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Topic: Electrical Question_Are Neutral and Ground Bonded? (Read 4 times) previous topic - next topic
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Electrical Question_Are Neutral and Ground Bonded?
Yahoo Message Number: 56792
According to Phred Tinsith's poop sheet on RV electrical systems:

"First thing first: The neutral and ground in an RV electrical loadcenter are NOT to be bonded together"

Does anyone know the answer for Lazy Daze?

Bob
Re: Electrical Question_Are Neutral and Ground Bonded?
Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 56836
Quote
"First thing first: The neutral and ground in an RV electrical loadcenter are NOT to be bonded together"
Under no circumstances should they ever be connected in any RV, home, business or any AC wiring that could ever conceivably be connected to a source of AC in this country (and probably all others). This is federally and all states mandated electrical code.
 This has nothing to do with 12 VDC wiring. By automotive practice, all 12V negative wiring will connect ultimately to chassis ground for the Lazy Daze. DC wiring does not use the terms 'neutral' or 'line'. Any reference to those always refers to AC wiring.

One thing to be aware of, though, when fooling around with the DC circuits, is that non-automotive items connected to the 12V system may not tolerate well the negative-to-ground wiring in the LD. This is particularly true of items powered normally by a 'brick' - those AC-to-DC modules that plug into an AC socket and have an output cord that plugs into some appliance, etc. Often the brick output is 12V DC, tempting one to just plug the appliance directly to a 12V accessory outlet. USUALLY not a problem, but there are exceptions.
 Also, most in-dash stereos will have speaker outputs labeled + and -.
These must NOT be connected to chassis ground or anywhere but directly to the speaker terminals.

Steve
2004 FL
2013 Honda Fit
Re: Electrical Question_Are Neutral and Ground Bonded?
Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 56858
Quote
"First thing first: The neutral and ground in an RV electrical loadcenter are NOT to be bonded together"
Another reason is life safety. Since the motorhome sits on rubber tires it is insulated from the earth ground. When coneected to shore power there is a remote possibility due to wiring problems withe the shore power supply all metal parts of the vehicle would be "hot". A person could be electricuted just by walking up and grabing your door knob.

Norm
Re: Electrical Question_Are Neutral and Ground Bonded?
Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 56866
Quote
Under no circumstances should they ever be connected in any RV, home, business or any AC wiring that could ever conceivably be connected to
This is an 'OOPS' - I knew what I meant, but it didn't come out quite right. In homes and businesses and any other location hooked directly to a utility company's electric service, 'neutral' and 'ground' ARE connected together at the main service entrance, where there is also a literal connection to earth. But, nowhere else, including not at any secondary boxes. An RV, though, is considered a portable appliance, since it connects via a removable plug and cord. Therefore, neutral, ground, line1, line2, etc are all kept separate.

Steve
2004 FL
2013 Honda Fit