Electrocuted by my tank light. How?

[mgforum]

Can anyone help with this crazy situation.

Bought a new tank and soon discovered, that if I have my hand in the tank water and even slighty touch the aluminium protective frame of the tank light I get zapped or electrcuted I suppose.

If I touch the light by itself, no problemo.

If I touch the tank water only, again, no problem.

Touch both and wham :eek3:, don't do that again.

What's the issue? I am thinking possibly earth wiring screwed up?

I live in Australia and we have 240v power supply on a three pin plug.

:wall::silly:

 

[XR250rdr]

Electrocution implies death has resulted from electric shock. You type pretty well for being deceased.

Your thoughts about the light being improperly grounded (or earthed as I believe you would refer to it) sound like the most likely culprit.

 

[Svetlana]

try opening the plug and checking the green cable connection to start with!

 

[Rbishop]

I would suspect your heater first, then your lights.

 

[Que]

I agree with Bob. It sounds like you have a broken heater. By touching the light fixture with your hand in the water you are completing a circuit likely by grounding it (ground is usually attached to the metal frame of a light fixture).

I think your light is fine.

Q

 

[wackydan]

You may also want to check the ground connection on the outlet itself.

But yes... ditto on the heater.

 

[Sploke]

Agree with Q and Rb. The light is merely acting as a grounding point when your body touches it. The source is probably something submerged. Cracked heater is probably most likely, but it could be a powerhead or filter thats having leakage issues as well.

 

[DrJoe]

Technically the reflector on the light should not be grounded. All the electrical connections should be sealed and isolated, including the ground for just such an occasion. This is different than in an electronic environment where shielding is necessary.

Get a cheap meter and start checking things, a lost or corroded neutral wire can cause all sorts of problems.

If you have "stray" electricity running thru the tank it can cause lateral line & hole in the head problems. Worse case situations cause musculature & skeletal problems.

Oh, please be careful or will me your stuff ahead of time :grinyes:.

Dr Joe
from the MFK side

 

[mgforum]

Can I use a Multi-meter to check?

:help: Can I use a Multi-meter to test for the problem?

Don't feel like testing it with my hands again, I can't get my hair to stay down anymore. lol. :eek3:

 

[eroomlorac]

I think a good cheap check would be to check the heater for cracks. Than have a friend put his hand in the tank and touch the light while the heater is out and see if he gets zapped. :lipssealedsmilie: