Receptacle issue


  #1  
Old 04-19-15, 05:24 PM
G
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Pittsburgh
Posts: 5
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Receptacle issue

I'm having an issue with receptacles that are indicating the hot and neutral are reversed. I have 2 bedrooms on the same circuit. The first 3 receptacles in bedroom 1 in a row all test as correct. However, starting with the fourth receptacle and all the ones following including the entire next bedroom, the receptacles are reading hot/neutral reversed on my tester. I verified all receptacles have the hot wire going to the brass screw and the neutral wires going to the silver screw and all grounds are connected. I even swapped the receptacles from the last one that is correctly working with the first one that is saying its reversed and am still getting the same results. I have no idea where to go from here. Does anyone have any ideas of how to proceed? What would be causing this? Thank you in advance for the help.
 
  #2  
Old 04-19-15, 05:34 PM
ray2047's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: USA
Posts: 29,711
Upvotes: 0
Received 15 Upvotes on 13 Posts
Use a multimeter, preferably analog, to determine what the problem really is. Plug in testers cab be confuse by some errors like lost neutral or ground.
  • Measure narrow slot (hot) to wide slot (neutral). Should be ~120v.
  • Measure narrow to ground. Should be ~120v.
  • Measure wide to ground. Should ~0v.
Let us know your results.
 
  #3  
Old 04-19-15, 05:38 PM
chandler's Avatar
Banned. Rule And/Or Policy Violation
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: USA
Posts: 36,607
Upvotes: 0
Received 9 Upvotes on 8 Posts
If you are truly swapped on neutral to hot, then it will be how the wiring is attached to the 4th receptacle, or the wiring from the 3rd receptacle. I'd pull both of them with the power off and see if the wires were mis connected.
 
  #4  
Old 04-20-15, 04:13 PM
G
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Pittsburgh
Posts: 5
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
I used a multimeter to test the voltages and got the following:

Neutral to Hot ~120V
Hot to Ground ~55V
Neutral to Ground ~65V

I know these are not correct but I don't know exactly what this means with the voltages. Like I mentioned earlier, 3 receptacles work in the series and then beginning with the 4th one, it produces the above results.

Thanks again for the help.
 
  #5  
Old 04-20-15, 04:33 PM
ray2047's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: USA
Posts: 29,711
Upvotes: 0
Received 15 Upvotes on 13 Posts
You have a bad ground. Start checking ground connections.
 
  #6  
Old 04-20-15, 04:39 PM
PJmax's Avatar
Group Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Jersey
Posts: 64,928
Received 3,947 Upvotes on 3,540 Posts
Be careful as you are working. With an open ground like that you could be at risk of a shock as there is voltage on the box. You should identify everything on the circuit and then turn the circuit off while working on it.
 
  #7  
Old 04-20-15, 05:49 PM
G
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Pittsburgh
Posts: 5
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Would the bad ground be between the correct receptacle and the ones that start to read reversed? The grounds are pigtailed to both of the outlets. What would be the process to fix this?
 
  #8  
Old 04-20-15, 06:00 PM
ray2047's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: USA
Posts: 29,711
Upvotes: 0
Received 15 Upvotes on 13 Posts
Or at the last correct receptacle.
 
  #9  
Old 04-20-15, 06:12 PM
Geochurchi's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 5,074
Received 161 Upvotes on 147 Posts
Start at the last working receptacle.WITH THE POWER OFF!
Geo
 
  #10  
Old 04-21-15, 03:08 PM
G
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Pittsburgh
Posts: 5
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Thanks for the help. It ended up being a loose ground that was pigtailed. I guess I don't understand why my tester didn't give the open ground instead of hot neutral reversed.
 
  #11  
Old 04-21-15, 04:32 PM
ray2047's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: USA
Posts: 29,711
Upvotes: 0
Received 15 Upvotes on 13 Posts
I don't understand why my tester didn't give the open ground instead of hot neutral reversed.
Poor design common to all testers like that. Probably because design is based on cost to manufacturer.
 
  #12  
Old 04-22-15, 04:57 PM
CasualJoe's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: United States
Posts: 9,871
Received 185 Upvotes on 166 Posts
I don't understand why my tester didn't give the open ground instead of hot neutral reversed.
There is a reason those testers can be bought for under $4.
 
 

Thread Tools
Search this Thread
 
Ask a Question
Question Title:
Description:
Your question will be posted in: