dpb wrote:
On 11/05/2015 8:56 AM, Bob F wrote:
...

Sounds like a lot of trouble for a question that can be answered
with a few meter readings.

Excepting the access to take the readings at the locations required is
essentially the same effort...the neutral connection to the line feed
is directly to the line at the top of the meter pole; it never comes
down the pole for the remote feeds; only the hot legs are routed thru
the meter and disconnect and back up for the overhead feed across the
drive and to the silo, elevator, machine shed...the neutral feed for
the house isn't tied to those so it's independent of that connection
at the top, it's tied to another pigtail (another reason besides the
taller, newer equipment that's getting closer than comfort to the
present feeder height across the drive I'd like to eventually bury
them all from the meter pole--but that will almost certainly never
happen in my lifetime).

I imagine the neutral wire is a bare wire supporting the current carrying wires
from the pole to the barn. A wire with a stripped end could be used to check the
voltage at any point on that neutral by taping it to a long pole and touching
the bare end to the neutral wire. You could even use a temporary ground rod as a
reference if you don't have a convenient long wire for a ground reference. It
shouldn't take much of a rod in that wet soil. Do still use caution, as that
wire is likely to be somewhat "hot".

An unbalanced load at the barn should caused more voltage on an improperly
connected neutral.

If the neutral to the barn reads differently than the neutrals to other
buildings, you know where your problem is.


My guess, if you haven't found a weak link at the barn or in the low boxes at
the pole, is that the neutral fault will be where it is connected at the top of
the pole.