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Silliness. Got a connection with some large impedance. If you check with a load the voltage will tend toward zero. Go check the voltage with the load on and see if you get 120 at the breaker. If so you got a bad connection somewhere between the breaker and the outlet.
Search and ye shall find.
Most likely is a wirenut or some twisted wire connection.
I suggested he check the voltage with load connected two pages ago . No response yet .
OP may not be able to figure out how to measure voltage at, for instance a lamp, while it is plugged in. Nor of the current, either. We can all safely estimate the current flow of a lamp that does not put out any light when plugged in is minimal. Voltage might give a serious tingle though, eh? "Shocking, I know"
OP may not be able to figure out how to measure voltage at, for instance a lamp, while it is plugged in. Nor of the current, either. We can all safely estimate the current flow of a lamp that does not put out any light when plugged in is minimal. Voltage might give a serious tingle though, eh? "Shocking, I know"
Run the meter probes in on the plugs on the connector. They will show 120 with the lamp off. Then see what they say when the lamp is on...likely less than a volt. You now know you got a bad connection somewhere in the circuit.
Electrician would check neutral connections first. Toning out the circuit and checking for a loose neutral (commonly the white wire) would make the most sense. Most home owners won't have a toner, so he can isolate the circuit by turning the breaker off and identifying what turned off and checking the connections within the box, and leading away from that box first.
This can still be dangerous as depending on the age of the house, multiple circuits may be using the neutral as a return path so there could still be current present from other sources so much care should be taken when
Somebody had an issue before, as the OP said, the wires were just nutted off in the box. If it's an older house, this could lead to crawling in an attic, or under the house to find out where the other end is. I definitely suspect an open circuit.
I stated the same conclusion much earlier in the thread that it's most likely a open circuit.
Ok sport , let's try this another way . You plug in a fan to his circuit . It doesn't run . How much current is flowing through that circuit ? You yourself stated that there may be a problem with his amperage . Yeah , there is none . But that isn't the problem , it's the result .
Really bad example as there may not be enough Amps to run it, but there still may be Milliamps in the line and thus having a high Resistance.
Look up a ammeter and how to use one. Past that this conversation between us is now over.
You can't have current in an open circuit . . Make up your mind which one it is .
True. The consensus here is there is a high resistance connection in the circuit so that the meter reads line voltage but not enough current flows to power anything. It is enough be a shocking source. "Thanks for the lesson"
Really bad example as there may not be enough Amps to run it, but there still may be Milliamps in the line and thus having a high Resistance.
Look up a ammeter and how to use one. Past that this conversation between us is now over.
Where do you come up with this stuff? Ohm's law only applies to circuits. It does not apply to every situation involving electricity. Do you think that a battery with nothing connected to it has no voltage differential between the positive and negative connections?
Voltage is a measure of electrical potential, and can exist without any current flowing. Current requires voltage, and a flow of electrons. If the voltage source collapses under load, there will not be any current. In OP's case, the voltage without a load is within normal values. Applying a load drops the voltage (which OP hasn't measured yet), and implies that there is a bad connection somewhere in the circuit. Assuming good connections, the voltage will not collapse, and current will flow.
Where do you come up with this stuff? Ohm's law only applies to circuits. It does not apply to every situation involving electricity. Do you think that a battery with nothing connected to it has no voltage differential between the positive and negative connections?
Voltage is a measure of electrical potential, and can exist without any current flowing. Current requires voltage, and a flow of electrons. If the voltage source collapses under load, there will not be any current. In OP's case, the voltage without a load is within normal values. Applying a load drops the voltage (which OP hasn't measured yet), and implies that there is a bad connection somewhere in the circuit. Assuming good connections, the voltage will not collapse, and current will flow.
First of all, self discharge rates of batteries have nothing to do with this topic as they will go dead after a certain amount of time has passed. Here's your reading material: https://www.livescience.com/50657-ho...ries-work.html
Secondly, even this poster states there is some current in the line:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crashj007
True. The consensus here is there is a high resistance connection in the circuit so that the meter reads line voltage but not enough current flows to power anything. It is enough be a shocking source.
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