what you did and the first time it was fixed by the house being rewired. The electrician removed the main fuses on the spot and said he could not reinstall the supply until it was completely rewired. (very old house) The second time was overseas and the supply cable run to that building had been damaged during grass cutting and the earth and neutral were cut but the active was complete. Very dangerous and fixed immediately by the electrician when discovered due to the danger. But it was running a fridge seemingly OK except for the tingles.
Jaahn

Whenarewethere · Guru

We had our block of 15 units rewired from the street to & including the meter board. About $4k a Unit, plus I got extra work on top of that, 3 phase to the garage. The electricians found a few issues throughout our building including "tingling" in our building & fixed them, some worn wiring. Luckily we didn't have any of that failed Chinese wire used a few years ago in thousands of buildings around Australia. There is a national safety recall on that, the insulation on the wire breaks down over time. I just hope they haven't used any of this wire in caravans. We all now have RCDs in our units.

Infinity cable recall. Make sure you haven't got any of it anywhere.

https://www.accc.gov.au/update/infinity-cable-recall-act-now-before-its-too-late

oldtrack123 · Guru

maroon13 wrote:
Thanks guys
I think the Ampfibian sounds like the go as I am plugging into a 10 amp pto in the new shed.
Eventually I will be setting up a 15 amp dedicated pto in the shed
By (I) I mean an electrician
Safe Travels

While the Ampfibian is good to have ,it does not fix the problem and all it will probably do is constantly trip.!!! better to put the money towards finding & fixing the actual problem..

The problem of a tingle has nothing to do with it being a10A outlet!!

That means getting a licensed electrician is needed to find & fix the actual problem

This advice is from a retired fully qualified electrician biggrin

Bill B · Guru

oldtrack123 wrote:

The problem of a tingle has nothing to do with it being a10A outlet!!

Might have something to do with the 10A to 15A lead that is being used though

oldtrack123 · Guru

Bill B wrote:
oldtrack123 wrote:

The problem of a tingle has nothing to do with it being a10A outlet!!

Might have something to do with the 10A to 15A lead that is being used though

Yes , which is why in a much earlier post I suggested trying a different lead biggrin An Ampfibian is an expensive replacement for a standard lead if such is not really required .

But that does bring in another question , has the lead been illegally modified , by replacing a 15A plug with a 10A plug, now illegal to be used !!! If so cut it up, & get an approved 10 to 15A adapter such as the Ampfibian[the one that is approved for use with caravans etc ] or if it is expected to use a generator the RVD 10 to 15 Adapter .

-- Edited by oldtrack123 on Sunday 24th of February 2019 06:50:39 PM

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

Bad neutral ? In houses due to MEN neutral
At board .

oldtrack123 · Guru

Aus-Kiwi wrote:
Bad neutral ? In houses due to MEN neutral
At board .

yes , or nearby ,a good chance biggrin

-- Edited by oldtrack123 on Sunday 24th of February 2019 10:12:43 PM

Burns1 · Member

Maroon13, I am a licensed electrician and you definitely need to call an electrician. It sounds like you have 2 issues. One is you have a fault in your van that I don't want to guess the answer to, and the other is the RCD in your switchboard at home should have tripped. Please ring a licensed electrician and leave the 240v disconnected from the van for now and unplug your extension lead BEFORE you wrap it up.

jegog · Senior Member

If you don't know the difference between a microFarad and a MegaWatt, get an electrician.
Ask for and record his license details and if he does anything to the house wiring demand a certificate of electrical safety and that it be inspected and tested. Ask for the results of the insulation resistance and the response times etc. of the safety switch.
If they don't have a license report them to the electrical safety mob.

DWH · Newbie

did this issue get fixed have the same problem

PeterD · Guru

Warren, if you click on Moroon13's name you will see "Last Access 16:26 Feb 23, 2019" - You are not likely to get a reply.

peter67 · Guru

Well he's either passed away or taken some good advice. I've got down to the finger bone scars from back in 1964, you can't smell it and you can't see it till it bites you hard. Cheers

valiant81 · Guru

Hi Maroon 13; As other members have said get your wiring check over by a electrician. Don't muck around get it checked out asp. Just because you are getting a tingle from the caravan fridge is certain that something is not right with the wiring in the caravan OR your house. I would also have the electrician check the integrity of the main earthing for the house as the problem may lay there. Having a faulty earth can cause this type of problem.

Corndoggy · Senior Member

Leshill wrote:
Tis important to find the problem. I use an "Ampfibian" device 10Amp to 15 Amp to connect connect the van to the house 240volt socket in my shed. A standard 10amp lead cord with a 15 amp plug attached is not suitable & illegal. Commonly referred to as "a dead man's lead"
Trust you have the correct lead. Have you added something to your van / has a screw cut into a wire.
Do a " search" in the forum for ...RCD devices....some good reading.

-- Edited by Leshill on Friday 22nd of February 2019 04:39:34 AM

I think "a dead man's lead" or "suicide lead" is more like a lead that has a plug top on both ends of a lead.

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

Get it checked !! Sounds like polarity issue ? Isolate everything inside first ? If it still does it ? You shouldnt get ANY shocks ! Should be checking with equipment too ! Not your body !! Test lamps - multimeter . If you have to ask ? Get qualified person !!

markf · Senior Member

Generally speaking as an ex licenced sparky with a lot of experience I tend to stay away from electrical stuff in forums. This one however makes my blood boil. We have people saying check this, try that, and the worst is "if the fault still persists...".

The issue is that there is a potentially LETHAL fault. The ONLY course of action is to unplug it and get a qualified and licenced person to diagnose the actual fault and rectify it in a safe and standards compliant manner. End of story.

valiant81 · Guru

Hi all; I totally agree with Markf, I come from a electronics background. Just remember " One flash and you could be ash " Just get the problem seen to by a qualified electrician !!! end of rant !

oldbloke · Guru

OP still hasn't re turned

peter67 · Guru

Oldy a lot of people sweated this out and contributed providing maroon13 with some potentially life saving advice, a couple of qualified sparkies too soooo....pssst don't tell anyone else but I think this guy is a proper w@nker, with any amount of luck he's probably just a sooty mark on his caravan wall now :)

PeterD · Guru

oldbloke wrote:
OP still hasn't re turned

Of course he has not returned. He got his answer two years ago and replied to those giving the advice. There are a lot of members who are on the forum for a short time and don't return. Once people get their answers there is no compulsion for them to return. There is also no need for all the vile given to the OP, it is senseless and uncalled for. It is also stupid to ask things from people who have not been around for a couple of years.