On Wed, 18 Apr 2012 03:14:53 -0400, Kurt Ullman
wrote:

In article ,
"Ralph Mowery" wrote:

"Kurt Ullman" wrote in message
m...
Just got done changing out a GFI outlet on the box next to my pool. It
looks like everything is working okay, but the circuit tester indicates
an open nuetral. Anything I need to look for or can I safely ignore it?



Have you plugged anything in the socket that uses a reasonable ammount of
current and does it work ?
I plugged in the pool cover pump and it worked. That is probably the
thing that draws the most current of things I plug in there. Does that
qualify? The only other thing would be edger. Would that be a better
test?


If it does not work, the neutral can be open and you have not wired it
correctly, assuming it was wired correctly to start with.

It worked for 20+ years and I moved the wires from the old one to the
new one individually so it should be okay.

If the outlet works, it's wired properly. Go to the hardware store and
buy another tester. They're under $10. If that one shows the same
defect, something is wired wrong, such as reversing the hot and the
neutral wires. Hot should go to gold screws, neutral to silver ones.
GFI boxes normally show the correct wiring. I suspect the tester is
bad. If it's not the tester, you can always give the spare tester as a
gift. I can guarantee that if the neutral was open, nothing would
operate on that outlet. (unless you got the ground wire connected to
the neutral screw, which is unlikely since the ground is either bare or
green, and you'd have to almost do it intentionally).