Question for John T and Others ??

01gentdc · Jul 18, 2015

Why is My VAC shockin Me ?.. it is stock system , positive ground working antiquated charging system , with a 8 volt battery... charged the battery overnite ,t - storms rumbled thru around 2 AM ,and dumpt a inch of rain , everything was soaked outside when I went out to survey damage and state of affairs at 1st lite .touched the gas tank and I felt a slite trickle ,.not a zap but a hummmmn ,,feel ... never had that before , after unplugging the charger it still had that feel ,.. all this humid monsoon weather is playing havoc on my electric. 2 tractors have developed starter switch problems ,, Power is at starter ,, but wont engage the starter ?? after 1st start ,,. I seldom have any trouble the rest of the day . what can I do to make things work better ..Thank s to All Thoughts

RayP(MI) · Jul 18, 2015

I would be checking all grounds throughout my electrical systems and perhaps looking to add a few more in opportune locations. Have power company check their grounds as well. Do you have an electric fencer? Unplug it, see if problem goes away. You are playing with fire if you have stray voltages.

01gentdc · Jul 18, 2015

perhaps it is the ground to the fuse box in the garage where the charger was plugged in ?..

mite-help · Jul 18, 2015

Totally disconnect the battery from that VAC. still feel tingle @ gas tank?

01gentdc · Jul 18, 2015

yes,,.it still give a tingle ,, came back 15 minutes later , and it was fine .. so I plugged the charger back in ,,. NO TINGLE ??/ ,,. wonder if since everything was super soaked at 1st lite and it just dried out quikly from the hot morning sun ,???,btw , 1st poster got me to chekin ,, , there is no ground on the garage fusebox,,. garage picks up ground from outside pole fusebox station , that is fed by underground wire from one building to next.. my power come s direct from house which also gets power underground from a line running up to the remc co op pole

Steve@Advance · Jul 18, 2015

Was the tractor parked in the vicinity of the underground power line?

Thinking somehow water has found it's way through the insulation or possibly the neutral is corroded almost through. Might be time for a new cable, bring everything up to code, drive some ground rods at the house and shop.

John T · Jul 18, 2015

Sounds like the charger may have a fault, a GFCI would probably trip if one were used. As far as the buildings electrical ground, it could be elevated at a potential HIGHER then mother earth which is why anything attached to it would yield a tingle voltage with respect to earth. The buildings electrical service should have had a separate Ground and Neutral which the main panel served and at that location a ground rod would have brought the panels ground back down to near earth potential. While some non electricians who don't understand it poke fun at the NEC, these are the kind of things that can happen when it is so badly ignored, especially concerning Ground and Neutrals.

I cant say why you still felt a shock if there were no 120 VAC appliances attached to the tractor unless it was electrostatic charge accumulation.

John T

fixerupper · Jul 18, 2015

Were your feet wet when you got tingled but dry later on when you did not get tingled? The cause of the tingle might still have been there but if you had dry feet you weren't grounded enough to feel it. That's why cattle and hogs can feel stray voltage and we can't. Their bare feet are touching the ground. We usually have dry shoes on. Just a thought.

Question for John T and Others ??

01gentdc

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RayP(MI)

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01gentdc

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mite-help

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01gentdc

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Steve@Advance

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John T

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fixerupper

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