Why do I have 20 volts on my neutral?

It is normal, due to the resistance of the wire, to measure a few ohms of resistance between ground and neutral on a circuit. It is also normal, when a load is applied to a circuit, to measure a few volts between ground and neutral (also due to resistance of the wire).

What should voltage be between hot and neutral?

about 120 V
Hot-neutral is the load voltage. Voltage should read about 120 V (typically 115 V to 125 V). You measure exactly 118.5 V. Neutral ground is a voltage drop (also called IR drop) caused by load current flowing through the impedance of the white wire.

Why is my neutral wire reading hot?

The most common reason why a neutral wire gets hot is due to bad connections. It means that the hot wire is either broken or connected to a hotline somewhere in the circuit. For example, a light bulb connection requires a hot and neutral wire.

Why do I have continuity between hot and neutral?

3 Answers. Since you are not connected to the grid yet, the wires from your mast a probably just hanging or coiled up, and the ends are touching. Check those wires. If anything is turned on — a light, the heating/ac system, whatever — that’s a path between hot and neutral.

How do you know if neutral and ground are reversed?

To check for reversed neutral and ground wires, measure the hot-to-neutral and hot-to-ground voltages under load. The hot-to-ground reading should be higher than the hot-to-neutral reading. The greater the load, the more difference you’ll see.

Should my neutral and ground have continuity?

Safety ground is continuous through a GFCI. LINE neutral to LOAD neutral is not continuous. LINE hot to LOAD hot is not continuous. As you can see, both hot and neutral go through the mysteryworks of a GFCI device.

What does a 120 volt reading on a circuit mean?

A 120 volt reading will be noticed if voltage tester leads are placed between either two hot wires or two neutral wire when the circuit is on and under load.

Why would a neutral wire be 120 volts?

Daniel, depending on the circuit wiring and the circuit components, it is common to get a 120 volt reading on a neutral wire that is tested to ground. Such is the case with a lighting circuit where there are fixtures with standard incandescent light bulbs.

What is the voltage at neutral and hot to ground?

Neutral to hot reads 120 volts, and hot to ground reads 66 volts at the same junction box. Any thoughts? electrical Share Improve this question Follow asked Sep 28 ’14 at 22:59 user25599user25599 4111 gold badge11 silver badge22 bronze badges 6 1 You are not a good ground.

How many volts is the neutral side of a light bulb?

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.