Пікірлер

• 
  @texassparky18 күн бұрын

  Thanks. I'm a JM spent most of my apprenticeship doing new commercial construction. That training was invaluable because u have to learn how buildings are built. Newayz. Man, when I moved to service the game changed! U gotta learn and learn quick. I learned this "ghost voltage" 2 yrs ago on a service call to a house. With breaker off I was still getting 30V on a fan/light switch. I intuitively knew it wasnt possible and even showed the homeowner I could lick my finger, ground myself out and touch the hot and nothing would happen. "dont do that handymen". I knew it was inductance but couldn't prove it at the time. Bothered me so I started doing research. In short learned about LowOZ meters and began teaching my apprentice about it. LowOZ is all I pack out now. Always working, always learning! Great video. Thank you.

• 
  @takingmeasure17 күн бұрын

  Thank you for the comment. Early in my career, I spent a good part of a day chasing a ghost voltage. They can be tricky and someone needs to teach you about them.. I am pleased that you are teaching others about this and anything else that is of helpful. Good stuff!

• 
  @uni-byteАй бұрын

  You can get these phantom voltages in spades from cheapie SMPS modules. I have measured up to 1/2 line voltage on some. Sure, they only produce a few uA and while this is not enough to hurt anyone, it can destroy a MOSFET if it's applied to the gate. So, there are times when you need to take heed of these voltages and do something to mitigate them before you toast some sensitive equipment.

• 
  @takingmeasureАй бұрын

  Thank you for the comment. Because I was dealing with power distribution equipment, ghost voltages were more a nuisance than anything, but at your level of circuity I can see how problematic this can be. Again, thank you for sharing this.

• 
  @uni-byteАй бұрын

  @@takingmeasure Understood.

• 
  @davidpacholok8935Ай бұрын

  Good open neutral video. It should be pointed out that open neutrals have caused home fires in electronic equipment and in particular Metal Oxide Varistor transient protection devices. These can burn in an open neutral event during to current limited overvoltage. Breakers won't trip, as there's no overcurrent. This caused a rewriting of UL standards re these devices several decades ago. In switch mode power supplies which I designed years ago, we had several fires caused by mains through diode bridge connected Electrolytic caps. The 200 volt rated caps were grossly overvoltaged by the open neutral. The side vent snap-in lytics failed safe and released only vapors and smoke on overvoltage tests. Then purchasing got a good deal on an "equivalent " cap from a different mfg. These had a top vent, and nobody noticed myself included. Then we had a few fires caused by our products. Fortunately no deaths. In testing the failing caps we got the foil and flammable electrolyte to pop out of the top vent like a Flaming party favor. Didn't even blow the internal 3 Amp fuse! Today small power supplies and large are universal input, 90 to 260 vac, and use 400 volt rated Electrolytic caps, so open neutral fire incidents have come way down I'm happy to say.

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  @takingmeasureАй бұрын

  Thank you for the comment. I have seen a lot of strange and dangerous events caused by open neutrals over the years. I really appreciate your take on this. I find myself ever-thankful for UL standards an the constant quest to revise them as required.

• 
  @devild22692 ай бұрын

  Thank you! I need to buy a Loz meter it seems. I spent 8 hours chasing a phantom voltage the other day! It was 120v, I did IR, and it was fine, so touched it and had no shock, this is when I started looking at this ghost voltage phenomenon. Will I ever need to use the standard volts function again?

• 
  @takingmeasure2 ай бұрын

  Thank you for watching. For troubleshooting basic branch circuits, common lighting circuits, etc., a low-Z meter is great (helpful). But if you are working with circuits that may be impacted due to "meter loading," you would want to use a high impedance instrument. As example, I recently talked with the operator of a powerplant, who told me about technician who knocked the generator off-line by attempting to measure voltage on a relay control circuit with a low-Z meter. In this case, a high impedance instrument should have been used.

• 
  @McmM-cv9sb2 ай бұрын

  That was excellent..

• 
  @takingmeasure2 ай бұрын

  Thank you for watching.

