GE SpaceSaver neutral to Ground strap

[Ray.Yager]

Radiant is a 1991 48-foot Carver Californian 4809. 2-cabin motor yacht.

We have the original GE SpaceSaver, stacked washer/dryer. Works great although the belts squeak a bit.

I had my marina test my shore power connection with an ELCI device, which we immediately failed. I engaged a marine electrician to conduct the search for the cause(s). Two issues came to light.

1. The Xantrex Freedem 2012 ground to neutral strap relay had failed. We replaced with a new Victron MultiPlus 3k. Awesome upgrade.

2. The GE SpaceSaver W/D was causing a trip on the ELCI. We lifted the neutral and switched off the 240v 2-pole breaker. That eliminated the ELCI trip, until.we switched the breaker back on. Reading the manual, it clearly states that the neutral is strapped to ground.

Has anyone successfully dealt with the neutral to ground issue with a GE SpaceSaver stack?

 

[Comodave]

IF you have access it should not be a huge issue to find the connection. I would first do a visual check and see if the connection is obvious or not. It probably will be fairly easy to find just by looking if you have good access to the machine. If you can’t see it then it is time to break out the meter and check for continuity between the neutral and ground.

 

[Ray.Yager]

Thx Dave. Access is a PITA, but not impossible. There is a green wire leading from the machine’s internal wire conduit, terminated at the frame/case ground where it meets with the ground from the incoming electrical supply. I’m thinking this wire leads to the neutral and is actually the offending strap. I’ve been unsuccessful in getting GE to opine. The manual does say that this wire can be terminated at the neutral terminal if local codes require it. That makes me believe that this is in fact the offending strap.

 

[Comodave]

I am not surprised that they don’t want to offer an opinion, think liability issues. The green ground should only go to the metal case of the machine so that if a short to the case happens the electricity will be conducted to ground. In a house neutral and ground are connected but in a boat they should not be connected unless the power is coming from a genset or an inverter, the source of the power. On a boat they are not connected except at the source of power, the dock.

 

[johnrupp]

Any “home type” dryer that I’ve seen can be wired either way. When purchased new you choose either a three or four wire cord depending how your house is wired. You should be able to rewire yours by removing jumper between case ground and neutral lug that the cord attaches to and then use a four wire cord. You will also have to change the outlet that it’s plugged into to a four prong outlet.

John

 

[Ray.Yager]

Well, I found the wiring schematic for the GE SPACESAVER. As suspected the internal green wire was in fact the neutral to ground strap. I removed it from the case ground and taped it off. Of course, the ground from the supply is still connected to the case ground.

Radiant no longer trips the ELCI. Peace is restored to the kingdom.

 

[Comodave]

Feels good when you actually fix something doesn’t it? Congrats.

 

[TowLou]

That deserves a nice cocktail.