is something wrong with my house wiring

[johnnyfalcon]

on one of my light switches i measured...
black multimeter prong to white wire and
red mm prong to ground wire and got 120 volts

also on same light switch i measured...
red mm prong to white wire and
black mm prong to ground wire and got 120 volts

however
i get no voltage reading on just measuring the ..
red mm prong to the black wire , black prong to white wire
black mm prong to black wire, red prong to white wire






one last question

on a 240 volt wire

i get a 240 v measuring the black wire to the white wire using any mm prong combination

however
i get no voltage measuring black wire or white wire (using a red or black mm prong) to the ground wire(using red or black mm prong)



maybe there is nothing wrong , i just cant seem to figure it out for certain!

ps i hope eric dollard gets better i know his eye is failing him . and i know hes not keen on "romanticising" well wishes . im wondering if he should try some dietary experiments like consuming baking soda also making kale shakes

apparantly baking soda renews the blood somewhat and kale is the most nutrient dense veggie

best regards

[Why-me]

Hi there.
Is your meter reading A/C? Well then it will read voltage both of the ways you mentioned.

Is your meter set to D/C? Well then your meter is broke.

A/C wiring is as follows in the USA:
Black wire is HOT.
White wire is neutral.
BARE wire is ground.
The white wire and the bare ground wire should be zero or near zero resistance since they are attached to the same source from the utility box in your house, grounded.
The black wire will make you dead if you touch it and you complete the circuit back to ground.
That is why there are two grounds, white neutral and bare ground.

[johnnyfalcon]

yes im measuring a\c
sorry my question may have been too wordy

does something in my measuremants seem incorrect ?

i got no voltage measuring red or black prong to the black or white wire on my 120 v light switch i did measure full 120 with white wire to ground or black wire to ground





on my 240 volt wire for baseboard heater i measured 240 black wire to white wire .... but i measured zero volts from black wire to ground , and zero volts from white wire to ground

[Why-me]

Yes. You have a problem.

What country is your house located?
How old is your house?
Have there been any self wiring moments to save a bill from hiring an electrician?
Have you graduated high school? (Big cheesy grin)

[Ufopolitics]

Red Wire...

yes im measuring a\c
sorry my question may have been too wordy

does something in my measuremants seem incorrect ?

i got no voltage measuring red or black prong to the black or white wire on my 120 v light switch i did measure full 120 with white wire to ground or black wire to ground





on my 240 volt wire for baseboard heater i measured 240 black wire to white wire .... but i measured zero volts from black wire to ground , and zero volts from white wire to ground

Hello JOHNNY,

I am pretty sure the code for the red wire is switch return wire...now, if you have nothing on that socket...no bulb or fan or whatever...it will not close the circuit, so you will have zero reading.

Also, check the connection (socket) where the light hooks up...or if there is a second switch involved, sometimes it is.

I believe 240 will not close circuit with ground,

If you have two black wires and a white wire...then it should read 120 from any black to white.


Hope this helps.


Ufopolitics

[johnnyfalcon]

Hello JOHNNY,

I am pretty sure the code for the red wire is switch return wire...now, if you have nothing on that socket...no bulb or fan or whatever...it will not close the circuit, so you will have zero reading.

Also, check the connection (socket) where the light hooks up...or if there is a second switch involved, sometimes it is.

I believe 240 will not close circuit with ground,

If you have two black wires and a white wire...then it should read 120 from any black to white.


Hope this helps.


Ufopolitics

no there is no red wire , i said red prong on multimeter

thanks

[johnnyfalcon]

again ill reword

i have two problems or concerns

the first concern
120 light switch has a black, white and ground wires
when i use my multimeter , it does not read any voltage between the black and white wires

it only reads a voltage wich is 120 when i measure black to ground, or white to ground



my other problem/concern
is a wire that used to have a baseboard heater hooked up to it
it has a black, white and ground wire
when i use my multimeter i get 240 volts measuring black to white or white to black

however i get zero volts measuring black to ground or white to ground


thank you guys for helping me


as an unrelated topic about the baking soda , apparently it binds to phosphorus , wich accumulates in the muscle over years or even days, and baking soda binds to this and washes it out, phosphorus is said to contribute to unnesessary muscle pain aka inflammation and does all types of things like cleanse the liver.

wich got me wondering if eric dollards blindin condition could be reversed, maybe the blindness is just inflamation , things getting harder n harder to see. i take baking soda my self , as prevention for whatever, , im not going to say its some holy grail but worth looking into and trying for big eric dollard

[johnnyfalcon]

Yes. You have a problem.

What country is your house located?
How old is your house?
Have there been any self wiring moments to save a bill from hiring an electrician?
Have you graduated high school? (Big cheesy grin)

i am in the united snakes of america

[Ernst]

Draw a diagram for the first issue, just to make sure...

