| Author |
Message |
Stephen Fessenden (Sffess)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, December 15, 2004 - 9:35 pm: | |
I just had a problem with my truck that is related to bus wiring. It had been converted to a swamp buggy quick and easy, by the previous owner. I just had to repair a leaking SS fuel line, the braided kind with teflon tube inerior. I thought it had failed from fatigue. When I reconnected it and turned on the electric fuel pump to check for leaks, no leaks. But I had smoke???? I found the SS jacket of the fuel line was arcing with the SS jacket of the return line. I could not figure out why. I regrounded the fuel pump with a fresh and separate ground wire direct to the battery negative terminal. It was close by. Seemed fine, then smoke again. It was getting dark and I noticed another arc. An arc between the battery cable on the battery switch and the fuel tank which is mounted on wood and not grounded. (Please remember this was not my work.) I corrected the cable position and the problem was solved. If the tank had been grounded, I would have seen an obvious arc immediately. The fuel pump being in the path to ground for the short reduced the current and made the short hard to find. At least I did not have a fire with the spark around the fuel system. So what does this have to do with bus conversions?
We mount a lot of equipment on wood. It can have different ground potential than another piece of equipment and current can occasionally flow in funny paths. I posted 4 years ago about my Espar heater being mounted this way and running backwards when a fuse blew. The former owner paid $500 to have the Espar fixed and it was not fixed. All it took was replacing the fuse and it ran properly. If it had been at the same ground potential as surrounding equipment it would not have run backwards. It would not have run at all, and a fuse would have seemed a possible cause at the repair shop that charged $500 for not fixing it. LESSON: If equipment which is not attached to metal were grounded to a separate grounding wire, bonding in boats, there could not be a difference in potential between two grounds. Also a suggestion: If you are chasing a problem on any piece of equipment, a ground jumper to the chassis of the equipment from frame or battery negative would be a good test to do early. |
Jayrjay
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, December 16, 2004 - 12:02 am: | |
Hey Steve, glad to know the Prevost didn't go up in smoke too. I keep preachin' the Gospel of The NEC (NFPA/Natn'l Elect. Code) had the equipment been installed by Article 551 it would have been properly grounded. Adherence to the NEC guarantees an intrinsically safe, cost effective electrical system. See 'Ya in Arcadia...JJ |
Marc Bourget
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, December 16, 2004 - 1:36 am: | |
Jayrjay,
Can you post the text to Article 551, or a synopsis thereof?
Thanks |
TWO DOGS
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, December 16, 2004 - 6:33 am: | |
years ago,I had a car that kept needing a new voltage regulator...at the time,they were 70.00 each...due to poor design..the only way the engine got ground...was thru the regulator,sounds crazy..but the engine was mounted in rubber ...I ran a battery cable from a bolt on the block to ground & never had anymore problems |
John that newguy
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, December 16, 2004 - 8:31 am: | |
Isn't "Article 551" an RV repair shop on route 551 near ElPaso? |
Gary McFarland (Gearheadgary)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, December 16, 2004 - 9:22 am: | |
A buddy of mine had many chronic problems with one of his pickups, obviously electrical. He would play with all the wiring, not changing anything, but then mysteriously, everything would work.
He counted seven different grounds coming from various locations on the harness. He snipped the ends off, soldered a commond ground wire to them, then attached them (Now only one) to one grounding point.
I guess this was a few years ago and he hasn't had a problem since.
gary |
Henry R. Bergman, Jr. (Henryofcj)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, December 16, 2004 - 4:25 pm: | |
My friend had a Chevy Luv (Isuzu) pickup and he kept eating head gaskets. After shaving the head once, it had to be replaced. Very $expensive$
I had the exact same truck with zero problems. This was driving him crazy. Then one day we learned bout the necessity of proper vehicle component grounding.
Seems all he did was change out the battery and used another negative cable...one without extra lugs for grounding the radiator and head. That was all it took. Crazy, but true.
Seems that year model had a problem eating aluminum parts (like heads) because of a lack of ground bonding. My pickup was stock and well grounded. His was not. Wow, never thought the importance of proper grounding was that important. Wrong. |
TWO DOGS
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, December 16, 2004 - 4:48 pm: | |
when you have one foot on the ground and one hand on the bus..proper grounding is even more important |
david anderson (Davidanderson)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, December 16, 2004 - 8:15 pm: | |
Makes me glad I ran a negative wire to all my fixtures on my 12v stuff. All my 12v house stuff is grounded at the same point as my battery bank. Nothing is grounded at remote locations on the frame.
This just reminded me. I just bought a 2004 Nissan pickup and was hooking up my trailer plug and noticed the tail lights, brake lights, and turn signals all had a ground wire running through the harness to the front of the truck and not just grounded at a remote point on the frame. There may be something to that to eliminate goofy ground paths.
I grounded my trailer plug to the frame. Perhaps I should go back and tap that ground wire in the harness, instead.
David |
Jayrjay
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, December 16, 2004 - 11:16 pm: | |
Marc, my NEC codebook is an 8 11/2 X 11 foramt, and Article 551 takes up 14 pages. 551 covers for the RV world, what the rest of the Code does for the construction and manufacturing industry. Copy it at your local public library, or plunk down $89.95 for a complete codebook at Barnes and Noble. An annotaed version (comparable to The Eastern Law Review) with pertinent references to the other major building codes, is $159.95. I'll have both at Arcadia for your perusal and edification. An upgradable CD-Rom version is availabe at around $150.00 ...JJ |