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  @McmM-cv9sb2 ай бұрын

  I’m not an electrician, but I do some electrical work at home but I wanted to thank you for this video because it was very helpful. I’ll be keeping an eye out for your videos. Thanks.

• 
  @takingmeasure2 ай бұрын

  Thank you for the comment. I have not posted for a while, but we are looking at resuming soon.

• 
  @electricboyo2 ай бұрын

  My home developed a case of flickering lamps, some brighter, some dimmer. Also my cable TV and Internet service became quite intermittent. I measured my line voltages and when the loads were unbalanced one 120V leg dropped to 100V while the other 120V leg increased to 140V. In other words the neutral was at 20V rather than 0V. I used a 1200 Watt space heater to create an imbalance in load currents for testing. After getting the power company to send a lineman out to inspect and repair the connections at the utility pole, there is less than 1V on the neutral (relative to ground) when I test with the space heater. However, my Internet service was still very poor. The cable technician came out and discovered that about a two foot length of their coax drop cable was melted at the end up on the utility pole. My assumption is the unbalanced neutral current was flowing through the coax cable. Replacement of the coax restored proper Internet service. Fortunately I’ve had no other problems since.

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  @takingmeasure2 ай бұрын

  Thanks for sharing your story. An interesting one at that! I am glad you were able to get the connections back in order before more serious imbalances caused great damage.

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  @uaungmyint63873 ай бұрын

  How to calculate each phase voltage when loose neutral when unbalance load.

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  @takingmeasure3 ай бұрын

  To calculate the voltage dropped across any point, you need to know the total series resistance of the circuit path as a starting point. Using that, you can calculate total current. Using ohms law, you can apply that to the resistance of each side (E = I x R) to determine the voltage drop.

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  @Jfarr19783 ай бұрын

  I had an issue some months ago with a new ceiling fan installation that had a remote control. The receivers kept burning out. When finally installing a standard fan without a remote a family member said that I had approximately 80v of ghost voltage and it was burning this solid-state receiver out. How do I get rid of ghost voltage?

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  @takingmeasure3 ай бұрын

  A ghost voltage is really an "illusion" of voltage produced by the meter. The voltage is not actually present in the circuit being tested. To eliminate a ghost voltage you can simply take measure with a low impedance meter. I suspect something other than a ghost voltage is responsible for damage to your remote. Hopefully you can find the cause soon.

• 
  @martincraven38353 ай бұрын

  Nicely explained Mitch, my understanding of electrical circuits has been broadened, this ghost voltage phenomena is clearly capacitive coupling at work, you saved a whole bunch of time, and guess work, thank you.

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  @takingmeasure3 ай бұрын

  Happy to have helped, if I did.

• 
  @brianjc853 ай бұрын

  Learn something new everyday. I spent an hour+ chasing ghost voltage in some 14/3. Almost ended up cutting into drywall to run new wire; thought maybe I shorted a connector with a staple or something.

• 
  @takingmeasure3 ай бұрын

  I and many others I know have chased ghosts also. You are not alone!

• 
  @KennyTheKenny3 ай бұрын

  Same thing happened here I had a feeling this was the issue but I didn’t even know that this was a such a wildly known issue

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  @takingmeasure3 ай бұрын

  @@KennyTheKenny Ghost voltages can be quite confounding... especially if they are not recognized for what they are.

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  @jefferson07154 ай бұрын

  Is there an accepted range that voltage going to a device can vary? For example, can an 18v extension cord be used between 19v device and its 19v charger?

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  @takingmeasure4 ай бұрын

  The short answer is "yes," every device has a range of voltage in which it can safely and effectively operate. Various codes and manufacturing standards may apply to any given device. I believe, for example, The National Electrical Manufacturers Association standards recommend that motors should be designed to operate satisfactorily at a voltage variation of plus or minus 10 percent. Other devices or equipment may be more tolerant or less tolerant of voltage variation. This is really a case-by-case matter.

