Stray current issue

[Joseph Fikentscher]

While wiping down the rudders prior to Barnacle Coat, the port rudder gave me a bit of a tingle. Not the starboard, just the port. Unplugged the shore power connection and it went away.
I have a Galvanic Isolator that i will be installing in a couple of days. Should this eliminate the stray current?

[Carl]

Wait for better answer from someone in the know.
Electricity and water is too dangerous to take info from me.

But I believe the Answer is maybe...


I believe the isolator blocks DC voltage on the ground line of your shore power cord.

So if you got your tingle from the grounding wire on the shore cord...I'd say yes.


But if your tingle came from a stray 110AC line in your boat then no.


I am ruling out stray DC as you said it went away when you unplugged shore power.
Then again battery charger...so again maybe.

Boy, I know I was very helpful.

[Joseph Fikentscher]

The only thing the shore power goes to is the charger. It's about a foot away from the AC inlet. Black to black, white to white, green to green, black to ground. ProNautic 1240P 40 amp three bank charger.

[Bruce]

Joseph,
In your black to ground, your meaning dc ground black?

Are your rudders bonded and tied together?

[Charlie J]

its looking for a ground and it found one you
normally it would be the water
it happened to me one year till I figured
that it was just looking for a ground
wouldn't worry about it
everthing can be bonded, but it needs a ground

[Tony Meola]

Joe

Be careful, it sounds like something is not wired correctly. I hear what Charlie is saying but if the ground became you, then it becomes the water and if you feel it then someone in the water will also.

One of the biggest issue is that if the 12 volt side is using black wire instead of yellow. Someone may have mixed up the wiring and attached the 12 volt black to the 110 black. This is a common issue with older boats that were wired with 12 volt black wire.

Also on the boat the bonding system side should use green wire, so you say green to green, I would think the green should be leading to the bonding system. Trace all the wires carefully. If you want to borrow it I have Nigel Calder' book that lays it all out. Also check the Blue Seas site as well as Marinco. They have great diagrams.

Let me know about the book and I will bring it down with me this weekend when I head to the boat.

[Pete Fallon]

Joe,F,
#1 Check your shore power cord for any open wires, #2 Check your shore power inlet for corrosion, #3 Check your wires in the battery charger #4 Make sure all your green bonding wires are still bonding each thru hull that your protecting. #5 Call a marine electrician and have him run a bonding test with a silver diode Corrosion meter ids built by Guest Marine. I feel that there is a open wire or two wires touching somewhere on the 110 volt side.
I have seen a broken wire in the shore power inlet touching each other and I have seen a bad shore power cord ends touching . Good luck, be careful, water and electricity do not like each other.
Pete Fallon

[Joseph Fikentscher]

Thanks guys.

I'll be looking at this again tomorrow when the rain stops. I do have the bonding disconnected as I am replacing the stern zinc with a larger one. Needed to remove the bolts that hold it on to replace with larger bolts. Unscrewed them and pushed them through the transom. so maybe they are laying in water in the bilge?
I'll go over the existing wires and take some pictures tomorrow.

Tony,

Green from the shore power inlet to green terminal on the charger. The 120 line from the inlet is black, white and green. Also I bought the book on Amazon. should be here Friday.

[Joseph Fikentscher]

Well, the port rudder bonding wire is broken off at the rudder and the grounding plate. the rudder port wire is still there and seems to be piggybacked with two other wires that I have to trace. And looks like these wires go to the Dynaplate.

The port battery terminals were all crudded up also, but were clean when put up in the fall.

I assume the Dynaplate and the zinc should both be connected to the bonding strip.

The starboard rudder looks ok and is wired to the zinc. I still have to check the other thru-hulls (4) the shaft struts, the dripless shaft logs, and the drain plug.

[Tony Meola]

Joe

you are correct the zinc and the dyna plate should all tie into the bonding system and their should also be a green wire on the bonding system going back to the common 12 volt ground. If you do not have one, I would set up a main ground point so that you can tie everything together.

[Joseph Fikentscher]

Tony,

That's the plan. I ordered green wire , lugs, and heat shrink terminals. Should be here by Monday. However, i'm going on vacation to Nashville, SC, NC, MD, for about 10 days so I won't have time to work on the boat till I return.

[Tony Meola]

Tony,

That's the plan. I ordered green wire , lugs, and heat shrink terminals. Should be here by Monday. However, i'm going on vacation to Nashville, SC, NC, MD, for about 10 days so I won't have time to work on the boat till I return.

Enjoy the vacation.. Should be a good trip. Are you heading to Charlestown SC or up near the mountains? If you are near Greenville, some good restraunts in town. Sophies was always a favorite.

[Joseph Fikentscher]

Nashville, Asheville,Charleston, Ronoke Rapids, Baltimore, Home.