Warning - check your EHU Cables

[dspuk]

Found myself at a site this week with no power in the pitch black. After some torch led fault finding and a minor electric shock I finally heard a “buzzing” sound from the van side and realised one of the wires was shorting.

After inspection it was clear the numpty that had put the wire together did it with their eyes shut and using none of the safety features.

Bought from a reputable UK site too.

So, for anyone that’s not checked their cable recently, might be worth a quick look.

Before


After

 

[Calimili]

The orange outer shield in pic 1 seems to have a scratch. Probably caused by pulling the cable instead of the plug? It seems like it was pulled out of the clamp. Also from pic 2 it should have been easy to spot that something was wrong, as it is no watertight just by looking at it.
Now you fixed it, perfect.

Last summer I also suddenly lost power from the EHU. Coincidentally right after a wannabe self conversion van got a pitch not far from me, hooking to the same power distribution point as me and a few others. All of a sudden we are all without electricity, but the rest of the site no issues. It turns out the wannabe #vanlifer self builder had a short and tripped the fuse on the distribution point for us all.

 

[dspuk]

The orange outer shield in pic 1 seems to have a scratch. Probably caused by pulling the cable instead of the plug? It seems like it was pulled out of the clamp. Also from pic 2 it should have been easy to spot that something was wrong, as it is no watertight just by looking at it.
Now you fixed it, perfect.

Last summer I also suddenly lost power from the EHU. Coincidentally right after a wannabe self conversion van got a pitch not far from me, hooking to the same power distribution point as me and a few others. All of a sudden we are all without electricity, but the rest of the site no issues. It turns out the wannabe #vanlifer self builder had a short and tripped the fuse on the distribution point for us all.

Hi - no, the scratch is from the cable drum and the clip that is used to keep the cable in place when reeling it in. It's a surface scratch only.

Agree on image two and both ends were like that when I checked.

Inside the clamp had been tightened on the wires, not the cable, and the wires were twice the length they needed to be. All sorted now with my trusty electricians snips. It would be physically impossible to pull the wire from the clamp now even if pulling the wire (which I don't).

Certainly anyone who has bought the same cable from the Chinese factory that this likely came from will have a similar issue.

Cable was bought from Towsure.

 

[Nick Stubbs]

Just a bit more info doesn't hurt for the earth conductor to be slightly longer than the others, should the conductors be accidentally pulled from the plug/socket it makes the earth the last conductor to loose continuity,

 

[dspuk]

Just a bit more info doesn't hurt for the earth conductor to be slightly longer than the others, should the conductors be accidentally pulled from the plug/socket it makes the earth the last conductor to loose continuity,

Yup - as I was doing it found there are two bolts for the earth and to work the exposed wire to hit both bolts needed to be about 1/3 longer than the blue and brown.

 

[sidepod]

A little Intel some may find interesting.

I’m guessing (and this is based on an assumption all of the electrical infrastructure on your site was correct and intact) that your “minor” electric shock was what’s termed “touch voltage”.

Touch voltage is set by design at 50v.
The resistance of a human body is around 22kohm and a current of around 20-25mA could kill you. Livestock is more sensitive.
This is why the RCD/RCBO in your van/hook up pole is 30mA (they trip anywhere between 5 and 25mA normally - some brands being faster than others)

Using Ohms law 22mA x 22kOhm gives approx 50v.
Given your hook up RCD didn’t trip I’m guessing you didn’t breech the 50v threshold?

 

[ArunAlec]

Just a bit more info doesn't hurt for the earth conductor to be slightly longer than the others, should the conductors be accidentally pulled from the plug/socket it makes the earth the last conductor to loose continuity,

When I was an apprentice we were taught to leave extra length in the earth wire when wiring a 13amp plug. Also not to hold the plug in the palm of your hand when tightening the screws, in case the screwdriver slipped and went into your hand.

 

[dspuk]

A little Intel some may find interesting.

I’m guessing (and this is based on an assumption all of the electrical infrastructure on your site was correct and intact) that your “minor” electric shock was what’s termed “touch voltage”.

Touch voltage is set by design at 50v.
The resistance of a human body is around 22kohm and a current of around 20-25mA could kill you. Livestock is more sensitive.
This is why the RCD/RCBO in your van/hook up pole is 30mA (they trip anywhere between 5 and 25mA normally - some brands being faster than others)

Using Ohms law 22mA x 22kOhm gives approx 50v.
Given your hook up RCD didn’t trip I’m guessing you didn’t breech the 50v threshold?

Ha - well, in the story the shock happened a little later and was down to me not having the right tools and being an pillock. Have now bought a small toolkit for the Cali to keep in the boot - one of those Motorbike ones. To say it included a kitchen knife and the power did trip would be exposing my idiocy.

My car electrics teacher from when I was an Army VM would have clipped me around the ear.

 

[ardm17]

Found myself at a site this week with no power in the pitch black. After some torch led fault finding and a minor electric shock I finally heard a “buzzing” sound from the van side and realised one of the wires was shorting.

After inspection it was clear the numpty that had put the wire together did it with their eyes shut and using none of the safety features.

Bought from a reputable UK site too.

So, for anyone that’s not checked their cable recently, might be worth a quick look.

Before
View attachment 101782 View attachment 101781

After

View attachment 101783

I would second this warning - 25m cable from a well-known manufacturer - I had bought some extra connectors to cut it and make a 10m and a 15m cable - with waterproof cover for the connection (seems now that might have been a mistake, given some campsite rules, but that is another story..).
Anyway, opened the original connectors to check the wiring order - found the live in the plug end not clamped at all, just loose in the pin - a recipe for high resistance and potential overheating. Brand new and a safety concern. Tried e-mailing the manufacturer, but never heard back.

 

[PeteS]

When I was an apprentice we were taught to leave extra length in the earth wire when wiring a 13amp plug. Also not to hold the plug in the palm of your hand when tightening the screws, in case the screwdriver slipped and went into your hand.

I always leave an extra length on the earth lead. The idea being if the cable is pulled the earth will detach last.