• 
  @kimstockdale6324 ай бұрын

  Why doesn't the neutral wire activate the tester? If I measure voltage with DMM between neutral and hot I get 120V. If I reverse the test leads, I still measure 120V. i.e. both hot and neutral carry alternating current.

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  @takingmeasure4 ай бұрын

  The neutral is a grounded conductor. Grounded wires are designed to have a low resistance path to the ground, which means they are essentially at the same potential as the ground itself. Therefore, there is no potential difference (voltage) between the grounded wire and the surrounding environment. As a result, a non-contact voltage tester will not detect any voltage on grounded wires because there is no electric field emanating from them. Put in simple terms: the electrostatic charge is not allowed to build.

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  @garypoplin45995 ай бұрын

  3:56 - What does it mean on the Fluke when it gives a pulsating tone in the continuity setting?

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  @takingmeasure5 ай бұрын

  If it does so while simply holding the probes together, the DMM may need servicing. If it does so while connected to a circuit, it could indicate intermittent continuity. You may want to see if the display is also giving a fluctuating ohm reading (if you are within the range of indication).

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  @douglaschamley53417 ай бұрын

  yet another reason to baffle me why America persists in the two 110V split system.. there seem to be many hidden complications/ downsides and very few redeeming features

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  @takingmeasure7 ай бұрын

  There are downsides to it, that's for certain.

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  @igleseriotigon77447 ай бұрын

  Good eve sir I have now encountered a problem with the LoZ when i test our outlet from the breaker it reads .1 ,and the crt of the lightings also .1 when we insert the circuit of the outlet inside the pipe of the ckt of the lightings,

• 
  @takingmeasure7 ай бұрын

  I am not certain I am following you entirely. But the first thing I would do is test voltage on a known energized circuit to confirm the meter is working properly. Also make certain you are wearing proper personal protective equipment when doing so.

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  @williamsnipes760810 ай бұрын

  Very interesting. The magnitism happens very quickly. Automatically. Shows how quickly current happens.

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  @takingmeasure10 ай бұрын

  Thanks for watching and commenting. I am amazed by pretty much everything about electricity. One thing is certain, the learning never ends.

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  @samalfellah206610 ай бұрын

  Thanks for the video

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  @takingmeasure10 ай бұрын

  Thanks for stopping by and participating!

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  @stanbest374310 ай бұрын

  I didn't like one of the solutions proposed, de-energise adjacent circuits.. If there is an unintended short to one of them you will not then catch it. Regarding the voltage seen , lets say a good quality DVM has an input impedance of 10 M ohms, also lets guess at 100pF stray coupling capacitance. This would be ~25 Mohms at 60 Hz, so on a 110v circuit you would measure about 30v . If we had a 10 k ohm load we were measuring across we would see ~30mV (factor of 1000 Mohm to Kohm). If we looked across a live circuit we would dissipate 1.2 watts. You can buy DVMs with a low input impedance for precisely this job. this quick sum show its not an intractable problem

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  @takingmeasure10 ай бұрын

  Your point is valid. There may also be a lot of instances where it would be impractical or undesirable to de-energize adjacent conductors. Life-safety circuits, for example. Thank you for the comment.

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  @alejandrogalarza314710 ай бұрын

  Another value that manufacturers do not usually show in their data is the voltage between the tips in diode mode, normally fluke has around 7V, klein uses 5V, but most generic multimeters use very little like 1.5 to 3V and that can be a problem measuring IGBT transistors as they do not have enough voltage to switch them.

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  @takingmeasure10 ай бұрын

  Thank you for sharing this comment. Even in DMMs constructed to accepted and adopted standards, the differences in underlying manufacturing parameters for each instrument can be problematic.

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  @alejandrogalarza314710 ай бұрын

  It would be interesting to see the reading of an isolation transformer, normally in isolated ground circuits panel if we measure between L1 or L2 and the ground shows 60V when it should be 0V in theory because it is precisely isolated to avoid electric shocks in the patient of hospital.

