GenerLink Transfer Switch Compatible With 240V Pro Power Onboard Outlet -- Ford Announcement

[flyct]

I bought a 50 ft cable for just under $100 that came with a generator in house box. I then modified a $24.99 plug, instead of a $100 Ford pigtail.

Great solution if the only power backup you do is with a Lightning. The only down side is you wouldn't want to use that modified cable with a gas generator.

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[RickLightning]

Great solution if the only power backup you do is with a Lightning. The only down side is you wouldn't want to use that modified cable with a gas generator.

Adapter. Size of a baseball. Says on it: No Ground and Lightning Only in red ink in multiple places. Cable is unmodified. I will use it to brew in my garage with the truck until I complete my basement home brewery.

 

[chl]

Are you curious how they got around the NEC code requirements with what seems to be a lifted ground installation? For any folks at home thinking you can just lift the ground and be safe...

Search results say that:

GenerLink Ford Vehicle Connector: Ford and GenerLink have developed specialized connectors designed to allow the truck and GenerLink to communicate and prevent ground faults, utilizing the system as intended.

Developed in a partnership between Ford and Global Power Products (the makers of GenerLink), the connector acts as a safe bridge that solves built-in ground fault issues. It links specifically with the GenerLink transfer switch—a device installed directly behind your home's utility meter.

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So without such a special connector, and the GenerLink, it seems you'd be out of luck (it would be dangerous) merely lifting the ground on a normal generator wire.

If you don't understand why you need the special connector for the GenerLink or why a lifted ground is not code compliant and is in fact dangerous, read on:

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The NEC requires:

1) any generator connected to dwelling wiring (which the Lightning PPOB is) must have an equipment grounding conductor, and

2) generators used with this type of meter-mounted transfer switch must have a floating neutral to operate safely.

GenerLink web site even says that ( https://www.northwesternrec.com/generlink ):

Per the National Electric Code, all generators must have a "floating neutral" when used with the GenerLink Automatic Transfer Switch.

Making a bonded generator, such as the PPOB, into a floating neutral generator requires disconnecting the neutral bond to the frame.

Removing the external ground wire connection, "lifting the ground," does not make it an unbonded generator. Lifting the ground removes the safety ground connection protection, but the neutral bond remains. The neutral wire is an energized current carrying wire.

Such a lifted ground could be a safety issue in the event of a fault - the truck breaker will not open to remove power if a fault causes the chassis to be energized without a ground connection which presents a shock hazard.

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It is so fundamental, even AI gets this right - I usually do not use an AI result, but this seems accurate to me:

GenerLink is a UL-listed device and is code-compliant, but it relies on your generator being safely grounded to clear electrical faults. If the ground wire is disconnected, an electrical short could energize the generator's metal frame, creating a major shock hazard.

When using a GenerLink, your generator operates as a non-separately derived system because the neutral is typically not switched. The NEC requires that the neutral and ground are bonded together at only one point—usually inside your main house breaker panel

Because the GenerLink does not switch the neutral and leaves it solidly connected to your home's electrical system, your portable generator must have a floating neutral (the neutral must NOT be bonded to the generator frame). If you use a generator with a bonded neutral while connected to a GenerLink, it will cause safety issues

While the generator's neutral should be unbonded, the equipment ground wire in your generator cord (the green wire) must be properly connected to bond the generator frame to the building's grounding system

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The only thing that AI result left out is that Ford and GenerLink created a solution with their special connector.

 

[Newton]

What I would like to see (or more importantly, what an inspector would like to see) is the specific wording of NEC that allows this. They might claim 406.4(D) 2 but it is pretty clear that the wording is for recepticals.

I’m not saying that it is wrong, but you need something to convince an inspector. I had an installation failed because the inspector didn’t see any way to ground the truck chassis, so this is what you are dealing with on the (um) “ground”.

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