Issue on diagnosis. I need help? Im an electrician of 11 years and i have an educated based on limited factors but i would like anyones help please.

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Tdubs

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Victorville ca
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General electrician 11 years
I was hit up by my church which I've built 5 years of work for and they have an older building from the 90s before I did their builds. They hit me up that their stage lighting in an auditorium on a giant lighting rail was shocking anyone that touched to adjust lights. I went up and put one lead of my tester to it and it jumped to my tester and sent it tripping Klein. And nothing completed circuit. I never touched opposite lead and I wasn't grounded. No lights powered at time and 2 constant circuits in rail. Once constants turned off no energization. So I thing no grounding the emt is being energized but why would it jump without my second probe being in a ground or neutral. I'm very good at my job but? I'm planning on replacing all wiring and grounding everything proper. Any ideas? Thank you.
 
3/4 inch emt so overfilled. Extension boxes to pass the amount of wiring. I feel I should make sure grounding is even at the lighting controller and at the main feed to the light bar. And my problem is the constant circuits energizing the bar. But I have to replace all and conduit because of the overfill and ghetto stuff done neutrals runs taped to the outside of conduits etc. Please anyone's insight I would appreciate.
 
I would be glad to attempt to help you ... if I understood what you are saying. Maybe it's because I'm on the old side of life, but I just don't understand what you are saying.

Let's start with this ... " I went up and put one lead of my tester to it and it jumped to my tester and sent it tripping Klein." What does "sent it tripping Klein mean"?
 
oldsparky52 said:
I would be glad to attempt to help you ... if I understood what you are saying. Maybe it's because I'm on the old side of life, but I just don't understand what you are saying.

Let's start with this ... " I went up and put one lead of my tester to it and it jumped to my tester and sent it tripping Klein." What does "sent it tripping Klein mean"?
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We are about the same age, so maybe that would explain my lack as well.
 
If you use a regular DMM and put one probe on an energized line and keep the other in free air, you will get some reading just from capacitance. Put that second probe in your hand and it likley will raise the voltage reading, your body becomes part of the capacitor and increases the capacitance.

A low impedance meter in same situtation will still read zero, but when you touch that second probe you may be shocked because the low impedance meter will pass more current than the high impedance meter.
 
Tdubs said:
3/4 inch emt . But I have to replace all and conduit because of the overfill and ghetto stuff done neutrals runs taped to the outside of conduits etc. Please anyone's insight I would appreciate.
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Not much of a way to fix that other than running new conduits. That neutral tapped to the outside of the conduit could be a real problem, at least it's a code violation.
 
Tdubs said:
I was hit up by my church which I've built 5 years of work for and they have an older building from the 90s before I did their builds. They hit me up that their stage lighting in an auditorium on a giant lighting rail was shocking anyone that touched it.
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There are a couple of ways people can get a shock. One is if the rail/conduit is energized and the other is a static charge and either would lead me to believe it's not properly grounded
 
When you say "it jumped to my tester" do you mean a spark, or just that the meter reading jumped up?

If you're actually getting a spark without completing the circuit with the other meter lead, that would require a higher frequency (like in a Tesla coil), or a static charge as growler noted. At higher frequencies the capacitance that kwired mentioned above provides enough load to get a noticeable current to flow. You may get a spark at higher frequencies but usually it will not jolt you like a 60 Hz shock because the current flows on the surface of your body.
A switching supply in a lighting system would use such high frequencies, but it would have to be defective and also not be properly grounded as mentioned above to get a spark.
 
growler said:
There are a couple of ways people can get a shock. One is if the rail/conduit is energized and the other is a static charge and either would lead me to believe it's not properly grounded
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Also the rail could actually be grounded, and the voltage source is from another surface. I have a feeling they are on metal scaffold or ladder on a concrete floor. The floor can be energized by a fault elsewhere, but like you, I believe it’s probably the rail energized.
 
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