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  @takingmeasure10 ай бұрын

  Thanks for the comment. That is an interesting thought.

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  @waynegram890710 ай бұрын

  The measured Ghost voltage measured 79VAC Phantom/ghost voltage from the white neutral wire of the power supply to the N/C white neutral wire of the cord and the same from the green earth wire of the power supply to the N/C green earth wire of the cord measured 79VAC phantom/ghost voltage. The question is why 79VAC is the phantom ghost voltage and not 120VAC? 120VAC real -79VAC ghost= 41VAC difference or loss.

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  @ghenkhoash244010 ай бұрын

  That 79V is caused by induction and it's value depends on many factors like wire length and etc.

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  @waynegram890710 ай бұрын

  @@ghenkhoash2440 79VAC is an induction by coupling but why 79VAC and not 120VAC?

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  @ghenkhoash244010 ай бұрын

  That's a physical phenomenon! I told you the 79V depends on many factors. The 2 wires are not touching. A good electrical engineer could probably calculate that voltage using Maxwell equations.@@waynegram8907

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  @takingmeasure10 ай бұрын

  The value of the ghost voltage is related to the length of the wire capacitively coupled with the energized ungrounded wire. We might see a voltage nearer to 120V if the "floating" wire was longer and provided more capacitance when coupled. A mush shorter wire would yield less voltage. It might be fun to do a lab on this...

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  @takingmeasure10 ай бұрын

  Yep! @@ghenkhoash2440

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  @waynegram890710 ай бұрын

  Most Non-Contact testers only test AC voltages so you have to find DC voltage Non-Contact testers and also look into "insulation line break tester modes" to find a break/open in a wire harness or wire. Try making a YT lesson about using a DC non-contact tester and using the insulation line break mode to test wires, test relay contacts and test leaf type switch contacts because visually the contacts might look closed but won't have current passing through the switch contacts which the insulation line break tester will detect there is a BREAK

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  @takingmeasure10 ай бұрын

  I am going to need a lot more toys (testers) to play with.

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  @waynegram890711 ай бұрын

  Continuity Mode doesn't measure the conductance value of various components or wire gauges plus most DVM meters give false readings when measuring below 2 ohms to milliohms. Example if you're measure Fan motor windings or compressor motor windings which are low ohms but various DVM meters will give false measurements because the range is not designed for low ohms. The DVM meter will measurement 2 ohms or 1.2 ohms for the compressor motor windings but is it really 2 ohms or 1.2 ohms? The DVM meters test voltage and test current might not be strong enough to get the correct measurement of certain motor windings that are designed that operate at a high voltage and high current.

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  @petersage515711 ай бұрын

  Just to show that it *was* a Fluke, Mitch misnamed it twice. Thanks, LockPickingLawyer!

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  @takingmeasure11 ай бұрын

  I sure did! Had a brain cramp there.

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  @williamsnipes760811 ай бұрын

  Great information

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  @takingmeasure11 ай бұрын

  Thank you for watching and commenting. I didn't understand the limitations of continuity test until someone showed me. I am suspect a lot of DMM users are unaware of this.

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  @williamsnipes760811 ай бұрын

  @@takingmeasure I wasn't.

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  @OSAS72611 ай бұрын

  This is what I was explaining to a gentleman the other day. I was basically explaining to him that a noncontact voltage tester works off an electrostatic field. Whereas a clamp meter to sense current works off an electromagnetic field. You get an electrostatic field with the presence of voltage and you get an electromagnetic field with current flow. Michael Faraday demonstrated this phenomenon perfectly with a set of compasses placed in the proximity of a conductor that had current flowing through it in the early 19th century. This experiment also helped Michael Faraday discover the relationship between electricity and magnetism. Limited in his understanding of advanced mathematics, he commissioned James clerk Maxwell to write the famous maxwell equations explaining this phenomenon. The unit of electrical capacitance, “the Farad” is named after Michael Faraday. The unit of electrical inductance, “the Henry” is named after an electrical engineer by the name of Joseph Henry.

