Satellite box shocked me

[jwjrw]

Just got a call. Customer said only in one room of his house the satellite box will shock him when he touches it and the cable without the cable hooked into the box. Satellite company came out and changed box same thing. Plug it in a different room no shock. Dvd etc work fine in room where he gets shocked. Told me they unhooked their ground and it stopped for a while but is now back.
What should I be looking for other than proper wired and grounded receptacle. The symptoms don't make sense to me. Any ideas as to what is going on?

 

[480sparky]

Ungrounded receptacle.

 

[Jlarson]

Current on the GEC, grounding connections are good, stuff like that. It's probably just static though from like the carpet in the room.

 

[iwire]

A bad service neutral.

 

[jwjrw]

Ungrounded receptacle.

That was my first thought. I will find out around 10am tomorrow.

 

[jwjrw]

A bad service neutral.

I have seen neutrals cause some funny things but......
How would only one circuit be affected if it was a service neutral?

 

[iwire]

I have seen neutrals cause some funny things but......
How would only one circuit be affected if it was a service neutral?

The coax is grounded multiple times and is in parallel with the service neutral.

If the neutral opens the neutral current shifts onto the coax shield.


It could be other things but I would check the neutral.

 

[mxslick]

I have seen neutrals cause some funny things but......
How would only one circuit be affected if it was a service neutral?

The coax is grounded multiple times and is in parallel with the service neutral.

If the neutral opens the neutral current shifts onto the coax shield.


It could be other things but I would check the neutral.

What Bob said, plus keep in mind that electricity seeks ALL paths back to its source, the magnitude in inverse proportion to the path's resistance.

So even a marginal issue with the service neutral can result in the problem you're experiencing.

 

[480sparky]

The coax is grounded multiple times and is in parallel with the service neutral.

If the neutral opens the neutral current shifts onto the coax shield.


It could be other things but I would check the neutral.

It could also be this incident is the first to be noticed that's caused by the service neutral.

 

[jwjrw]

Thanks guys. I usually start at the receptacle figure out what feeds it then work my way to the panel and meter if I can't find anything. Checking for loose service conductors and branch circuit and breakers etc is part of my normal routine. If I find no loose connections what is the best way to check if poco's neutral is bad? I want to see if I am t/s the most efficient way.

 

[kwired]

I have seen neutrals cause some funny things but......
How would only one circuit be affected if it was a service neutral?

The coax is grounded multiple times and is in parallel with the service neutral.

If the neutral opens the neutral current shifts onto the coax shield.


It could be other things but I would check the neutral.

OP says it is a satellite cable not CATV. Bad service neutral will put CATV shield in parallel with service neutral but a satellite is usually not tied to other structures unless on same property in that case you may have a bad neutral on a feeder instead of the service.

What is the voltage between the two points and is it AC or DC voltage? Is the satellite system bonded to the electrical system?

 

[iwire]

OP says it is a satellite cable not CATV.

Good point.

 

[jwjrw]

OP says it is a satellite cable not CATV. Bad service neutral will put CATV shield in parallel with service neutral but a satellite is usually not tied to other structures unless on same property in that case you may have a bad neutral on a feeder instead of the service.

What is the voltage between the two points and is it AC or DC voltage? Is the satellite system bonded to the electrical system?

You know what you are correct. I am going tomorrow morning to t/s it. The guy just called tonight. In case I didn't find anything obvious I wanted to know other possible causes.

 

[jwjrw]

I got there this morning and plugged my receptacle tester in to the outlet causing the issue. It said hot and neutral reversed. I pulled it out and found a 2 wire circuit. As I pulled the receptacle out the lights on the tester changed to open ground.( It also had a 3 wire receptacle on a 2 wire circuit. ) I taped the hot conductors up because I saw a few nicks in the insulation. Reinstalled receptacle and everything was fine. Customer stated breaker had tripped in the past. I'm thinking I had a slight short causing the issue. Any thoughts?

 

[jumper]

I got there this morning and plugged my receptacle tester in to the outlet causing the issue. It said hot and neutral reversed. I pulled it out and found a 2 wire circuit. As I pulled the receptacle out the lights on the tester changed to open ground.( It also had a 3 wire receptacle on a 2 wire circuit. ) I taped the hot conductors up because I saw a few nicks in the insulation. Reinstalled receptacle and everything was fine. Customer stated breaker had tripped in the past. I'm thinking I had a slight short causing the issue. Any thoughts?

You reinstalled a 3 prong receptacle on a 2 wire circuit?:-?

 

[jwjrw]

You reinstalled a 3 prong receptacle on a 2 wire circuit?:-?

I left what was there. Every one in the house is that way. I proposed to add a gfi on the circuits per nec 406.3(d)(3)(c). Since I did not take the wires off the receptacle I did leave it. I presented the customer with the proposal. It's up to him if he wants to fix it. I also found the GEC to the ground rod (actually pipe. It's an old house) missing and proposed to correct that as well.

 

[jumper]

I left what was there. Every one in the house is that way. I proposed to add a gfi on the circuits per nec 406.3(d)(3)(c). Since I did not take the wires off the receptacle I did leave it. I presented the customer with the proposal. It's up to him if he wants to fix it. I also found the GEC to the ground rod (actually pipe. It's an old house) missing and proposed to correct that as well.

Okay, fair enough.

 

[480sparky]

I got there this morning and plugged my receptacle tester in to the outlet causing the issue. It said hot and neutral reversed. I pulled it out and found a 2 wire circuit. As I pulled the receptacle out the lights on the tester changed to open ground.( It also had a 3 wire receptacle on a 2 wire circuit. ) I taped the hot conductors up because I saw a few nicks in the insulation. Reinstalled receptacle and everything was fine. Customer stated breaker had tripped in the past. I'm thinking I had a slight short causing the issue........

So how did you miss the open ground when you first plugged in your tester? Was there a bootleg ground between the neutral and ground terminals?

........Any thoughts?

I win!

 

[jwjrw]

So how did you miss the open ground when you first plugged in your tester? Was there a bootleg ground between the neutral and ground terminals?

No bootleg ground. All I saw was nicks in the insulation on the conductors. HO said the breaker tripped a few times in past. I taped up wires but really don't know what was causing the situation. The box was metal but the cables were cloth romex. The tester said hot and netural reversed but they were not. IDK really what was happening. That is one reason I'm posting what I found.

 

[qcroanoke]

So how did you miss the open ground when you first plugged in your tester? Was there a bootleg ground between the neutral and ground terminals

Many times I have plugged my receptacle tester into a 3 wire outlet and gotten reversed polarity on it only to open it up and find no equipment ground was the problem.
Not unusual at all.