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View Full Version : Got electrocuted today-what to look for?


windowlicker916
03/27/2011, 10:34 PM
My hand was in the water to grab a star fish and then my wrist touched the body of my light fixture and I got zapped.

How should I work out what is causing this grounding issue?

gem
03/27/2011, 10:45 PM
Maybe check the wiring on the T5 mod you did?

rbredding
03/27/2011, 10:50 PM
you got shocked...




electrocution is when you die..


start by making sure the fixture is properly grounded... (then make sure you've got a grounding probe in your tank)

that will probably fix the problem..

Paulca916
03/27/2011, 11:03 PM
Maybe check the wiring on the T5 mod you did?

+1---If you have never had this happen befor this was the last electrical thing you changed.

So makes sense to check the light.

windowlicker916
03/27/2011, 11:25 PM
The ground is in place made sure of that and 0 exposed wiring.

With the grounding prob do I just place it in the water and plug things in until it goes off?

I just got this setup going so frankly never had a chance to be shocked.

Paulca916
03/27/2011, 11:53 PM
I just unplug one thing at a time untill I dont get shocked.

Brutal but it works

trhaynes
03/28/2011, 07:38 AM
I would also say it is in your light. I'm gonna bet it is at one of your tombstones on the light. Do you have all of your aquarium stuff pluged into a GFCI? That will prevent you from really getting shocked.

HV1990
03/28/2011, 08:32 AM
start by making sure the fixture is properly grounded

+1. When your hand was in the water and you touched the fixture you created a path to a better ground. Since your lights are not IN water your grounding probe probably is not going to do much.

Is the plug on your lights 3 prong or 2 prong?

willybub
03/28/2011, 08:35 AM
maybe grab a volt meter to check things instead of your hand haha

Cachenick
03/28/2011, 08:48 AM
+1 on the GFCI. Just a smart thing to do.

marioensf
03/28/2011, 09:59 AM
The current leak might be in the water too, if the reflector is properly wired and grounded, then you might have experienced the human light bulb thing.
Check thing by thing.

HV1990
03/28/2011, 10:26 AM
Keep us posted on what you find.

@mario if it in the water before hand wouldn't he have felt it when he put his hand in?

marioensf
03/28/2011, 10:40 AM
Maybe he acted as the ground there; sometimes current is present and you might not feel it but if you are barefooted or touch a grounding point then you totally feel it.
I thing the light fixture if it's grounded properly then might be the point where he became the human circuit.

rbredding
03/28/2011, 10:45 AM
On an improperly grounded T12 fixture, I've felt a little buzz when holding the lamp and brushing my arm against the reflector/hood...

and I was standing on a fiberglass ladder in an office when I did..

windowlicker916
03/28/2011, 01:54 PM
Well thankfully only the LED were running which are 2 prong. Wonder if I would of been zapped more with the bigger amp lights on?

Will try a volt-ohm meter see if I can isolate it. Hoping it's my sump pump so I have an excuse to buy another.

windowlicker916
03/28/2011, 08:59 PM
Results are in.

If I unplug the pump while the probe is in the water and and the other end is on a screw on the light I get 76v. When I unplug it I drop to 7v.

So looks like my wish might be granted? The pump is two prong when I checked as well.

trhaynes
03/29/2011, 08:48 AM
That sounds like an issue! Now you can get a new pump! It worked out.

cjcmcheek
03/29/2011, 11:38 AM
i thought that happened to me once, but it was just my anemone stinging the crap out of me.

windowlicker916
04/01/2011, 03:21 PM
Alright I was wrong! (surprise)

Installed a GFCI today and it popped immediately.

Unplugged everything and replugged one by one and it's my T5 lights (the ones I wired) causing it. The LED and MH don't cause it to trip and now I can stick my hand in the water and touch the light and not get shocked.

So now the question is: Why?

All connections were covered. No exposed wiring.

Only thing I can think of is that I cross wired or something. The ballast (4 of them in there) have 4 wires each. I wired the 2 red to one end cap and the 2 white to the other end cap. Each ballast powers its own bulb with no crossing that I am aware of. I put the wrong end caps on once and the lights didn't fire because a circuit couldn't complete.

Any advice?

My next thought is to unplug all the lights and then put them in one at a time until the GFCI pops. So I can narrow it down to the ballast if it's a single one causing it.

HV1990
04/01/2011, 05:05 PM
Most likley your self wiring doesnt include a ground.

windowlicker916
04/01/2011, 05:26 PM
The ballast actually dont have a ground from what I can tell.

My guess is that the housing acts as the ground and the ballast are screwed to the housing.

There is a single screw with a ground wire attached to it that grounds out somewhere.

RonMidtownStomp
04/01/2011, 05:44 PM
I wouldn't give up on the pump still being a problem.

iriejp1
04/01/2011, 05:54 PM
Alright I was wrong! (surprise)
...now I can stick my hand in the water and touch the light and not get shocked.


Lol.

(<--is imagining him putting his hand back in the water and slowly reaching for the light...)

windowlicker916
04/01/2011, 06:33 PM
I actually did that!

Kept the T5 unplugged and touched the light and stuck my hand in the water, no shock!

HV1990
04/01/2011, 07:02 PM
Post some picks of the balast and wiring please

trhaynes
04/02/2011, 01:34 PM
Nice, the home retro light was my first thought. Post some pics of the ballast if you can. And you are correct about the fixture being the ground for the ballasts. I have a feeling that it is one of the ballasts, since a gfci trips on neutral to hot imbalance. Something is leaking a little current somehow. Maybe a wire is just a bit exposed at one of the tombstones?

iriejp1
04/03/2011, 01:26 PM
I actually did that!

Kept the T5 unplugged and touched the light and stuck my hand in the water, no shock!

Multimeter FTW... :thumbsup:

windowlicker916
04/03/2011, 01:33 PM
Have one! Won't get a chance until this thur/fri to take a look at it.

I might have a problem getting to where the ground is. It's under the reflector between the T5 and MH.

I am hoping I will isolate it down to one ballast and then what I will do is just reground it to its own screw in the housing so I don't have to rip apart the reflectors.