"travelingart" wrote in message
oups.com...
I am re-wiring some of the boxes in a 30's vintage cottage. The old
rubber
wiring is crumbling in the steel boxes. Currently the house has the
original
ridgid conduit and some romex from a previous owner.



After installing a new recepticle and grounding the recepticle to the
steel box
which is connected to conduit to the panel, I am only getting 83 volts
across
the ground and the hot.



A plug in detector indicates the recepticle is installed properly.
Voltage
between the hot and neutral is 123 volts.



What are the suspected problems and how can I identify where that
problem(s) is?


It sounds as though you have a bad ground connection somewhere. I would
start in the fuse box (Or do you have circuit breakers?). You should check
your ground connections and also make sure the conduit connections are
tight. You should have a bond between ground and neutral in the fuse box.
This can be in the form of a screw or a jumper wire or strip to the fuse box
metal frame. Check that connection. If you have a separate main fuse or
main circuit breakers the bond connection may be in there. It is also
possible, though least likely that the bond between neutral and ground is in
the electric meter socket.

While you're doing all this you should also check your ground connection to
the water pipe. Make sure that it is clean and not loose or corroded. If
it is in bad shape you should replace. Sand the pipe down to clean metal
before installing a new water pipe ground clamp.

If those connections are all good, then you need to check all the ground and
conduit connections downstream. Make sure all locknuts are tight. Hit the
locknuts with a light hammer and a screwdriver to tighten them.