wrote:
On Wed, 11 Mar 2009 22:49:54 -0700 (PDT), stan
wrote:

Even cheap (non-Fluke) volt meters are sensitive enough to pick up
stray voltages, if you connect one side to ground and then touch your
fingers to the input or + lead one will often pick up enough random
electromagnetic radio and other electrical 'noise' to get small
reading.

And connect it to even dead wiring such a meter will often pick
voltage from other working wiring running next to it within walls etc.
Posters here have reported 'stray/random' but meaningless voltages up
to 43 or more volts.

A good choice for testing such a situation is a plain bulb. Or a
pocket neon lamp/tester (Maybe that's what's called a wiggie?).


A wiggy is a solenoid type of tester.
See he
http://tinyurl.com/dk7mh3

I use the neon ones too. You can touch one lead and the other to the
hot wire, and it lights up from the body stray voltage. You dont get
shocked

Hmmm,
Body stray voltage? Between hot and body, body acts like ground.
Voltage is induced. Between open(broken) and close(active) wires.

A 230 bulb is best but a low wattage 115 volt can be used if just
touched on wires for a moment.

BTW I have a 230 volt low wattage bulb permanently mounted in my
workshop which monitors the 230 volts; if one side were to go open the
115 volts from the oher ;side' would come through whatever 230 volt
appliance happened to be on and that bulb would light more dimly than
at 230 volts dimly.
The single bulb is a better way to monitor the 230 volts than two
bulbs one from each 'side or leg' to neutral.

If one needed to test best way is to turn off main breaker and see
what voltage is on the incoming wires .............

OR: Turn off all the individual circuit house breakers (every single
one of them) and see what voltage there is on the output of the main
breaker by testing the buss bars or inputs to the individual breakers.

Turning everything off is a good way to get exact readings without
crossover voltage like the OP saw.