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  @takingmeasure11 ай бұрын

  Well said. The study of electricity is interesting stuff. Under each layer of what you see (and know) there is always another to further explain things. I am still learning after all these years. Thank you for watching and thank you for the comment.

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  @OSAS72611 ай бұрын

  @@takingmeasure thank you for posting this video and your comment, sir! Yesterday I registered for my first class at the local community college to start my 4 year journey in obtaining my electrical engineering degree from Mississippi State University’s Bagley college of engineering.

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  @mitchellhegman240211 ай бұрын

  Congratulations on your new learning journey. You will do well and we need you out there! @@OSAS726

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  @rcschroeder649411 ай бұрын

  After a house fire my wife and I were staying in a camper trailer. It had a small freestanding refrigerator. My wife called me at work and told me the fridge was hopping up and down. I said to her I don’t know what you are talking about it cannot do that. I told her to unplug it. When I came home I plugged it in and it started to jump about. that thing weighed at least 60 pounds. After some investigation it turned out that the neutral wire in the incoming triplex had broken.Therefore no ground. I was told the voltage was hopping between 220 and zero.Hence there was enough energy to literally make it jump up and down. thankfully after a quick fix nothing had been harmed.

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  @takingmeasure11 ай бұрын

  Wow! That is one of the most interesting stories I have heard. You are fortunate more damage did not result! Thank you for sharing that with is.

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  @waynegram890711 ай бұрын

  The Fluke Low Z impedance is 10K or 1K? The Low Z Meter loading is good for testing sense circuits, control circuits, AC or DC motors, open neutral unbalance loads circuits, power supply diodes and filter capacitors and coupling capacitor because the low Z meter loading is putting load. Coupling capacitors will block DC but the Low Z meter will put a load to test the "leakage" of the coupling capacitor which the High Z meter won't test the leakage of the capacitor give a false positive measurement. Same when testing an AC motor or DC motor the High Z meter will test the output Voltage of the motor but the Low Z meter is applying a meter loading so the motors output voltage will pull down sag so its testing the motor under load. Power supply rectifier diodes will test good with High Z meters but will fail with Low Z meters because the diodes is tested with the Meter loading which is testing the diodes Leakage. You should make YT video lesson about testing components with the Low Z meter testing under load.

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  @takingmeasure11 ай бұрын

  I am not certain about the exact value of input impedance for the Fluke 117, but it is a feature I really like. I use Low Z mode for basic voltage measurements: testing receptacle circuit voltage, etc. I like your suggestion for going deeper into the various issues and results when using either high impedance measurement mode or the Low Z setting on specific components or circuits. There is no end to this stuff. Thanks for the comment!.

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  @waynegram890711 ай бұрын

  @@takingmeasure If you look at different products the label on the back will say how much current consumption it takes to energize or power on the circuit. Different types of loads can measure the same DC resistance value but will draw different amounts of current which is the main differences between different types of loads. Different types of loads will measure DC resistance lets say 100K resistance but each different type of load will draw and consume a different amount of current. Examples a Vacuum, toaster, Scanner Fax machine, Vegetable Steamer, lets say all measure DC resistance as 100K load but each load is going to consume and draw a different amount of current. An Analog meter simpson 260 has meter loading effects and so does the fluke 117, but how much current is it consuming and drawing. Something to think about to make a YT lesson about because its not about the Loads DC resistance but also the Loads current draw consumption.

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  @waynegram890711 ай бұрын

  @@takingmeasure When using the Fluke meter in Low Z mode connect a Current clamp around the RED probe to measure the current consumption of the current under test. If the current under test is 1K and the Fluke meter low Z mode is 1K which is 1K/IK= Half the supply voltage or source voltage. If the current under test is 10K and the Fluke meter low Z mode is 1K that is 10K/10+IK = V out . The Voltage divider RATIO keeps changing depending on the circuit under test TOTAL resistance which changes the RATIO of the voltage divider. You can use the current clamp to connect around the Fluke DVM meter RED or Black Probe to measure the current draw and the measured voltage which V/I = Meters Low Z Resistance. Something to think about to make a YT lesson about.

