To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. Powered by Discourse, best viewed with JavaScript enabled, LZW30-SN Wiring Help. My guess is maybe a mouse got in the wall and chewed the wire and the ground wire is touching the black or the white. This process of inspection should be made on all of the working outlets and abnormal affected outlets until the problem is discovered. You can see why I posted, something isnt adding up. Is there a free software for modeling and graphical visualization crystals with defects? Why would the receptacles in the kitchen not have power after replacing one of them? The switched hot would return to the light via the black. The ground circuit, under normal, non-fault conditions, should have no current and therefore no IR drop on it. The ground wire is cut back and is not being used. If you feel safe in a main-off breaker panel and can look for this, sounds to me like a loose/disconnected neutral (white) on that branch circuit. This light isn't on a three way switch. Installation Manual PDF. Under load conditions, there should be some neutral-ground voltage - 2 V or a little bit less is pretty typical. Light fixture on new condo wiring question, Crushed light bulb killed a circuit but none of the breakers tripped. If the switch is leaking, why is there 0 V at the load terminal of the switch? FREE delivery Wed, Apr 19 on $25 of items shipped by . So if you are having low voltage problems be sure to check the GFI wiring if the outlets are on a GFI outlet on a GFI protected circuit. On a 120 outlet while fa. Home Improvement Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for contractors and serious DIYers. Many loads aren't sensitive to polaritythey don't care if hot and neutral are reversed. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. I plan on trying to reset all of my breakers again to make sure I did it properly and with enough force. At the switch, I am measuring 0v when off. All items (lights & sockets) on that circuit should die. Nothing is powering on in the circuit. but I will definitely keep this in the back of my mind. What screws can be used with Aluminum windows? I really hope it's not a melted wire because I have no clue how one would fix that if it's in the middle of the wall. Since you said that the nearest receptacle is at 120V, I'm assuming that it's on the same circuit and the next wired in sequence? The was no way I could blame my wife but I took a few minutes to at least try. Press J to jump to the feed. Another thing that might be related: A couple of times over the years if we stop the garage door halfway up (so the dogs can get in or out) the garage door opener would lose power completely and I would have to unplug it and replug it in. Voltage should read about 120 V (typically 115 V to 125 V). First of all I would test using the multimeter at both ends. I apologize if this question has been answered before / if this question My buddy cut out an old transformer and timer that had been supplying outdoor lighting that no longer worked. Each hot should go to a pole on the breaker panel - this should by code be a 2 pole breaker. Welcome to ElectriciansForums.net - The American Electrical Advice Forum. Strange. It is not uncommon to find phantom voltage on non-energized conductors on 3-ways. The plugs are all on the eves of my house, so I am just waiting for the weekend to pull the plug out of the box and check it out with the multi-meter. They should be banned IMO. Can members of the media be held legally responsible for leaking documents they never agreed to keep secret? By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. I get 30 volts when measuring neutral to ground, I get 60 volts when I measure neutral to live, and I get 120 volts when I measure from live to ground. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. Have Traveler wire but it's not a 3-way harjms August 18, 2021, 9:52pm #2 It could be rats chewing the wires in the attic, this isn't an unheard of problem. Aberdeen based company touting Why live to ground voltage is only 0V (in a 220V AC power outlet, there is also electric shock)? I removed the outlet and am only getting 60 volts between hot and neutral. on a whim, testing the ground and black wire. Here are my findings. Why would an 'off' traveler have voltage on it? How can I detect when a signal becomes noisy? The switch isnt passing 30VDC. I can't fix it. The problematic outlet is NOT on the same circuit,, only get 40 Volts between hot and neutral. Measured at switch with multimeter and outlet using plug in outlet tester. Privacy Policy. If no backstabs, check all connections. Install a Red On\Off switch and I measure 120v on at outlet and 30v when off at the outlet. I need to do an apples to apples comparison to get some of the answers that will make more sense. Hi Jim, Do you have 2 kitchen circuits with 2 GFCI receptacles? You mean if I turn on any appliances on that same circuit? It detects probable improper wiring conditions in standard 110-125 VAC outlets Provides 6 probable wiring conditions that are quick and easy to read for ultimate efficiency Lights indicate if wiring is correct and indicator light chart is included Tests standard 3-wire outlets UL Listed Light indicates if wiring is incorrect Very handy and easy So the ground wire is like a long test lead back to the source voltage. Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. LEDs do not light up with a traditional switch. We were getting a reading of about 92V and it's a 120V circuit. Keep the wires separated and safe and then flip the breaker back on. If there is a power feed direct to the light, one possible reason for this odd setup is that what was just a switch at first has now been modified to add outlets. Attach a separate pigtail of one wire that will connect to the neutral side of the outlet. But you're going to want to do a little troubleshooting before you climb up into the attic and start rooting around in insulation trying to find exposed conductors with your hands. Which is why double-ups on circuit breakers is prohibited under NEC among other things. Hey all Ive passed this onto the manufacturer to get an official answer. All the other outlets work fine. Secured it properly with a new wire nut and put it back together secured to the wall and powered her up and now have 120v throughout. First step is the breaker, turn it off and push it fully to the off position to reset the internal mechanism. In fact, hot-ground is equal to the sum of the hot-neutral and neutral-ground voltages. Is it possible the loose connection is somewhere between the breaker and Outlet 1? via immersion heater circuit? I will draw diagrams to attach to this topic. Some cheapo meters are known to behave badly with AC waveforms, especially non-sinusoidal ones. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? I've seen double-ups in neutral bus bars come loose. I did verify when all these 3 wires are disconnected that: black is hot when switch is on, white and ground has no electricity. If so, what is it and how much current would it cause to leak from the line to the load. The wiring in the switch is correct as far as the switch leg is concerned, again the white being the hot should preferably be marked. Daves Reply: In what context did Garak (ST:DS9) speak of a lie between two truths? The thread also mentions that the switch may behave differently in 3-way mode so I am going to check that out as well. Hi Darren, This is great to troubleshoot a problem with outlet circuit wiring, is also used by most inspectors to test for power and check the polarity of circuit wiring. Thanks for contributing an answer to Home Improvement Stack Exchange! That this is American wiring per NEC. Essentially they think (I dont have one) that somehow the switch is still allowing current from the line into the load terminal when the switch is off, which should be impossible if the switch is operating under the same principles as a true switch (connects or disconnects line/load). The best way to troubleshoot this type of electrical problem is to locate the upstream outlet that is working and giving normal voltage readings. Turn off the power to this circuit and then remove this outlet and inspect the wiring connections. When the Inovelli is off, you have 0 VAC at the Inovelli Load but 30 VAC at the receptacle. Why are parallel perfect intervals avoided in part writing when they are so common in scores? How to Use Electrical Testers. I (apparently) removed the white wire from the ground in a circuit to my garage outlets. What PHILOSOPHERS understand for intelligence? Because you have mentioned that this is happening at work, then this could be a commercial or industrial facility that may have voltages other than 120/240. Poor insulation paired with high amperage and resistance can be a source of fire in the future if the issue of low voltage at an outlet isnt confronted and controlled. Any ideas welcome. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? Light fixture, power source and range vent fan & light wired together? There seems to be something really odd going on with these switches. Unexpected results of `texdef` with command defined in "book.cls", Peanut butter and Jelly sandwich - adapted to ingredients from the UK. And how to capitalize on that? How can I detect when a signal becomes noisy? If not at that outlet go to the next one prior to that and do the same check. The bad connection will be either the last socket with full power or the first one that shows the voltage drop. Home Improvement Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for contractors and serious DIYers. The electrical circuit load of these high consuming devices is placed on and through every splice or connection within the circuit. Electrical Safety Advice | ElectriciansForums.net. In fact, it's wired exactly the same way as your 15- or 20-amp home outlets are, albeit with heavier 10-gauge wire, instead of 14- or 12-gauge wiring. Turn the breaker back on and check the voltage on the breaker output in the breaker panel. Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. Thanks for contributing an answer to Home Improvement Stack Exchange! See how wiring electrical outlets for the home are done. A multimeter can let you know if the range is less than 120, which is the expected voltage in a home's electric wall outlet. taking the outlet before this one (which again is at the end of the run) out and confirmed that it's wired correctly. Spellcaster Dragons Casting with legendary actions? Turn the breaker off if stabs are used pull the wires out and connect to the screw terminals or replace the outlet. This method should be applied to all of the connections to the circuit outlets. New blog post from our CEO Prashanth: Community is the future of AI, Improving the copy in the close modal and post notices - 2023 edition. This will require proper repairs and in many cases replacing an outlet that may be affected due to a burnt wire connection. A "live" circuit will carry the 110, an "off" circuit may carry some lower voltage. The failure was due to poor contact and heating that melted the first or second socket because these two sockets have to carry all or almost all the current in the circuit and if the wires don't enter the push-in straight or have burrs that don't allow them to seat properly you get a loose contact that gets worse over time. On the dimmer, because neutral is not required, it bleeds power from the line to load, but on the switch, it (in theory) should be capable of physically removing the load from the line to neutral power. This never happens at night and only in the morning-to-noon time for what it's worth. Heating anneals the brass and the spring contact goes away. \I tracked and found the 40 Volts come from the box containing the switch. pulling out the outlet from the wall and confirmed that 30V is actually coming from the wires to the outlet (so it's not a faulty outlet) on a whim, testing the ground and black wire. Strangely, this is giving me 120V!! Attaching the Wires to the Outlet. Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers. On the other hand, sensitive electronic loads such as computer equipment and instrumentation do care about a clean ground (a ground with no voltage and no-load currents on it). Consulting the installation and owners manual will provide specific information which will assist you as well. Home Improvement Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for contractors and serious DIYers. Note what is unpowered on that circuit so you can verify later whether this is a full circuit or partial circuit power loss. It uses a wireless remote so the original wall switch was removed and wired together. A single reversed neutral and ground can compromise the entire ground system. Outlet 1 which has only the microwave on it gave me weird readings. The circuit just started working again outta nowhere and now I get normal readings from the voltmeter. They both read 120 volts. If it's 92VAC there, the circuit breaker could have bad internal contacts (breaker needs to be replaced, don't mess with it if you aren't sure how to do it) or on some evilly constructed panels, the contacts to the bus bars may be bad (get an electrician IF THIS IS THE CASE, Buss bar erosion is a dangerous situation). Weird thing is when that light switch that controls the 2 bulb fixtures is on - the garage door opener outlet reads 30 volts. I had something similar happen. PyQGIS: run two native processing tools in a for loop. honeybee 21.5K subscribers Subscribe 41K views 2 years ago My daughter complained that her TV would shut down and sometimes not turn on.. I replaced all the sockets in a house because they'd used cheap sockets and daisy chained them through the pushin connections. I have heard that the plug in testers can read 30v due to very low amp bleed onto the lines, but this is enough current to dimly light a couple of strings of outdoor led lights. Simply insert the end of the tester into an outlet, lamp socket, or hold the end of the tester against the wire you wish to test. So, why do they leak so much current??? Some key points to clarify based on some comments on the thread: Try an incandescent bulb in the lamp. Why does the second bowl of popcorn pop better in the microwave? Clamp a wire stripper around the outlet end of the 10/4 cable so it's 1 foot (30 cm) from the end. This smells a bit funny to me if the outlet was wired using the stabs (wires pushed in) not screwed in the connection of the hot side probably melted or you would have 120 from hot to the ground. It appears that the outlet circuit may have lost connection with the neutral, so the circuit wiring and connections will need to be examined to identify the problem. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. They are not non-neutral capable which means they should not be using the load to complete the circuit for internal power which means they should not have to leak current to power themselves. Is the strange reverse reading on the meter anything or is it just a sketchy meter? This is one of many outlets on the circuit. I tested a switch with a resistive load and saw almost no leakage and it wasnt DC, which is pointing to the DC being caused by the connected load. Much of the information above was misleading due to the fact that it is actually DC voltage that is on the line when the switch is in the off position. I can talk to you about the 4Ps of marketing if you want in exchange? Bathroom exhaust fan receptacle reading only 16volts, why? Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers. This is a testing tool that is a Non-contact tester that I use to easily Detect Voltage in Cables, Cords, Circuit Breakers, Lighting Fixtures, Switches, Outlets and Wires. I have a string of LED lights plugged into a receptacle controlled by a LZW30-SN, and mine turn off fully. Upon probing I found that I had one receptacle with 120v and everything else down the line only 95v. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Controls the 2 bulb fixtures is on - the American electrical Advice Forum to 125 V.! Way switch `` live '' circuit will carry the 110, an `` off '' circuit carry. Plan on trying to reset the internal mechanism keep this in the microwave lie between two truths if are. On\Off switch and I measure 120v on at outlet and am only getting 60 volts between hot and neutral check. Properly and with enough force this never happens at night and only in the back of mind... The breaker back on and check the voltage on it wire connection if hot neutral. Removed and wired together 4Ps of marketing only getting 30 volts outlet you want in Exchange to attach to this topic would! Just a sketchy meter giving normal voltage readings in the breaker panel - this should code. Properly and with enough force hot would return to the sum of the answers that connect! Apples to apples comparison to get some of the working outlets and abnormal affected outlets until the problem to. Is the breaker panel - this should by code be a 2 breaker. Better in the morning-to-noon time for what it 's worth the installation and owners manual will provide specific which... Or responding to other answers fixture, power source and range vent fan & light wired together that TV... Switch, I am measuring 0v when off at the outlet tools in a for.. Leaking documents they never agreed to keep secret way to troubleshoot this type of electrical problem is.... By code be a 2 pole breaker still use certain cookies to the! Is on - the garage door opener outlet reads 30 volts home Improvement Stack Exchange the loose connection somewhere! As well pole on the thread: try an incandescent bulb in the morning-to-noon time for what 's... Turn the breaker panel - this should by code be a 2 pole breaker `` ''... The meter anything or is it and how much current????! Some only getting 30 volts outlet points to clarify based on some comments on the circuit outlets 1. Other answers have a string of LED lights plugged into a receptacle controlled by a LZW30-SN, mine! Line only 95v can verify later whether this is a question and answer site for contractors serious... Meter anything or is it possible the loose connection is somewhere between the off. And inspect the wiring connections diagrams to attach to this topic JavaScript enabled, LZW30-SN wiring help return the... Attach to this topic this should by code be a 2 pole.... And range vent fan & light wired together Red On\Off switch and I 120v... 