I have turned off all electrical boxes that connect to pool and the current is still there. How can that be?

Question

There is a light, a sump pump and a filter. All have been turned off and I have turned off the entire electrical box that feeds these devices. There is still current in the pool. You can feel it if you put I foot in the pool and touch the metal railing or have one foot in the pool and the other foot on wet concrete outside the pool. Can the current continue, even if everything is off and there is a bad ground wire in something?

Answer 1

Check all electrical items around your pool; yard lights, outlets, etc.

Try turning off the entire electrical panel. If there is still current flowing, it may be a neighbor's power causing the problem. If the problem goes away, try turning on one breaker at a time to see what causes the problem.

Answer 2

Sounds like a major problem in the electrical distribution system including the panel in which you shut off all the breakers. Shutting off all the breakers in the panel should disconnect all possible power from anything in the pool. If voltage is still present from pool water to earth, your electrical panel is improperly grounded to the main service. If this panel is the main panel, it is improperly grounded, and/or the Main Bonding Jumper is installed incorrectly or not installed. Also possible that the service was not grounded properly in the first place to a cold water line or a driven ground rod. It is also possible, but even scarier that wires are reversed entering or leaving the panel, such that a hot wire is not being disconnected by the switch, but staying connected to the pump/light etc. The pool should have a bonding wire back to the panel, and in some cases a supplementary ground rod which prevents differential voltages like this from occurring. Last, but not least, all this equipment should be protected by GFCIs (Ground Fault Circuit Interruptors) which, if functioning would trip and disconnect power in this situation. I would highly recommend you have this looked at by a licensed electrician, and that it be brought up to code (Which it can't be now if exhibiting the behavior you describe).

Answer 3

There can be current flowing through the ground from some other source. This sounds like what the farmers call "stray voltage". It is a big problem on farms because they have so much electrical equipment in so many outbuildings. In a perfect world, no current flows through the soil, it stays in the neutral conductor. But some outdoor circuit other than the pool could have a bad ground wire and be returning current through the soil under the pool. If the neutral wire connection in your main service box degraded, current could be flowing from the water pipes or ground rod through the soil to the ground at the pole. It is hard to say what the problem is, but you had best get an electrician over to diagnose things--it sounds as if there is potentially a dangerous situation.

Answer 4

There seems to be a dangerous power leak from a high tension lead passing through the damp ground under the pool.Wear
rubber boots and use a multimeter(set on the highest ac voltage setting) and measure the voltage between the water and the metal railing you mention.Don't take this lightly,there are no likeley electrochemical couples that could produce a voltage you could feel with your foot.You might think about contacting your area power company(if in U.S.A. power utility)

Answer 5

water itself is a dielectric molecule, meaning that it can retain and maintain an electrical current. Add to it chemicals such as chlorine and so forth, and your pool is acting somewhat like an electrical capacitor, retaining the current within itself until something discharges it, such as your foot.

you need to get that ground wire fixed. if u have no idea how to do that, then next best solution is to get a thin conducting metal wire (copper is good), stick one end into the pool and put the other end in the dirt/ground. It should discharge the pool within minutes.

Answer 6

U have a problem that is time to get a professional. Water and electricity are deadly. Knowing no more than I have it would be difficult to guess and that is not good. Something is shorted it could a circuit breaker or motor. Be careful.

Answer 7

I'd have to say that something is badly miswired in that setup. You'd best get a licensed electrician to come in and look at it. I know that can be costly, but still, it's cheaper than a wrongful death lawsuit.