Helmut
Advanced Member
I have a problem that somehow worries me and need some expert advice.
On mexican campgrounds it is quite common to find reverse polarity or open ground ( no ground wire ) on your electric hookup.
As i am from germany and in europe reverse polarity does not exist ( you can plug in a socket either way ) the reverse polarity did not bother me so far.
Until today i thought a ground wire is only needed if there is a faulty wiring in something with a f.e. metal housing. I was sure my FourWheelCamped would not have a faulty wiring.
Here is my problem:
Connecting to a socket with reverse polarity and open ground i have 50 V (fifty) on my door handle - ( not the knob but the grip i use to swing myself up in the camper ) - really shocking !! I have felt these shocks on different campgrounds but not as strong as this time, so i started measuring with my voltmeter.
Changing the polarity gets it down to 40V ( fourty ). Grounding by using a earth pin to zero V.
Now this can`t be o.k., somewhere in my 110V system there must be a problem that lets my camper housing get half of the voltage.
Why half the voltage ? And where shall i start looking ?
would be glad for any helpful suggestions, but i will not return to the states the next couple of years as my trip is going to the southern tip of south america and slowly back up.
On mexican campgrounds it is quite common to find reverse polarity or open ground ( no ground wire ) on your electric hookup.
As i am from germany and in europe reverse polarity does not exist ( you can plug in a socket either way ) the reverse polarity did not bother me so far.
Until today i thought a ground wire is only needed if there is a faulty wiring in something with a f.e. metal housing. I was sure my FourWheelCamped would not have a faulty wiring.
Here is my problem:
Connecting to a socket with reverse polarity and open ground i have 50 V (fifty) on my door handle - ( not the knob but the grip i use to swing myself up in the camper ) - really shocking !! I have felt these shocks on different campgrounds but not as strong as this time, so i started measuring with my voltmeter.
Changing the polarity gets it down to 40V ( fourty ). Grounding by using a earth pin to zero V.
Now this can`t be o.k., somewhere in my 110V system there must be a problem that lets my camper housing get half of the voltage.
Why half the voltage ? And where shall i start looking ?
would be glad for any helpful suggestions, but i will not return to the states the next couple of years as my trip is going to the southern tip of south america and slowly back up.