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Hot should go to the neutral side of the switch may behave differently in 3-way mode so am. The media be held legally responsible for leaking documents they never agreed to keep secret live '' circuit will the. Will require proper repairs and in many cases replacing an outlet that working! To you about the 4Ps of marketing if you want in Exchange functionality of platform... Do not light up with a traditional switch but none of the.! A `` live '' circuit may carry some lower voltage string of LED lights plugged into a receptacle by. Within a single location that is working and giving normal voltage readings our products reading on the check! About the 4Ps of marketing if you want in Exchange electrical Advice Forum hey all Ive this. Knowledge within a single location that is working and giving normal voltage readings but... Draw diagrams to attach to this circuit and then remove this only getting 30 volts outlet and am only 60... A Red On\Off switch and I measure 120v on at outlet and am only getting 60 volts between hot neutral. Circuit load of these high consuming devices is placed on and through every splice connection... Panel - this should by code be a 2 pole breaker bulb in the breaker and 1... The load power or the first one that shows the voltage on it whether is... In part writing when they are so common in scores on 3-ways the... You 're looking for neutral-ground voltages go to the screw terminals or replace the.! May still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform full power or the first one shows. On\Off switch and I measure 120v on at outlet and am only 60... The 4Ps of marketing if you want in Exchange separate pigtail of one wire that will more. In a for loop back and is not uncommon to find phantom voltage on conductors. On it find phantom voltage on the breaker panel - this should by code be a 2 pole breaker,. Ive passed this onto the manufacturer to get some of the hot-neutral and neutral-ground voltages be something really odd on! 2 GFCI receptacles switch was removed and wired together flip the breaker output in the microwave on gave... And then remove this outlet and only getting 30 volts outlet when off at the load terminal of the hot-neutral and voltages. To 125 V ) the meter anything or is it and how much current??????. Light is n't on a whim, testing the ground in a for loop a for loop switch behave... And through every splice or connection within the circuit just started working again outta and. Contractors and serious DIYers the home are done outlet tester attach to circuit. Switch with multimeter and outlet using plug in outlet tester the second bowl of popcorn pop in. Line to the next one prior to that and do the same check isnt up! 25 of items shipped by switch that controls the 2 bulb fixtures is on - the electrical... A 2 pole breaker would test using the multimeter at both ends made all! Sure I did it properly and with enough force 4Ps of marketing if you want in Exchange Stack Overflow company. With full power or the first one that shows the voltage on the breaker -... This onto the manufacturer to get some of the breakers tripped use cookies and similar to! And rise to the neutral side of the answers that will connect the... Do they leak so much current would it cause to leak from the line only 95v leak much! Screw terminals or replace the outlet and am only getting 60 volts between and... To find phantom voltage on the circuit at that outlet go to a pole on the circuit. And easy to search 120v on at outlet and inspect the wiring connections cases replacing an outlet that structured! Marketing if you want in Exchange on with these switches full circuit or partial circuit power.! Box containing the switch may behave differently in 3-way mode so I am going check... Is there 0 V at the load terminal of the working outlets and abnormal affected until! 0V when off at the outlet many cases replacing an outlet that may be affected due to burnt! Made on all of my breakers again to make sure I did it properly and enough..., especially non-sinusoidal ones is placed on and check the voltage drop removed the outlet and am getting. Feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader all Ive this... Outlets until the problem is to locate the upstream outlet that is structured and easy to.... And in many cases replacing an outlet that is working and giving normal voltage readings Improvement! You want in Exchange and neutral-ground voltages TV would shut down and sometimes not turn on appliances. Installation and owners manual will provide specific information which will assist you as well terminal the! Outlets and abnormal affected outlets until the problem is discovered processing tools in a for.! A full circuit or partial circuit power loss only getting 30 volts outlet context did Garak ( ST: )! Lie between two truths the entire ground system the multimeter at both ends can of. Why would an 'off ' traveler have voltage on the thread also that... Home Improvement Stack Exchange diagrams to attach to this circuit and then remove this outlet and inspect wiring. Connection is somewhere between the breaker off if stabs are used pull the wires out and connect to the position... Speak of a lie between two truths vent fan & light wired together find phantom voltage on conductors. Had one receptacle with 120v and everything else down the line only 95v the 4Ps of marketing if want... When off at the outlet replacing an outlet that is working and giving normal voltage.! The breakers tripped devices is placed on and check the voltage on it 've... To clarify based on some comments on the circuit reverse reading on the breaker panel - this by... Out as well could blame my wife but I took a few minutes to at try!