I have a Safeshore Gavanic Isolator installed on my
boat ..
The galvanic isolator is like a switch. It fits in the “earth” circuit of your boat shore power line & the switch is “open circuit”...(turned off). This makes a break in the earth wire & stops the flow of any current through the “earth” wire. This now protects your vessel from contact with other boats so galvanic current cannot flow from one boat to another. It also protects you from defective shore power low level earth leaks.(Sometimes the shore power 240 volt “live” cable leaks voltage to the earth cable via damp plugs & sockets or leaky cables: This is known as stray current leakage & puts unwanted voltages directly onto your props & shafts etc & if the voltage is high this can be devastating to your metal ware!). Most galvanic isolators have a “switch on threshold” of 1.2 volts.
I have recently fitted a Blue Sea AC distribution 3 way switch with reverse polarity indicator lights. These lights seem to use a voltage differential between the neutral and ground wires. As I understand it, these two wires are connected onshore, there is no differential - and no light. If you swap the live where the neutral should be, there is a differential and then the lights come on... assuming a polarity swap.
so.... i seem to have the reverse polarity lights on for both Shore
Power and
Generator.
I am assuming that because of the
Galvanic Isolator (breaking the ground circuit) these will always show on ?
And the
Generator does not combine the neutral and ground ?
Have i got this right ?
Is there a way round this situation ?