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what should the voltage be between hot and ground

by Dena Ferry II Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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So, what do you find? Hot-neutral is the load voltage. Voltage should read about 120 V (typically 115 V to 125 V).

Full Answer

What should be ground to neutral voltage?

What should neutral to ground read? 1). Neutral-to-ground connection. Some neutral-to-ground voltage should be present under load conditions, typically 2V or less. If the voltage is zero with a load on the circuit, then check for a neutral-to-ground connection in the receptacle, whether accidental or intentional. Click to see full answer.

How many voltage neutral to ground?

When the line is loaded then you have the I-R drop of the current in the neutral line resistance. This will make Neutral to ground perhaps as much as 10–15 volts, this would be the high end and more than about 10 Volts you probably need to look at your wiring because you have a problem. Below 10 volts is probably not a problem.

What is difference between low voltage and high voltage?

  • Anything above 660 V is high voltage
  • 220 to 600 V is medium voltage
  • Below 200 V is low voltage
  • Below 70 V is considered extra low voltage

What is neutral to ground voltage?

Neutral-to-earth voltage (N-E), sometimes called “stray voltage,” is a condition that results when an electrical current flows through a neutral conductor. Stray voltage occurs when electricity “leaks” from the black wire directly to the white or ground wires before passing through the device to be powered.

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What is the voltage between the hot wire and ground?

120.0VBut upon further analysis, you see the hot-to-ground voltage (120.0V) is equal to the sum of the hot-to-neutral voltage (118.5V) and the neutral-to-ground voltage (1.5V).

Why do I have 120 volts between neutral and ground?

If you have a neutral wire removed from the neutral bus bar in your panel it is possible to see 120VAC on that wire if the circuit breaker for that circuit is turned on and there is a load connected to the circuit and load device is also turned on.

What voltage should there be between live and earth?

230The mains supply in the UK is an alternating current (ac) voltage at a frequency of 50 hertz (Hz) and a voltage of 230 volts (V)....Live, neutral and earth mains wires.WiresVoltage between them (V)Live and neutral230Live and earth230Neutral and earth0

Why is there voltage on my ground wire?

Stray voltage occurs when electricity “leaks” from the black wire directly to the white or ground wires before passing through the device to be powered. These leaks produce only small amounts of electricity. Direct contact between the white and black wires would “short” the system and blow a fuse or circuit breaker.

Should there be 120v on neutral?

In a normal situation with the neutral path intact, you would have 120 volts measured from across the light bulb or the receptacle. In this case, both sides of the light (hot and neutral) are the same, thus no potential difference (voltage), and the bulb does not light up.

Should neutral wire have voltage?

The neutral wire is often said to have zero voltage on it. If you touch that wire on a live system, however, you will often find out very quickly that technically having zero voltage is very different from meaning there is no electricity present.

How do you check earthing with a multimeter?

How to Check Earthing at Home with MultimeterIn case of AC Power supply, keep the Pointer of the Multimeter at AC Value above 250 Volts. ... Insert the Red Probe in the Positive Hole of the Socket (Right Home) and the Black Probe in the Negative Hole of the Socket (Left Hole).Check and Note down the value.More items...•

Should there be current on the ground wire?

The household ground wire, when working properly, should not carry any current at all. A DC ground wire in an automotive-type circuit, although always referred to as a 12-volt circuit, will actually carry 12.6 volts of electricity to complete the circuit on an automotive-type wiring system.

How much voltage is between neutral and ground?

zeroIt carries the return current back to the source of electricity i.e. transformer. This point is earthed. Ideally, in an AC system, neutral and earth should be at the same potential. It means the voltage measured between the neutral and the earth should be zero.

What is the voltage of the ground?

0VIn electronics and electrical engineering, it is by convention we define a point in a circuit as a reference point. This reference point is known as ground (or GND) and carries a voltage of 0V.

Why would the neutral wire have power?

Neutral wire carries the circuit back to the original power source. More specifically, neutral wire brings the circuit to a ground or busbar usually connected at the electrical panel. This gives currents circulation through your electrical system, which allows electricity to be fully utilized.

What causes phantom voltage?

Conductors that are installed in close proximity to one another, and are capacitively coupled to each other, can cause this a.c. voltage reading. Such a reading could be 2 or 3 volts, or it may be as high as the voltage on the adjacent conductors. This is what is referred to as a “phantom” voltage.

How much resistance is there between neutral and ground?

absolutely zero current. The neutral is designed to be the return for the hot wire to complete the circuit. Anything else is a fault condition. Safety equipment depends on this distinction.

Why does the neutral wire carry current?

Since the neutral wire is a potential between all three phases, each phase along with the neutral wire can form an independent circuit e.g your house, hence live and neutral. It is the role of the neutral wire to carry any current as a result of the imbalance in impedance of each of the phases loads.

How many switches are on the line side of a GFCI?

4) There are three switches that are feed by the line side of the GFCI.

What does the neutral wire represent?

It represents the IR drop on the neutral wire.

How to tell if a voltmeter is hot?

