Got juiced,but dont know why


  #1  
Old 09-23-05, 05:49 PM
guntracy
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Question Got juiced,but dont know why

Because taking the fuses on the course i was working on was'nt enough,
i had to work with some current in the wire(s).
I was standing on a dry concrete floor,not touching anything.
When i touched ONE wire,i got juiced,even with the fuses out.
Not much though,but enough to stop me.
Can i take the ground wire directly from the box and lead it to ground,or do i have to do that from the fusenbox?
And will that help?
 
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Old 09-23-05, 06:17 PM
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Huh? Your post makes no sense to me.
 
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Old 09-23-05, 08:11 PM
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I agree that your post makes no sense.

However, the situation you describe is unlikely but not impossible. By touching a live wire with no other connection, you're creating a circuit with the ground - through your body, and to the concrete. So, if you've got a voltage source (the wire) and you complete the circuit with some high-resistance components (the human body and a concrete slab) you will feel some current.
 
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Old 09-24-05, 04:06 AM
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Ok...lol...Let me try this.

I believe what you are saying is you pulled the fuse...and got shocked from the ground wire.
If this is what happened, you have a deeper problem.
If you have voltage in the ground wire, you have a fault somewhere, could be in the box, or it could be somewhere in the house wiring. I myself have had this problem, and it was caused by a bad ceiling fan connection.
Running a different ground will not solve the problem.

You should also check to make sure the ground wire on the fuse box itself is secure. It is normally a bare wire about 1/8" - 1/4" in diameter, and either runs to a cold water pipe, or to a ground stick driven into the ground close to the house, somewhere around your meter box.

Please dont discount this problem...If you have voltage in your ground wires, and the main ground wire is connected to your cold water pipe...that would cause you to have voltage in your cold water pipe.....not a good thing to have.
 
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Old 09-24-05, 05:03 AM
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Another interpretation of the original post is that he pulled the fuse and received a shock from the neutral wire.
This can happen if it is a multiwire circuit, where the neutral is used for return current of more than one fused hot, and the other circuits is on.
 
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Old 09-24-05, 05:38 AM
guntracy
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Yes,I was sick alot during englishclass..

It was not current in the groundwire.It was one of the others.
When i pulled the main fuses,it obviously was ok.
Can i drag the ground wire directly from the junctionbox to the cold waterpipe?(i am right next to one oin the basement).
Sorry for poor english.
 
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Old 09-24-05, 08:49 AM
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interesting..
well, this is beyond me, unless your this wire was feeding a compasitor, or something else that holds voltage....
but weather your grounded or not, when you pull the fuse, the power supply is cut. So either your picking up power from leakage from another circuit, or yor feeding something that stores energy.
One other thing it could possibly be....
You didnt say if this circuit was a 220V, or 110V
If it is 220V, it is possible that when the box was wired, the electrician mixed it up with another 220V circuit, and has mistakenly ran 1 wire from each to 2 different fuses.
So what would happen in this case would be, you pull the fuse, and one leg is dead, and the other leg has 110V still on it, likewise, another 220V circuit somewhere in the panel would loose one leg of volyage without you knowing.
This happened to me when my electrician mixed up the wires between my dryer outlet and water heater.
 
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Old 09-24-05, 09:11 AM
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guntracy,

I would strongly suggest that you call an electrician to check this for you.
It is very hard to understand something when we are not there looking at it.

If you wanted to persue this on your own I would suggest you but an analogue voltage tester and someone here can guide you in using it.
 
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Old 09-24-05, 10:56 AM
guntracy
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Electricity is our friend...

I see your point Stevetra.
This could be.It is a 220v circuit.
I have got shocked before with 220v,and the one i have now,is much weaker.The other leg is dead,as you suggested.
I'll get hold of a voltmeter and try measure the v.
I still dont know if it is possible to connect ground directly to the waterpipe,from the junctionbox,or if i have to go from the fusebox on this circuit.
There are two apartments in this house,with two separate fuseboxes.
But there is just one three phased inlet,and there goes a maincable from the upstairs apartment down to the fusebox in the basement.
dont know if this is helpful...
 
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Old 09-24-05, 11:16 AM
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Very few residences in the US have three phase power. I think you mean 240 volts from the power company, which comes in on three wires.

No, you cannot make a connection from a junction box to a nearby water pipe. This is dangerous.

With 240 volt lines, each 120 volt wire is fused or protected by a circuit breaker. If working on the circuit you must remove both fuses.

A junction box does not necessarily contain one circuit. Sometimes there will be two circuits in the box. This may very well be the case, especially with an older house or apartment.

I suggest that you bring in an electrician. You are talking about an apartment, and you are in over your head. If you are renting, then you are definitely in over your head.
 
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Old 09-24-05, 12:41 PM
guntracy
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ok then..

Thank you for that answer.
THis is my house,and i am renting out the basement apartment.
I will get an electrician then,damn expensive in norway though..
100$ pr. hour,just labour costs..
There is just one circuit in the junction box btw. it is just in and out,until now because i have added a washing machine :O

Volts dont kill,amps do... :=)
 
 

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