Dear Mike,
What happens if I have reverse polarity on a 30-amp pedestal? Can I still use it? My surge protector said there is reverse polarity, which is how I know there’s a problem. My electrician says it’s doesn’t really matter and to go ahead and plug in. Is that true? Thank you so much for your answer and making these videos!!! —Hosh
Dear Hosh,
The short answer is that a reverse hot-neutral polarity in a 30- or 20-amp outlet isn’t immediately dangerous. However, it does show that whoever wired it never tested in installation and there could be other problems lurking inside that could be dangerous or even deadly.
What is “Reverse Polarity”
As you can see from this diagram, there are three conductors in a 30-amp pedestal outlet. They’re called Hot, Neutral and Ground. The Hot conductor is typically Black or Red, the Neutral conductor is always White, and the Ground conductor can be Green or Bare Copper.
And looking at the diagram above and the video below, in a properly wired outlet you should measure close to 0 volts between ground and neutral, and 120 volts between neutral and hot as well as ground and hot.
But if the Hot and Neutral conductors are accidentally reversed during installation you’ll measure around 120 volts between the ground and neutral conductors and 0 volts between ground and hot. And that’s what we call Reverse Polarity.
Is it dangerous?
It’s not immediately dangerous, since your RV is supposed to be wired with the neutral and ground buses separated from each other. That is “unbonded” in the language of an electrician. Since that means both of them are isolated from your RV chassis, then it can’t create a hot-skin voltage.
But what if my RV is incorrectly wired and I plug into this outlet?
That’s the real danger. Since many DIY electricians have rewired RVs over the years, I’ve encountered a number of them with a bonded neutral/ground inside of the RV. If that’s the only thing wrong with the wiring, then plugging into a Reverse Polarity Outlet will immediately trip the 30-amp circuit breaker with spectacular fireworks. Here’s my video on how to test for Reverse Polarity with a standard digital multimeter. Click the picture or HERE.
However, if your RV also has a broken ground connection plus an internal neutral-ground bond, then plugging it into a pedestal with Reverse Polarity will energize the chassis and skin of your RV with 120-volts AC and at full circuit breaker (20 or 30-amp) current. That’s definitely dangerous.
Is my electrician correct?
Well, he’s correct that it’s probably not immediately dangerous if your RV is wired properly. However, if it’s not, then a Reverse Polarity Outlet could created a deadly hot-skin voltage on the RV. And if you then touch anything metal on an RV while standing on damp or wet ground, then that fault current can go through your heart, causing it to go into cardiac fibrillation. So I would say NO, because it could be dangerous and the outlet miswiring condition needs to be corrected sooner rather than later.
Possible consequences?
I worry that any electrician who doesn’t correct any miswired campground outlet (in this case one with Reverse Polarity) and tells you to plug into it could be held liable for any damages or injuries that result from his misinformation. So he needs to correct any wiring errors immediately.
OK, everyone. Remember that electricity is a useful and powerful force, so we all need to pay attention to safety precautions while using it.
This article was originally appeared on RVtravel.com in June, 2022.
Mike Sokol’s excellent book RV Electrical Safety is available at Amazon.com.
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You say in your answer that “you should measure close to 0 volts between ground and neutral, and 120 volts between neutral and hot or neutral and ground.” How is ‘ground and neutral’ different from ‘neutral and ground’?
That was a fumble finger error on my part. I’ve since corrected it (I think)….
Why do some cg panels I check when hooking up read small amounts of voltage between neutral and ground? Generally only a few volts.
Don’t forget that now the circuit breakers are on the neutral side and all the 120 volt items in the RV are energized (with potential) even with the circuit breakers turned off, that is to say someone could switch off the circuit breakers before working on an appliance or an outlet and still get electrocuted upon opening the appliance or outlet since there is still line voltage present, coming in on the un-interrupted white wire which should never be energized and normally one would not expect to be energized.
There is no way I would use a reverse polarity RV hookup and for your electrician to say it doesn’t matter is irresponsible and could become a liability for him just by saying it’s OK to use. Licensed and qualified professionals in the trades have a certain degree of responsibility when it comes to the safety of the consumer. If you have a wiring problem & an open ground and something happens after he told you “it doesn’t matter” he could end up in court.
All true. The immediate danger is to any technician working on a reverse polarity system is that the neutral will be hot and they can easily be shocked by what they assume is a conductor with no voltage potential.
Of course something even more dangerous is the combination of a reverse polarity with a bootleg ground. I’ve named this an RPBG (Reverse Polarity Bootleg Ground) which you can read about here: https://www.rvtravel.com/rv-electricity-rpbg-update/
When testing the 50 a outlet Mike didn’t check voltage between each hot and ground. Can I assume it should be 120 or so just like on 20 and 30a service!
Any hot-to-ground measurement on a 20, 30 or 50-amp outlet should read close to 120 volts, but 110 to 128 volts is generally okay. However if the hot-to-ground voltage measures significantly less than hot-to-neutral (more than 5 volts difference) that’s a sign that the ground wire doesn’t have a solid connection back to the service panel ground/neutral bonding point.
Yes, that’s correct.
I had the reverse polarity indicator on my EMS at one campground. The host sent his son, supposedly an electrician, to check it out. Host then said it wasn’t a problem, that I should just “throw that box” (my EMS) away, because that was the “problem”. I was not pleased, but it was an overnight stop, and I just did without shore power for the night.
It’s always best to play it safe
I had the same thing at a campground in Florida. I knew better because I have a Progressive 30 amp protector with the bells and whistles . I also have a 5th wheel and have a 50 amp Progressive for it too. If your electric protector says there’s a problem listen to it and not the dangerous employees that know nothing out there. Always test the outlet PRIOR to backing into the space. If the protector is telling you there is a problem demand a new spot and test that one too.
On the 110 volt/30 amp enclosures I’ve installed the outlet connections both use silver screws for the hot and neutral connections. There is also no difference in blade width between the hot and neutral blades/sockets. Normally polarity sensitive outlets have distinguishing features such as gold colored screws for the hot conductor and silver for the neutral and additionally the blades are different so no mistake can be made. This implies a that it doesn’t matter which way you attach the hot and neutral conductors to these 110 volt rv outlets. If it does matter then why do these outlets come from the manufacturer with no distinction between hot and neutral?
I have just purchased 2018 rockwood mini, Checking outlets are showing reverse polarity. I check power source to the rv and is correct feed to the unit. Is the problem in the panel?
I checked the GFI and determined someone had wired the main GFI wrong showing the problem with all. Problem corrected and all GFI’s working as expected.
Encountered this at one campground. The maintenance/electrician came over right away and fixed it. He said I was the first person to ever report the terminal!
Thank you, Mike! Welcome back to RV Travel! Thank you for relentlessly educating the public (especially me) on the potential dangers of electricity! 🙂
Sorry, Neal. Mike isn’t back at RVtravel.com. We just occasionally rerun a relevant prior post of his. Mike is very busy consulting, product testing and speaking. He has a blog at https://rvelectricity.substack.com Have a great day. 😀 –Diane
When I was working as rv tech.
service call on plumbing.
owner had electrical problem.
rewired park had 220 volts on 30 amp service. Wiped out 110 lites and fryed
circuit boards.
had to return to shop for parts and we had all parts needed. I was able to repair unit that day.
RV park paid for repairs.