Strange Electrical Problem

[rwise]

Re: Strange Electrical Problem

And 220 stuff is not affected,,,,

 

[v1_0]

Re: Strange Electrical Problem

Hey I386 are you sure your dogs did not climb up on your roof and chew the service lines

That's one of my favorite iboats pictures http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=233370&highlight=dogs

That kinda reminds me of the story I read about once where a lady (in England) called the phone company to report intermittent phone service - and a psychic dog. She had been told by friends that she hadn't answered a number of their calls - she had been home at the time and surmised that the phone wasn't working. Every time she did get a call, she noticed that a minute or so before the phone rang the dog would start barking and yelping frantically. Eventually she put the two together.

The service technician came out, did some investigating, and found the problem - to both symptoms.

I'm sketchy on the exact details, but it turns out that the dog was tethered (via chain) to a pole in the yard. The phone line was chafed / corroded so that one of the 'legs' was open, but in contact with the dog's chain. In England, they use 90v to signal a ring. The dog, when tethered, would complete the ground enough to get shocked but not enough to get the phone to ring. After some seconds of getting shocked, the dog would urinate - and the wetness would complete the connection in the 'leg' that was open, causing the phone to ring.

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: Strange Electrical Problem

And 220 stuff is not affected,,,,

With that problem, 220 stuff would definitely be affected....would not work at all.

 

[jlinder]

Re: Strange Electrical Problem

.... In England, they use 90v to signal a ring. ....

Ringing uses the same voltage here in the US. You don't want to have your fingers on the bare wires when it rings.

I first found this out when playing with an old WWII field phone. It had the connections on the top on one side and the crank for ringing the phone on the other.

It was just natural to put your hand on top (touching the terminals) to stabilize the phone while you crank.

Nasty. Even worse when you realize you generated the voltage yourself.

 

[rwise]

Re: Strange Electrical Problem

With that problem, 220 stuff would definitely be affected....would not work at all.

I can tell you IT WAS NOT the bad (loose) ground ONLY affected the 120 volt circuits!

 

[i386]

Re: Strange Electrical Problem

Yup, it was a "loose leg", not a "loose neutral". All 240v circuits run at 120v when you loose a leg. What makes it seem weird is because even though you lose power to one side of the breaker panel some power "backfeeds" from the other side of the panel (the working side). This is because the 240v breakers are connected to both "hot" bus bars. If all the 240v breakers are off when you loose a leg then that side of the panel is dead. Well, in theory it should be dead, but you can get backfeed from your neighbors house too.

If you lose the neutral bad stuff happens... Your 120v outlets can become 240v outlets. I believe electricians call this "going high". I believe having a proper earth ground can protect you from the worst of a loose neutral problem. Someone might want to check me on that though...

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: Strange Electrical Problem

With that problem, 220 stuff would definitely be affected....would not work at all.

I can tell you IT WAS NOT the bad (loose) ground ONLY affected the 120 volt circuits!

I am talking about the problem as described by the OP. The root cause was a bad connection on one of his hot lines that internmittantly took it off line.
As I correctly stated, this would absolutely affect the 220 supply...it would be effectively an open circuit, nothing 220 would work.
I'm not sure what you are talking about....a loose ground had nothing to do with this.

 

[rwise]

Re: Strange Electrical Problem

I am talking about the problem as described by the OP. The root cause was a bad connection on one of his hot lines that internmittantly took it off line.
As I correctly stated, this would absolutely affect the 220 supply...it would be effectively an open circuit, nothing 220 would work.
I'm not sure what you are talking about....a loose ground had nothing to do with this.

Maybe try reading the above posts, just a thought A loose power lug would most affect the 220, how could it not,,,,

 

[i386]

Re: Strange Electrical Problem

Come on guys... simple misunderstanding. I had to go back and read it a few times to get it too.

Using quotes would have helped, but I think rwise was just adding to what joed was saying about a loose neutral and not talking abut my loose leg problem....

Syptoms of a loose neutral are different. Some light will be dimming but other will be going brighter.

...and (with a loose neutral) 220 stuff is not affected

Now go have a beer er something and make up.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Strange Electrical Problem

Here's a secret that will get the guys out and up the pole: Tell them that you're really concerned that there might be a fire risk. If they try to give you the main house breaker crap again, just tell them that's been tested, then ask if they're willing to cover the damage if there's a fire.

Use the word fire. They will come and fix your problem. They always want to avoid sending a crew out. The maintenance dispatcher will do pretty much anything to prevent it. You have to say the magic word. That word is "fire." Don't say there's a fire. Just say that you're very worried that the problem might cause a fire.

Works every time.

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: Strange Electrical Problem

Come on guys... simple misunderstanding. I had to go back and read it a few times to get it too.

Using quotes would have helped, but I think rwise was just adding to what joed was saying about a loose neutral and not talking abut my loose leg problem....

Now go have a beer er something and make up.

??????
Is there a problem here? If so, I am, missing it.
I was simply trying to clarify something that I didn't think was clear....and still don't. Nothing more to add.
As far as "making up", I must be missing something there , too.
The comment "Maybe try reading the above posts, just a thought " is at worst unnecessarily sarcastic, but I've seen worse and I've written worse. No harm no foul.
If RWISE was offended by anything I wrote, it wasn't intended. Point out the offending text and I will be happy to explain what I meant if it's not clear.

 

[BoatBuoy]

Re: Strange Electrical Problem

Use the word fire. They will come and fix your problem. ...Just say that you're very worried that the problem might cause a fire.

Works every time.

Kinda like the emergency room. Tell them you're having chest pains and avoid the 3 hours in the waiting lounge.

 

[PmDavis300]

Re: Strange Electrical Problem

so did the problem get fixed?

 

[i386]

Re: Strange Electrical Problem

so did the problem get fixed?

Yes: http://forums.iboats.com/showpost.php?p=2023148&postcount=17
No problems since thank goodness.