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  @takingmeasure11 ай бұрын

  @@waynegram8907 There are so many things to test and explore. Vastly interesting, too!

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  @robertgift Жыл бұрын

  Well done! Thank you. For fun I would have used 240 VAC and be careful.

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  @takingmeasure11 ай бұрын

  Thanks for watching! 240 volts would definitely make for a lively lab...

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  @codyswisher5184 Жыл бұрын

  Thanks a lot my entire house does this now I have a new project.

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  @takingmeasure Жыл бұрын

  Poor electrical connections, improper grounding and bonding, and distribution equipment failure can lead to strange voltage imbalances. Some of this can damage wiring and any connected appliances and devices. When someone tells me they are experiencing strange voltage fluctuations, I always recommend shutting down anything they can. I also recommend getting help troubleshooting from a professional for those who are not in the trades.

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  @ammarbasrah1362 Жыл бұрын

  If the three phase source and neutral loost what hapens for the lightstreet

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  @marka7831 Жыл бұрын

  nice job.

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  @LarryAllenTonar Жыл бұрын

  Excellent demonstration

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  @mfowelectro Жыл бұрын

  Thanks Man!

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  @takingmeasure Жыл бұрын

  Thanks for watching!

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  @TheBuzzardsbayboy Жыл бұрын

  We had an open neutral which caused intermittent problems for a while. Eventually our main water line started leaking (buried in the yard). When the city came to replace the copper pipe they disconnected the ground strap, which they said drew an arc. That blew up some appliances, as the earth ground was acting as our neutral return, and once interrupted, caused unbalanced voltages just as in this demo. It's also nearly certain that the grounding currents eroded the water pipe over several months causing the leak. We had connection problems at the pole before, but this time the utility didn't even want to send a guy up to take a look. Even the electrician that the city sent out didn't seem to understand floating neutral hazards. Frustrating to me, as I'm an electrical engineer. All in all it was a $5k repair, which I had to eat.

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  @takingmeasure Жыл бұрын

  Yours is the type of story am sorry to hear. Electricity will find a way to return to the source as best it can. The fact you would up with a $5k bill adds insult to injury, I expect. I appreciate that you shared the story with us. Thank you.

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  @VitorMadeira Жыл бұрын

  I guess this would be a USA only problem, right? We don't have such problems in our fully 230v home circuits here in Europe.

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  @takingmeasure Жыл бұрын

  As I understand you systems, I believe that is correct.

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  @bob456fk6 Жыл бұрын

  Thanks for the very informative video. This is scary. I've been working with low power electronic equipment for many years. I don't get involved with house wiring. I didn't realize the hazard in the neutral connection.

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  @takingmeasure Жыл бұрын

  As with any wiring system, 120/240V systems are reliable and safe when installed and functioning as designed (per Code). But if "unusual" voltage events seem to be occurring on such systems, I always recommend shutting down what loads you can, not operating any switches, and calling a professional to troubleshoot as soon as possible. Thank you for watching and commenting.

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  @DACVL4U Жыл бұрын

  sir you did not mention the stated capacitance of the small capacitors, ergo could not match with the measuring instrument values. Furthermore you did not measure the small capacitors with the yellow multimeter. please make a detailed video. 👍👷🙏

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  @takingmeasure Жыл бұрын

  Thank you for watching. Perhaps we will visit this again.

