In the house I grew up in, we added an addition. I was sweaty as I
leaned on the addition and got one heck of a jolt. Of course, now I
was wide awake and halfway across the room wondering what had happened.
It took a while (and a few more shocks, I guess I didn't learn
quickly) to determine that the nails holding the siding on were all
electricified.

When the addition was being put on, a nail somewhere hit a wire in the
existing part of the house. We speculate that the nail also hit the
alum backing of the insulation, electrifying the whole outside of the
house so all othe nails were "hot".

It seems like an incredible chain of coincidents, but I remember it
vividly. It's not something one forgets.

So could a nail have hit a wire. Yup. Could have happened.

Alan wrote:
Hi,

I had two outdoor lights at opposite sides of my house with a switch
inside. They used to both work fine. Now, one light works and the
other does not. I have replaced the fixture and no luck. I used my
electrical sensor and it beeps on the hot wire when the switch is on.
However, if I use my volt meter, it shows a weak current, whereas if I
plug my volt meter into a house electrical outlet, it pegs the meter.

Any idea what is happening here? I recently underwent some home
renovations outside (new siding, etc.) and am wondering if that had
anything to do with it. However, I would think a break or a nail
through a wire would give me no reading whatsoever.

Any help? Thanks.

Alan