Al Juby
Well-known member
Just picked up my 1999 fleetwood storm and was checking the electrical voltages. Hooked to shore power and found a 41 volt difference between neutral and gnd at the MH breaker box. Is this normal or do I have a problem?
Electrical gnd. and neutral
- Thread starter Al Juby
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Lou Schneider
Site Team
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The culprit is a bad neutral, but I'd check the park outlet before blaming anything in your coach.
Neutral and ground are bonded together only at one place - the main electrical panel. In a campground this can be a significant distance from your site, so it's not unusual to find several volts difference between neutral and ground at the site outlet due to normal voltage drop along a long wire. But 41 volts is excessive and says there's a bad connection creating excessive voltage drop along the neutral.
Neutral and ground are bonded together only at one place - the main electrical panel. In a campground this can be a significant distance from your site, so it's not unusual to find several volts difference between neutral and ground at the site outlet due to normal voltage drop along a long wire. But 41 volts is excessive and says there's a bad connection creating excessive voltage drop along the neutral.
John From Detroit
Well-known member
Finding voltage on that measurement when using the GENERATOR... Common since neutral and ground are not bonded on the Genny (usually).....
But when on shore power neutral and ground are basically the same. Ground wire may be lighter however which is why you never use it in place of a neutral.
But when on shore power neutral and ground are basically the same. Ground wire may be lighter however which is why you never use it in place of a neutral.
OP
OP
Al Juby
Well-known member
Thanks for the help. the problem was a missing gnd on the shore power. ( from my garage)
John From Detroit
Well-known member
That will do it.. Here is what happens.
With the ground open. the wires form a capacitive voltage divider, the ground wire ends half way between the other two.
With the ground open. the wires form a capacitive voltage divider, the ground wire ends half way between the other two.