The second....
In a 3 phase Y-config, you'll have 120 V on each phase with respect to neutral (almost ground). That means that you'll have 208 V between two phases.
If you read 240 V then there must be a transformer somewhere, because this voltage can not be directly derived from any of the phases (or combination thereof).
This transformer gives you 240 V which, if done incorrectly, is 'floating'. That explains your 0 reading between these lines and ground. If done correctly, the transformer would give 120V + 120V = 240V with a centre tap. This centre tap should be grounded and then you will have two phases (180 deg out of phase) both with 120V to ground.

Well, that is my guess.


Ernst.

[Why-me]

Ernst is right. Plus could you take photos of each step of each problem?

This will help to figure things out.

Thin Q

[citfta]

Hi Johnny,

If the readings you are getting are correct you DO have a problem with your house wiring. You need to get a licensed electrician to check out your main panel. From your description it sounds like you have a floating neutral condition. This can be very bad. The neutral wiring is normally connected to ground for a couple of reasons. It keeps the voltage balanced between the 2 phases of your house wiring. It also keeps the neutral side of the house wiring from floating up to a high voltage level above ground.

I have seen houses that caught on fire because of the unbalance in phases caused be the neutral not being grounded. You can also have problems with appliances burning out and light bulbs being overly bright or very dim. If you are having any of those problems you need to get it fixed as soon as possible. I mean like today. Don't put it off. I realize today is Sunday so if you can't get an electrician today be sure and do it first thing tomorrow.

Carroll

[johnnyfalcon]

Hi Johnny,

If the readings you are getting are correct you DO have a problem with your house wiring. You need to get a licensed electrician to check out your main panel. From your description it sounds like you have a floating neutral condition. This can be very bad. The neutral wiring is normally connected to ground for a couple of reasons. It keeps the voltage balanced between the 2 phases of your house wiring. It also keeps the neutral side of the house wiring from floating up to a high voltage level above ground.

I have seen houses that caught on fire because of the unbalance in phases caused be the neutral not being grounded. You can also have problems with appliances burning out and light bulbs being overly bright or very dim. If you are having any of those problems you need to get it fixed as soon as possible. I mean like today. Don't put it off. I realize today is Sunday so if you can't get an electrician today be sure and do it first thing tomorrow.

Carroll

i have paid electricians before and they leave me with problems part of the reason why i hate paying people for anything. thats why im asking , i have access to the crawl space and breaker panel ive done some wiring before

when you say "floating neutral because of unbalanced phases caused by neutral no being grounded" in other words are you saying i have a loose neutral wire in the breaker panel , or an outlet?


please try to bare with me , thanks

[johnnyfalcon]

6 regular outlets, 120v refrigerator,240 stove are on a double pole 60 amp breaker switch wich seem to control most every household fixture...

the rest of my breaker switches are 4 double pole 30 amp breaker switches, i also have pull outs and screw in fuses

ill post pics later today

[Duncan]

perhaps all is well

Hi Johnny I'm in the UK and used to its wiring system as opposed to the USA however I really don't see any problem with what you describe. It is after all a switch wire all be it a black and white cable has been used. I take it that the Back and white cable are connected directly across the switch.
In a perfect world the white cable would be sleeved black also, as it becomes live when the switch is closed.
The ground cable is common - ed with the neutral at the nearest substation and so is really the only cable at ground/neutral potential at your switch position.
It is obvious then that you will always measure 120 volts black wire (live) to earth like wise if you close the switch you must also measure 120 volts to earth .
Strangely if the bulbs are fitted in the lamp holders on your particular circuit and you measure white wire to earth/ground with the switch open you will also measure 120 volts (or very close to it) this being because there is very little volt drop across the lamps. (The multimeter only uses a tiny amount of current ) repeat your test with another lamp in a lamp holder at the switch and I suspect you'll see a very different story kindest regards Duncan

[johnnyfalcon]

ok i had three problems one of wich i figured out on my own, wich is the problem 1 here

problem 1.. ok i figured out the 120 v switch issue

i realized the 120v switch was at the END or AFTER a light fixture thus giving me this readings..

no volts across black and white wires
120 volts from black to ground
120 volts from white to ground

this was the simple problem i could not understand




problem 2

i have two light switches to two exterier lights, one of the switches gives power to one of the lights, however the other light seems to get no power at all

when i tested both switches for continuity here is what i got

the right switch when turned on went steady at 000continuity on the multimeter, thus it has continuity

when the right switch is turned off it jumped around at random negative numbers on the continuity setting

the left switch when turned on showed steady continuity 000 when tested
when the left switch was turned off it showed NO reading at all, as if i wasnt even touching the terminals
notice how the two switches are bridged with that black wire on the lowering screw/terminal , it seems incorrect im not sure alls i know is one light fixture doesnt seem to get any power from my non contact voltage tester and a new light bulb in it, the other light fixture works fine

another angle notice the fine 1600 colonial wood panneling


problem 3
on this orange wire is 240 measureing from black to white
however i got zero volts measuring from black to ground
and zero volts measuring from white to ground

i have to put a baseboard heater here but this wire seems faulty if im not getting any voltage from black to ground
and no voltage from white to ground