Electric Stove

<...Any ideas as to what to look for?...>

Maybe, after the full meaning of the expression <...a small A/C voltage to ground on 1 burner...> has become clear. There just isn't enough in the post to do that.

Wellll tain't 'nuff tuh kill ya when in bare feet on ceramic tile over concrete. We not b tuchin the hot element, but the handle of a cast iron skillet. After cogitatin a mite, and looking at a similar element. It appears the element is hollow and the wire is insulated. So off to the hardware store for 4 new ones.

Sorted. Great.

<unsubscribes>

..."An element can also become partially shorted to ground. While this may not be enough to create a dead short and cause the element to fail outright, it can create a shock hazard. To test an element for a short to ground, an ohmmeter should be set on its highest ohm scale (1K or 10K) and tested from one of the element's terminals to the element's metal sheath. It may be necessary to rub the outer element surface with the meter probe to make a good contact. If anything other than infinite resistance is shown, replace the element."...

http://www.the-appliance-clinic.com/electric_range_surface_element_open.html

I would guess that some spilled food has splashed from a connection to whatever you are touching on this burner. I also want to know why that metallic surface is not properly bonded.

I suspect the insulation within the element has broken down or been compromised. It may not be directly measured with a multimeter, but a megga or pat tester may give you the definitive answer. As others have alluded check for food contamination across/on the contacts. Most essentially, Isolate the oven electrically before farnarckling with it.

Don't ask me how I know..

If in doubt, consult a qualified local Electrician.

Thank you all. It is only one burner, so I doubt it is the stove. I'm certain it is 3 wire as I have yet to see a 4 wire appliance down here. The food issue is a possibility, that could be why the metal pan is not grounding the stray current to the stove frame, either that or the enamel paint is intact and preventing it from grounding. I will megger and check it the next time I get over there. AAR I told her to buy a new element.

As for qualified licensed electricians..........another friend lost his roof during Maria. The electrician the contractor hired used all green wire to rewire the affected areas. The owner complained to FEMA during sign-off. Every one got paid and it is still all green wire. In addition many stateside electrical contractors were hired to rebuild the destroyed grid. One unit from Detroit restored my power in mid March. I invited them for dinner and asked what they thought of the grid. I was told they had seen things that they didn't know were possible.

Any color wire is permissible by code IF it is identified by a Black or other colored tape at every junction box or exposure.

Tape color overrides wire color.

Supplies may have been scarce after the hurricane,and the contractor may have been forced to use what he had to get service restored.

The inspectors were probably aware of the supply issues.

Even so,it was not a code violation,simply not a professional looking job,done under duress.

A properly trained and licensed electrical contractor would only do this in an emergency situation.

That burner coil has probably developed a high leakage current probably caused by fluid spillage that eventually caused some microscopic holes to developed on the heater coil surface..

Coil replacement may possibly be the next move.

A qualified local Electrician may well invoke the prevention of the <...high leakage current...>'s recurrence by upgrading the installation in line with current local regulations.

Highly recommended as, because of the generation of electric shocks by <...tuchin the...handle of a cast iron skillet...>, it is evidently sub-standard right now.

It is not possible to be a <...friend...> to someone who has died through electrocution; a true <...friend...> would do everything to prevent that from happening.

Yellow Pages?

TustATrader dot com?

GA from Me. I see this all the time with coil-top elements. There is a crack in the insulation inside the coil and it is leaking current to the outer skin of the coil to ground. Just replace the coil.

sounds to me like the element is bad, replace it. if the element is isolated from the metal on the stove, bonding the stove doesn't come into play unless the skillet touches the stove.

This is not all that uncommon. but if you don't know what your doing, i would get someone who does.

More likely the ground connection to the element has become high resistance particularly if the element is a plug in type as the connection can become loose with the heat/cool cycle.

The elements usually magnesium oxide for the insulation, which is hygroscopic and if the rubber seals become fractured moisture can enter the element insulation especially if the element is unused for a while. As the element heats up the moisture is driven out lowering the insulation resistance.

You have to look at how the burner coil is constructed. In the center, there is a Nichrome high resistance wire surrounded by a ceramic insulator, surrounded by metal tubing to protect the insulator.

My guess is that either mechanical shock (e.g. heavy object dropped on burner) or thermal shock (cold liquid or object on hot coil) cracked the insulator inside.

Just replace it.

https://www.quora.com/How-do-electric-stove-elements-work

I've had something similar in a glue gun. Usually what is going on is that the ceramic insulator in the heating element degrades and becomes slightly conductive over time. It shows up as a ground leakage current and definitely as low resistance from heating element to ground in a megger resistance test, particularly when the element is hot. The solution is to replace the burner. I first ran across this in Calrod bolt heaters. In the glue gun we had four heater elements drop from open circuit to ground down to about 125 ohms. The ground lug would spark when plugged in to a non-gfi outlet and immediately tripped a gfi outlet.

Update and resolution. I removed the element and discovered one of the spot welds holding the element to the frame had parted. Someone had used a piece of "bailing wire" to re-attach it. This wire had eventually wrapped itself around one of the terminals.

I am not going to comment further......thank you all for your thoughts, prayers, and advice. Fortunately no one was injured.

One further question, I am unable to figure out how to update tiny mice or whatever it is called. I have Win 7 Pro.