Home wiring question

GetDeviceInfo

Joined Jun 7, 2009
2,192
Oh, I think I see where your coming from. Here in the U.S., Residential wiring is almost always single phase 220v. Are you thinking of a three phase wye type imbalanced load that makes the neutral current rise? Yes, I checked the neutral bonding at the box, it was good.
You could consider it a single phase with centre tap (neutral).

I checked the neutral bonding at the box, it was good
which box are you referring? The devices utility box should be bonded to ground (typically a bare conductor) which gives one the reference. Measure your 3 insulated conductors to the box reference (ground). Of curiousity will be voltage on the white wire.
 

Thread Starter

mbohuntr

Joined Apr 6, 2009
446
LOL, I type so SSLLOOOWWW that I answered your questions on the next post. Yes, I checked all insulated wires to ground and also checked them for continuity as well since the red was not connected at either end. The box was our basement panel box. We aren't allowed to connect neutrals to ground anywhere, only to the proper buss in the panel box.
 

#12

Joined Nov 30, 2010
18,224
Your drawing in post #14 is perfectly normal for this kind of circuit, and I think this thread has got you chasing ghosts, long after the problem is fixed. However, I would like to add that I once had a strange situation where, every time the clothes dryer started, all the lights in the house would brighten up for a second. The cure was to re-tighten every connection on the "bond" bar. (Bond is what electricians call the bus bar that is connected to the planet, or "Earth".) In a typical American breaker box, the whites and the bond wires are all connected to the same bus bar.

If you have a cable to a remote location, like a shed or a water well pump, the bond is carried seperately from the neutral with, for instance, a 6-3-g cable. Three wires for the 220 volt service and a 4th wire as the safety ground (bond). Believe it or not, this is an important safety factor because carrying the neutral current for quite a distance on the bond wire would cause a bit of voltage to be present on the metal boxes of the recepticles!

I mention this because remote location wiring is something I didn't do for years after I started and had to learn this late in life.
 

GetDeviceInfo

Joined Jun 7, 2009
2,192
I would like to add that I once had a strange situation where, every time the clothes dryer started, all the lights in the house would brighten up for a second.
that would be a classic poor neutral connection.

(Bond is what electricians call the bus bar that is connected to the planet, or "Earth".) In a typical American breaker box, the whites and the bond wires are all connected to the same bus bar.
'bond' is what it is, a positive connection, and refers to the entire circuit from grounding electrode to device.

In a typical American breaker box, the whites and the bond wires are all connected to the same bus bar.
They may be in older homes, but the code is clear on the distinction. Load centers have seperate busses with a removable tie, which must be removed if the load center is not on service.

What is the purpose of checking neutral to ground potential? A bad earth ground?
No, a bad neutral connection.
 
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