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  @waynegram8907 Жыл бұрын

  Simpson analog meters would use the RX1 or RX10 or RX100 to measure capacitors and what the analog needle to see any fluctuations when the capacitor is getting charged. Many capacitors will pass test on capacitor meters but will fail the Simpson Analog meters fluctuation test. Using low impedance capacitor testers that puts a LOAD on the capacitor will fail leaky capacitors. On the oscilloscope you measure the capacitor but using a Function generators Square waveform and measure the ramp time divided by voltage = capacitances

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  @takingmeasure Жыл бұрын

  Simpson analog meters were the first test instruments I used. They are very well built and accurate if properly cared for. I did not have much call to test capacitors with them. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

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  @waynegram8907 Жыл бұрын

  @@takingmeasure Yes its in the Simpson Analog Meters testing manuals or other service manuals that would use simpson analog meters to test capacitors and diodes resistance test. Diodes can test good using a DVM meter 0.7vdc but the test current test voltage is very low. Simpson RX1, RX10, RX100 scale has different test current test voltage for diodes resistance. The diode will pass the forward voltage test but will FAIL the diode resistance test.

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  @waynegram8907 Жыл бұрын

  The KLEIN and FLUKE meter should be very high impedance, so it shouldn't discharge the capacitor unless the capacitor has a high ESR. A good capacitor will keep the charge stable and not discharge. This is how you test very large capacitance that are out of the DVM meters capacitance range. If a capacitor is 10,000uf you can't test it using a DVM meter in capacitance mode so you have to apply the operating rated voltage using a power supply then removing it and let the capacitor still for an hour and come back to measure the DC voltage and it should be very stable not discharging at all.

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  @takingmeasure Жыл бұрын

  Thanks again for commenting. I do not have any experience with large farad value devices. Interesting stuff! And a lot of stored energy!

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  @wwdiesel Жыл бұрын

  Excellent example of the issue of a failed neutral. A few years ago, my 220v work shop supply service lost it's neutral. 6 (0) aluminum underground cable buried. Neutral somehow got a nick in it were it come out of the conduit below the meter base and made the turn from vertical to horizonal (90 deg bend). Over time just the neutral aluminum wire corroded (green crusties) and corroded completely into causing a failed neutral. This failure happened between a 200+ foot drop from the meter pole and the shop service panel. Shop had a seperate safety ground rod installed and wired to the service panel in the shop. (did not help!) Needless to say, voltages went way high on one leg of the 220v service. Florescent lights in the shop went crazy, some would not come on, and others were extremely bright (high voltage). Worse part, I had several DeWalt 20v battery chargers plugged into a long wall mounted service strip, and all the DeWalt chargers went up in smoke. I was lucky, the battery chargers were the only thing that was damaged. I had to get a circuit "sniffer" aka tracer to locate the actual fault location since I could not dig up over 200 feet of service cable. We found the fault with the sniffer/pinger, and had to dig up the underground cable in that location only, then cut out the failed wire area and replace it. A true leaning experience ($$$) for me! If I ever see an imbalance in light brightness again anywhere, I know exactly what to go check with my trusty Flute Voltmeter. Thanks for posting and explaining what happens....should be required learning for all homeowners and others!

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  @takingmeasure Жыл бұрын

  Sounds as though you got off fairly lucky. I am happy for that. I have seen this scenario inflict a lot of damage over the years. So much depends on what loads are involved and active at the time. Thank you for watching and commenting!

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  @joemc111 Жыл бұрын

  If some of your lights are BRIGHT and some are DIM you should immediately kill all power, if you don’t and you use say your toaster your smaller loads like a computer will have high voltage and burn up.

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  @takingmeasure Жыл бұрын

  Yes, I agree with you on that!

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  @molleejones8078 Жыл бұрын

  I love the video! Amazing information and delivered wonderfully! 😊

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  @takingmeasure Жыл бұрын

  Thank you, Mollee!

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  @chrislester3152 Жыл бұрын

  Listen u are wrong I think because from the perspective of the neutral wire the 240 colts one wire is counting up while the other is counting down crossing zero at the same time and from the neutral wires perspective the bits are one higher and the other lower

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  @OSAS726 Жыл бұрын

  Very well explained sir! I love your teaching style! You are absolutely right about the changing resistance(dynamic resistance) of the filaments in incandescent lights. That dynamic resistance is known as a positive temperature coefficient. What that basically means is that if you increase the temperature on the tungsten filament, you increase the resistance in the filament as opposed to a negative temperature coefficient which means as you increase the temperature on any other negative temperature coefficient material the resistance decreases in that material. Tungsten basically has a positive temperature coefficient. Positive or negative temperature coefficient materials are widely used in thermistor technology.

