Receptacle issue
#1
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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
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.
#3
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
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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.
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.
#6
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.
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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?
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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
I don't understand why my tester didn't give the open ground instead of hot neutral reversed.