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Triggerjay
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No.. working 12's all weekend. I'll attack it Monday morning and post what I find.
32 volts....
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No.. working 12's all weekend. I'll attack it Monday morning and post what I find.
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Triggerjay
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Power strip has a good ground from grounding pin on cord to ground pins on strip. No continuity between light cases and ground pin on either light over the tank. I have a third light over a frag tank (same brand/model) which has continuity between ground pin and case. No V between that light and frag tank. I tested receptacle and it has 120v from hot to neutral, and hot to ground. 0v between neutral and ground, but no continuity either. Water to ground shows 0v with lights unplugged and 20v with either single light plugged in, and 32v with both plugged in to the SAME wall receptacle. If I separate and plug one light only directly into a wall outlet (I have two I can reach), or both lights into the same outlet I see V from water to ground. If I plug one light into EACH wall outlet (different locations) V from water to ground goes away. What is odd is that it doesn't matter which outlet I use, I have same 32v to ground, or 32v to light bracket from water if both lights are in same receptacle, but if I separate between the two outlets (one light in each wall outlet) voltage goes away. I'm more confused now than I was before.
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Triggerjay
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Oh, and in the process, when I pulled the cord on the light over the frag tank, I dropped the hot 120v cord into the water in the frag tank.. it was an oh crap moment. I unplugged the cord, removed it from the water and didn't plug it back in.. I'm going to install GFCI on everything tomorrow.. nothing tripped when the cord hit the water, but If I didn't see that I did it it could have ended very badly. I'm going to pull apart the two lights over the tank tomorrow and inspect grounds.
Brew12
Electrical Gru
I wish I were there to help, but the GFCI will give you the definitive answer.
I normally try to rule out any solution that requires 2 failures but it sounds like the grounds on your light fixtures may not have been installed at all. That is what I would call a bad thing. :mad:
Please keep us informed as to what you find.
TheEngineer
Formerly icecool2
One point to the blind squirrel in the corner who found a nut (icecool2 points at himself proudly). Lol!
My next suggest is to take the light off of the rail, sit it on the flor and plug it in. Measure voltage from the case to the ground of the outlet. My guess is you'll find your source there. Do the same with the other. Assuming that is it, the easiest solution at that point is to add a grounding strap on both cases and tie it into the ground on the board itself. If you open the lights you might even find it already there, just not connected.
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Triggerjay
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Triggerjay
Active Member
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- Reaction score
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Triggerjay
Active Member
- Joined
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- Reaction score
- 131
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Triggerjay
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- Reaction score
- 131
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Triggerjay
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All fixed. Meter now reads 0v from water to bracket, and 0v from water to ground, and 0v from light to ground. I think I need to get the word out. Both these lights were purchased at different times. It could be a widespread issue.
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Triggerjay
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On a side note.. the fans were filthy! I guess I need to add tearing them down for cleaning/inspection at least yearly.
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Triggerjay
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Hit the nail on the head right there.. good call chap!
Brew12
Electrical Gru
It needed to be both of them. Otherwise the ground on the working one would have also grounded out the other one.
Of course, there is still a problem and it could be dirt related. They shouldn't be tracking to ground in the first place!
Chris Adams
Valuable Member
Wow that is pretty crazy both of them :mad:
I am no electrician but this thread was very informative.
thanks @Brew12 and @icecool2 for keeping things understandable
and @Triggerjay for starting thread and following through with updates
I am no electrician but this thread was very informative.
thanks @Brew12 and @icecool2 for keeping things understandable
and @Triggerjay for starting thread and following through with updates
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Triggerjay
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My thoughts exactly. I did clean them well. Just dust like you would find in a PC case. No salt creep anywhere. What risks are there in running it dumping 32v to ground long term? I'm guessing shortened life of the power supplies/drivers. When I got shocked, I brushed my forearm against the bracket and felt an ever so slight tingle. Could the majority of the 32v I saw have been inductive?
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Triggerjay
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Thank you Brew and icecool2 for leading me in the right direction. I was starting to look like Dr. Phil with all the hair pulling going on.
Brew12
Electrical Gru
It could, and I suspect that it is (or capacitive). If you can plug it into a GFCI and it doesn't trip you will know for sure. If it isn't inductive and you don't use a GFCI you will be pulling current through your ground which can cause heat issues.
Brew12
Electrical Gru
lol! Just wish I hadn't lead you down the wrong path initially.....
I guess the odds of identical faults was very low. However when one isn't assembled correctly and the other has a fault.....
