Reverse Polarity

[Babette04]

I am fortunate enough to keep my boat in my yard
We had solar panels installed while the boat was in the water; and, when I plugged her back into "shore" power off my house, the "Reverse Polarity" RED light lit up on my AC panel.

Suggestions please

 

[NYSail]

Check your garage.....

 

[Justin_NSA]

There's an inexpensive test plug you can get that quickly checks your outlets. I've used it on every outlet I plug into.

 

[Ron20324]

...the "Reverse Polarity" RED light lit up on my AC panel.
Suggestions please

Was the (SOLAR) panel NEG connected to the ships NEG? Could be my memory, but IIRC, it should only go into the controller.

 

[Bill Roosa]

houses are not as strict on hot and neutral reversal so it is not unlikely that the outlet you plugged into from the house was reversed. Take the outlet cover off and check (after turning off the circuit breaker) to make sure that the hot (black) is attached to the brass screws and the neutral (white) is attached to the aluminum ones. If in doubt put on your reading glasses and inspect the receptacle back side. It will indicate which wire goes to which screw.
Good luck

 

[jssailem]

not unlikely

Bill... Double negative. Does that a mean it is likely?

 

[jviss]

houses are not as strict on hot and neutral reversa

Really? I have never heard so.

 

[Bill Roosa]

@jviss you have not done much house electrical then cause lots of folks (non-electricians) just wire the receptacle in any random way. certainly not a best practice but a lot of folks get away with it.

 

[Bill Roosa]

@jssailem Yep, it is not unlikely, Given that his reverse polarity light comes on I'd even venture that is is highly likely

 

[SG]

Why would your AC panel (which shows reverse polarity) be connected directly to the DC panel?

 

[Bill Roosa]

Who said the AC and DC where connected?

 

[SG]

I am not familiar with a reverse polarity warning on a DC circuit on a boat.

What solar cell array would directly produce AC without an intervening battery and inverter?

 

[jviss]

@jviss you have not done much house electrical then cause lots of folks (non-electricians) just wire the receptacle in any random way. certainly not a best practice but a lot of folks get away with it.

I've done a lot of house wiring, including upgrading a service from a 6-circuit, 60A fuse box to a 40 circuit, 200A service; put a second floor on a house and did all the electrical work, including pulling permits and going through inspections, etc. I haven't encountered anything wrong by a previous owner yet, just some old stuff that needed upgrading. I don't doubt you, but I didn't think you were referring to owners doing stuff, I thought you meant that there was no strict standard or enforcement for homes.

I would be on the phone to the solar company if I found what the OP did. It could kill you.

When I bought this house I went around to all the outlets with an outlet tester with a GFCI test button. When I bought the new boat I did the same while running the inverter; haven't plugged into shore power yet.

 

[jviss]

I am not familiar with a reverse polarity warning on a DC circuit on a boat.

What solar cell array would directly produce AC without an intervening battery and inverter?

I assumed the OP had solar installed on his house, and then plugged his boat in to an outside AC outlet.
"Reverse polarity" is something of a misnomer, but it's an industry term, meaning line and neutral are swapped.

 

[SG]

So is the Original Poster (OP?), Babette04 pluging in an DC source directly into his batteries -- or an AC source? If it's an AC source, then it's a much different issue with an inverter. If it's a DC source, how can the neutral be different from the ground? That befuddles me.

 

[jviss]

So is the Original Poster (OP?), Babette04 pluging in an DC source directly into his batteries -- or an AC source? If it's an AC source, then it's a much different issue with an inverter. If it's a DC source, how can the neutral be different from the ground? That befuddles me.

I assumed the OP had solar installed on his house, and then plugged his boat's AC shore power cord into an outside, house AC outlet. I think he's saying that before the solar installation all was well, since the solar installation, he has reverse polarity indicated on the boat's AC panel.

 

[Brian D]

I think everyone here is getting confused. I read the OP to say that he had solar installed on the boat while it was in the water. Not the house. I also read that when he plugs his house electrical into the boats shore power plug he gets a reverse polarity on his AC panel.

I think before moving forward we need the OP to clarify exactly what he is seeing.

 

[jviss]

I think before moving forward we need the OP to clarify exactly what he is seeing.

Good point. But I fail to see how installing solar panels on the boat, which is a totally DC addition, could affect the AC polarity indicator.

We shall see.

 

[Brian D]

Exactly, unless the OP believes that the installer did something to the AC panel during the installation. IF, and a big IF, he had solar installed at the house and the installer reversed the line/neutral, then he has serious issues with the solar company.