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Electrical Wiring

Voltage Meter Readings?

16 years ago

When you plug in a voltage meter to read what's happening, what is the "Normal" range one should get? There are no high current appliances running when test is being done. Basically there is a refrigerator, a TV and a couple of other low voltage items running.

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Comments (5)

dkenny
16 years ago
depends..
with all the appliances unplugged it might read around 120v
say it does..good so far
now plug the appliances back in. ideally it shouldn't read more 1-2% less then 120v. maybe as much as 5% would still be ok.
if the drop is more than 5% you might have a problem.
the wire size is too small for the length of run.
there's a bad connection somewhere in the circuit

-dkenny
dozer
16 years ago
120 volts +/- 10% which comes out to from 108 to 132 volts.

120 is considered the nominal voltage and is preferred while the POCO is allowed the +/- 10% so your readings coould be anywhere within those tolerances ans still be aceptable. That does not mean you should not notify your POCO should the readings be near the outer allowances. There may be a problem they can take care of before it would get worse.
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Not necessarily. It may also mean that somewhere else on that same circuit there is a load which is drawing enough current to cause a 10v drop on the neutral conductor between the point where you're measuring and the neutral bar in the main service panel where your neutral and ground are bonded together. Turn off that breaker and see what loses power. Then switch those loads off, turn the breaker back on and remeasure the voltage. You should then get a 0v reading. If the circuit in question is being fed from a subpanel, then some of that 10v drop will be caused by current on the neutral feeder to the subpanel. Phantom voltages, as recorded by digital meters, are not normally found on wires connected to the service neutral bar. You will read a real voltage to ground on a neutral wire if your ground reference point is not solidly connected to the service ground bar or the service neutral is not solidly bonded to ground. If there is a neutral to ground voltage at the service, then you have a bonding problem that needs to be fixed.
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Hmmm. Should be between between 110v and 125v. Higher voltage is too much power so it'd run hot and kick-out on overheat protection, maybe pretty quickly, maybe almost instantly. However, seems odd the reading is so much over the norm. An earlier model uses a 230v pump, the motor board on it has components to increase the voltage for the pump circuit even though the machine connects to a standard 120v power outlet. Your board doesn't do that for the pump circuit, although it may produce higher voltage for other circuits. Anyway, you've confirmed the board is outputting power to the pump circuit. Check again on the connector down at the pump to confirm power is getting all the way there to rule out a broken/shorted wire. The only other check is a resistance reading on the pump (7 ohms, you've already done that). I have no suggestion other than replace the motor board again. You said the board had already been replaced once. Is it new enough to be covered by a parts warranty of sorts?
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aceh
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks. I'm trying to make sure the electrician did not put too many wall outlets on the same breaker. Under "normal" conditions some outlets read between 120.8 and 121.10 volts while others read between 124.5 and 124.7
brickeyee
16 years ago
A volt meter cannot tell you if there are to many receptacles on the same circuit.
A breaker will trip long before you can load the circuit that much.
randy427
16 years ago
It does not matter how many receptacles are on the same circuit. What does matter is how many are in use at one time and what is the total amperage being drawn.

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