Al Bundy wrote:
wrote in news:1161608374.490859.297690
@h48g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:
Can anyone tell me why I would get a 27 volt reading on a 120v circuit.
I have a old home but some of the home has been re-wired. I am
remodeling my bath room and removed old florescent lights. I tested
the power at the connections and got a reading of 27v. I climbed in
the attic and it looks like the wire is coming from a junction box with
several other wires. It looks like the work was done by a pro. The
upstairs has 2-20amp (connected together) circuits.
You are using a low impedance (resistance) meter ...
Precisely backwards...a _high_ impedance meter can load a circuit and
read "phantom" voltages. For such tests of household wiring circuits
an inexpensive analog meter is probably more reliable than the digital.
To OP, need more. Were the lights functioning before and where/what
are you measuring?
Breaker on/off, at the switch or the feed.
What you're seeing at the upstairs junction box is probably simply a
feed junction. Two circuits connected together is one circuit.
If you're actually measuring something that should be a true voltage,
it implies a loose neutral or hot. If you're simply measuring the
leads from the switch you just disconnected w/ the switch off, it is
almost certain your _HIGH_ (not low) impedance digital meter is loading
the circuit. Put a light bulb across the wires and measure again and
it will undoubtedly be zero.