A non-contact voltage tester inserted in these same receptacle slots or light sockets will also indicate hotness. A voltmeter will indicate something's hotness , and even show how hot, but only if the other probe is touching something you independently know is grounded.

How many ohms is a good bulb?

Otherwise test the removed incandescent bulb with ohmmeter: 4-200 ohms is a good bulb, but some good halogens indicate no continuity. Continuity testers vary and may not answer this question for bulbs of all wattages.

What does a non contact volt stick do?

If your purpose in electrical testing is personal safety for working on your problem, a non-contact volt stick will alert you if there is some hotness present. (One exception is when you are checking an underground wire or cable you have uncovered.)

What to do if a switch is not turning on?

If the switch is unable to turn on a good bulb, turn off the breaker , remove the wires from switch (and keep track of how they were connected), connect those wires to each other, and turn the breaker on . If the item now works, the switch (or another 3-way switch) or its connections to the wires was probably bad.

When should a breaker be off?

The breaker of the circuit (s!) involved in the box should be off until everything is ready for the testing. If neutrals are separated in order to test, it is normal, if you think about it, for only one of these whites to then test out as the neutral.

Is a light socket good or bad?

If a light socket and bulb attached from hot to neutral works and works attached from hot to ground, the ground is good; if it works from hot to neutral but not from hot to ground, the ground is bad. An outlet, neon, or volt tester may indicate some groundedness, but these do not tell you for sure that a ground is good.

Can a non contact tester be near a wire?

A non-contact tester isn't always able to be near one wire without also being near others. (Also it too often reads a wire as hot which is merely not grounded and has gathered some "phantom" voltage from a hot wire it runs through the house with; for example, the unhot traveler in a 3-way switch system.)

How to tell if a switch is hot neutral?

Measuring hot-neutral by itself does not tell you if they've been switched. You have to measure neutral-ground or hot-ground. If neutral-ground voltage is about 120 V and hot-ground is a few volts or less, then hot and neutral have been reversed.

What happens when the load is greater than the ground?

The greater the load, the more the difference. If hot-neutral voltage, measured with load on the circuit, is greater than hot-ground, then the neutral and ground are switched. This is a potential safety hazard and the condition should be corrected immediately.

Is hot ground higher than neutral?

Hot ground can be thought of as the source of voltage available at the receptacle. You read 120.0 V. You note that hot-ground is higher than hot-neutral. In fact, hot-ground is equal to the sum of the hot-neutral and neutral-ground voltages.

Does a ground circuit have IR?

The ground circuit, under normal, non-fault conditions, should have no current and therefore no IR drop on it. You can think of the ground connection as a wire running back to the source (the main panel or the transformer), where it's connected to the neutral.

Is the ground wire connected to a voltage source?

On the receptacle end of the ground path, where the measurement is being made, the ground is not connected to any voltage source (again, assuming there is not a fault). So the ground wire is like a long test lead back to the source voltage.

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1.Hot to ground should be 110-120V. - Quora

Url:https://www.quora.com/Is-it-OK-to-measure-32v-from-hot-to-ground-and-7V-from-neutral-to-ground-in-a-120v-outlet

11 hours ago You must choose between neutral and hot ground. If the neutral-ground voltage is around 120 V and the hot-ground voltage is a few volts or less, the hot and neutral voltages have been reversed. There should be some neutral-ground voltage under load conditions – 2 …

2.Voltage between Neutral and Ground | Electrician Talk

Url:https://www.electriciantalk.com/threads/voltage-between-neutral-and-ground.39806/

34 hours ago The voltage between the open ground wire to ground is 7 volts, the voltage from this open ground wire to hot is 20 volts, and it is 7 volts from the open ground wire to the neutral. What causes stray voltage on a ground wire? Stray voltage occurs when electricity “leaks” from the black wire directly to the white or ground wires before passing through the device to be powered.

3.What is the voltage between a DC positive and the ground?

Url:https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-voltage-between-a-DC-positive-and-the-ground

21 hours ago The greater the load, the more the difference. If hot-neutral voltage, measured with load on the circuit, is greater than hot-ground, then the neutral and ground are switched. Should there be any voltage between neutral and ground? Some neutral-to-ground voltage should be present under load conditions, typically 2V or less. If the voltage is zero with a load on the circuit, then check …

4.Electrical Testing for Hot, Neutral, Ground - Household DIY

Url:http://thecircuitdetective.com/test.php

15 hours ago Ground and neutral are the same points, electrically. So, you should get 120 volts between “Hot” and ground and neutral, and zero volts between neutral and ground. I would check the connections where you get the numbers you gave.

5.Diagnosing Power Problems at the Receptacle | Fluke

Url:https://www.fluke.com/en-us/learn/blog/electrical/diagnosing-power-problems-at-the-receptacle

18 hours ago Electricians expect a measurement of the neutral-ground voltage to return a reading of 0 volts. But if your readings are not 0, you can blame the voltage on the ground wire on the following: 1). Stray voltage is leaking from the hot wire to the neutral or ground. These leaks are problematic. If these wires touch each other, you could short your system. A ground line with voltage can …

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