Body contact (electricity)

A body contact or body fault is a conductive connection between body and active parts of electrical equipment resulting from a fault.

A body, short or ground fault is:

If there is no fault resistance in the circuit If a fault resistance is present in the circuit (e.g. wet branch, arc)
 * Perfect (direct) contact
 * Imperfect (indirect) contact

This can be caused by installation errors or defects, such as cable breaks.

There is a risk of electric shock when touching the parts of the system under voltage by the body joint. As a countermeasure, so-called protective conductors and residual current circuit breakers are used in electrical engineering.