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  @takingmeasure Жыл бұрын

  Thank you so much for the positive feedback. I really enjoy labs such as the one I presented here. Working with the dynamic resistance made this all the more fun for me. Finally, thank you for sharing your knowledge. The learning never stops!

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  @OSAS726 Жыл бұрын

  ⁠@@takingmeasurebsolutely you are so very welcome. Thank you for the demonstration. I enjoy labs as well. As a sidenote, I was working with a three way switch configuration in my dining room the other day, and I detected a ghost voltage on my digital multi meter. I notice a lot of people have that issue detecting phantom, voltages. One of my suggestions in that scenario is to use the low impedance Function if the meter is equipped with one. I believe one of the causes of phantom voltages is running many live circuits through a narrow raceway in close proximity to one another. When One circuit is energized and the adjacent circuit is not it creates what’s called a capacitive effect which induces a phantom voltage in the non energized circuit. The nice thing about the old wiggy voltage meters and analog Simpson meters is they were very low impedance and never picked up any kind of phantom voltages.

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  @takingmeasure Жыл бұрын

  @@OSAS726 I am working on a video for ghost voltage. I hope to have it live here in a couple weeks. Thanks again!

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  @OSAS726 Жыл бұрын

  @@takingmeasure Oh that’s awesome! I’m looking forward to seeing your video on that subject. I just subscribed to your channel this morning! Thank you sir for all the great content. My background is 34 years residential and commercial high voltage and electronics engineering. I love your teaching style!

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  @pihla3 Жыл бұрын

  Very good video

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  @takingmeasure Жыл бұрын

  Thank you and thanks for watching.

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  @georgerocks5191 Жыл бұрын

  How did you get 53 vac under the lost neutral and lamp scenario? The power supply is 52 vac.

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  @takingmeasure Жыл бұрын

  The transformers measure a higher voltage until they are put under a heavier load. Additionally, the voltage where we produce the videos typically measures above 120 volts. Given that we have a higher primary voltage (122ish) and relatively modest load, our secondary voltage runs a bit high. Fully loaded, power losses would likely see the measured voltage fall slightly below the rated (nominal) voltage. As it turned out for this lab, when the current dropped slightly after the light was switched out, the transformer losses were reduced enough to allow a slight increase in voltage. We are in the process making of a follow-up video to this one in which I try to address this and other question that have cropped up. I hope this helped answer your question. Thank you for watching.

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  @billc6087 Жыл бұрын

  When we moved into our 1970's house about 20 years ago I quickly noticed a few quirks with the electrical system, where lights on certain 120v circuits would get brighter or dimmer depending whether lights on different 120v circuits were on or off. I found a couple of issues; 1) All the light switches and outlets were connected by 'back-stabbing' the wire into a small hole in the switch/outlet. Over the years due to arcing, etc, the connections had become burnt. I replaced every one of them and secured all wires using the screws for better contact. 2) Tracing all the circuits I determined several light circuits shared a common neutral. 3) I decided to go to the sub-panel for lights and outlets, and tighten all the screws to both the individual breakers and also the neutral buss bar. As I was tightening the neutral buss screws, half of the buss bar fractured and fell to the floor! It clearly had been overheated for years! Fortunately, I was able to locate a replacement buss bar at a local provider. Once replaced and secured, I had no further problems. Wheee!

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  @takingmeasure Жыл бұрын

  Yikes. I am glad you jumped on the issues and fixed things before more serious problems developed. Good work! Thanks for watching the video. I appreciate you sharing the story.

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  @a.mirmousavizadegan7962 Жыл бұрын

  Does it work for putting two DC/AC 120v pure sinewave inverters and create 240 if I combine Neutral and use two hot legs ?

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  @takingmeasure Жыл бұрын

  That may be above my skillset. It's an interesting thought, but I am not sure.