Voltage coming from outdrive

[Onexl85]

Today while I was cleaning my out drive (merc alpha one gen 2) I felt a tingle when I would rest my arm on the drive. I was kneeling on the wet ground and the boat was plugged into shore power with the battery's charging. What would cause this craziness?
Boats on the trailer btw!

 

[Bt Doctur]

the shore power cord, a bad neutral , a bad earth ground, a defective charger . all of the above.
Get it fixed or get killed .
a water electrocution is painfull

 

[wrench 3]

No Title

Plug in a tester such as this one into a receptacle in the boat.

It will tell you of any problems with the wiring.
If it doesn't find any problems start throwing breakers or unplugging things until the problem goes away. It may be a good idea to use a multimeter instead of your body to check the drive.

 

[Onexl85]

I noticed a couple of the continuity cables were off on my outdrive. Could that have somthing to do with it?

 

[km1125]

I noticed a couple of the continuity cables were off on my outdrive. Could that have somthing to do with it?

Are you using a marine charger to charge the batteries? If not, THAT could be part of the problem Automotive chargers are not wired the same as a marine charger..

Not sure what you mean by this... are you talking about the bonding cables? If so, then YES it could have something to do with it, but it is NOT the CAUSE Of the problem. Someone probably took them off THINKING that it was a problem.

If you launch the boat like that you are creating a very dangerous electrocution hazard for anyone in the water near your boat, as well as corrosion issues for your outdrives and possibly anyone elses boat docked near you.

It could be an A.C. outlet wiring problem on the shore connection or on your boat. Need to get it figured out and resolved!!

 

[bruceb58]

Are you using a marine charger to charge the batteries? If not, THAT could be part of the problem Automotive chargers are not wired the same as a marine charger..

There shouldn't be a difference. Nothing that would cause a shock unless there was a problem with the charger itself.

Not sure what you mean by this... are you talking about the bonding cables? If so, then YES it could have something to do with it, but it is NOT the CAUSE Of the problem. Someone probably took them off THINKING that it was a problem.

Bonding cables or not have nothing to do with the problem.

It could be an A.C. outlet wiring problem on the shore connection or on your boat.

This is the likely culprit

 

[Onexl85]

Noticed a bunch of corrosion on the drive after last season, could that be caused by the continuity cables? Found the voltage problem, no ground on the extension cord I had the boat plugged into my house!

 

[Bt Doctur]

continuity cable, too much SS prop, faulty charger, faulty AC feed/cable/ wiring.,dock outlet.
And NO a missing ground should not produce a shock outdrive- to- earth

http://www.catalina30.com/TechLib/Wi...Electrical.pdf

http://www.arrid.com.au/pdf/Switches/Blue Sea/AC_Main.pdf

 

[km1125]

No ground or a problem with the bonding might cause you to FEEL the shock, but THERE IS A PROBLEM one way or the other. And a missing ground on the extension cord means the same thing... you might not FEEL it on the outdrive because the ground wire is absorbing it, BUT THERE STILL IS A PROBLEM AND IT IS A SAFETY ISSUE.