electrical short?

[john c]

I have a 73 excella 500. None of the 120 V stuff will work. When I touch the trailer frame, especially around the refridge access panel on the streetside i get a mild shock. I've inspected the plugs and the wiring as far as I can see. Do I have to start removing panels to chase the short?
Please help in Ohio

[HowieE]

First make sure the shore line is Good and has a ground and then there is not a polarity reverse or back ground from the shore line to the trailer.

[lewster]

Originally Posted by john c

I have a 73 excella 500. None of the 120 V stuff will work. When I touch the trailer frame, especially around the refridge access panel on the streetside i get a mild shock. I've inspected the plugs and the wiring as far as I can see. Do I have to start removing panels to chase the short?
Please help in Ohio

John C,

What you have is called in the RV world, a 'hot skin condition'. This is where the 120VAC hot lead is grounding to either the neutral or ground wires. This can be caused by a variety of conditions like the reverse polarity that HowieE mentioned, so first check your outlet and determine that it is wired properly.

Next is the unbilical to the trailer. There might be a short between the wires causing the hot lead to feed thru the neutral or ground.

Next, you should thoroughly check from the trailer's 120VAC inlet point back to the breaker box for missing insulation on wires, improper wiring at the beaker box, bare wires touching the frame, etc, etc.

Get a line condition meter (HD or Lowes) with the 3 lights on it and plu it in and see what it tells you. It will give you an idea of what you are looking for.

Hope this helps!

[thecatsandi]

Originally Posted by john c

I have a 73 excella 500. None of the 120 V stuff will work. When I touch the trailer frame, especially around the refridge access panel on the streetside i get a mild shock. I've inspected the plugs and the wiring as far as I can see. Do I have to start removing panels to chase the short?
Please help in Ohio

Get an outlet tester. Make sure the outlet you are plugged into is ok. If the outlet is ok. Chek the outlets in the trailer. all of them.
once you have done that try plugging the trailer into a GFI outlet. See if it trips. If so you have leak the shell/ground. You may also have a broken/bad frame ground.