Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
|
Home Repair (alt.home.repair) For all homeowners and DIYers with many experienced tradesmen. Solve your toughest home fix-it problems. |
Reply |
|
LinkBack | Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
75 Volts off TV F-connector?
Our TV reception, from a roof antenna, was intermittently flaky.
Trying to find the problem, I got a shock when I touched both the TV F-connector and coax cable antenna lead. So I put a tester on and to my surprise got a 75 volt reading. It's also 75 volts between the TV F-connector and the outlet ground plug hole or outlet screw. And, there's 75 volts between any connector on the TV and any of these grounds. I'm also getting ~40 volts off the VCR F-connector, and ~50 volts off the DVD player *housing*. Best I can determine this is the case with all house circuits. I plugged the TV into several, using extension cords, and carried the DVD player around to plug it into all circuits. I also get ~30 volts off the housing of an old stand mixer in the kitchen. This isn't normal, is it? I checked as many outlets as I could get to with a GB plug-in circuit tester, and all test correct. All outlets are at 125 volts. I opened the main panel and the one subpanel to see what I could see, and all looked right, though I really don't know what I'm looking for here. What would cause "hot" appliances, and how do I track this down? Thanks! -- Luke |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
75 Volts?
Hmmm dunno,, but sounds out of whack to me, especially for an antenna. DOes it have a signal booster in the cicuit? |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
I am strongly tempted to say that you are having fun with us.
Grounded appliance (three prong) have the chassis attached to the ground. If your ground at the breaker box was broken, and the ground wires were shorted to a hot, you could get a voltage off the chassis. This would require urgent attention. But you would not get a reading off the chassis of ungrounded appliance (two prong) because they are not attached to anything. Either explain the problem in more detail, or go away. |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
"Luke" wrote in message ... Our TV reception, from a roof antenna, was intermittently flaky. Trying to find the problem, I got a shock when I touched both the TV F-connector and coax cable antenna lead. So I put a tester on and to my surprise got a 75 volt reading. It's also 75 volts between the TV F-connector and the outlet ground plug hole or outlet screw. And, there's 75 volts between any connector on the TV and any of these grounds. I'm also getting ~40 volts off the VCR F-connector, and ~50 volts off the DVD player *housing*. Best I can determine this is the case with all house circuits. I plugged the TV into several, using extension cords, and carried the DVD player around to plug it into all circuits. I also get ~30 volts off the housing of an old stand mixer in the kitchen. This isn't normal, is it? I checked as many outlets as I could get to with a GB plug-in circuit tester, and all test correct. All outlets are at 125 volts. I opened the main panel and the one subpanel to see what I could see, and all looked right, though I really don't know what I'm looking for here. What would cause "hot" appliances, and how do I track this down? Thanks! -- Luke This is Turtle. I seen this about 10 years ago on one job and it was the VCR messing up. The VCR was putting 115 volts on the Cox's Cable line coming into the house. Take all the DVD , TV Boosters , or VCR out of the circuit and hook nothing up but the TV and you will see a difference if it is one of them. I had a 2 man crew hunting the power source over 3 hours in a attic and found it at the tv. I'm not in the TV and VCR business but the Customer of a big account had this problem. TURTLE |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
"Luke" wrote in message ... Our TV reception, from a roof antenna, was intermittently flaky. Trying to find the problem, I got a shock when I touched both the TV F-connector and coax cable antenna lead. So I put a tester on and to my surprise got a 75 volt reading. It's also 75 volts between the TV F-connector and the outlet ground plug hole or outlet screw. And, there's 75 volts between any connector on the TV and any of these grounds. I'm also getting ~40 volts off the VCR F-connector, and ~50 volts off the DVD player *housing*. Best I can determine this is the case with all house circuits. I plugged the TV into several, using extension cords, and carried the DVD player around to plug it into all circuits. I also get ~30 volts off the housing of an old stand mixer in the kitchen. This isn't normal, is it? I checked as many outlets as I could get to with a GB plug-in circuit tester, and all test correct. All outlets are at 125 volts. I opened the main panel and the one subpanel to see what I could see, and all looked right, though I really don't know what I'm looking for here. What would cause "hot" appliances, and how do I track this down? Thanks! -- Luke Luke. I also had this happen years ago. I had hi volts from antenna connecter to earth ground. Turned out to be the TV. The items you checked were most likely 2 wire plugs with no ground connection. Warren |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
On Sun, 03 Apr 2005 16:50:03 -0600, Luke wrote:
Our TV reception, from a roof antenna, was intermittently flaky. Trying to find the problem, I got a shock when I touched both the TV F-connector and coax cable antenna lead. So I put a tester on and to my surprise got a 75 volt reading. DVD player around to plug it into all circuits. I also get ~30 volts off the housing of an old stand mixer in the kitchen. This isn't normal, is it? NO. It's dangerous. It's gonna kill someone. Ignore the illiterate hacks Matt and Turtle aka Weasel, and get a licensed electrician in there NOW to find out what's going on, before it kills you. You have neither the tools nor the training to continue. You either have a lifted neutral, or ground, and either one can kill you, or burn your house down. BTW - I'm a licensed Master Electrician, unlike the plumber and the hack mentioned above. |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
On 3 Apr 2005 15:53:41 -0700, "Matt" wrote:
75 Volts? Hmmm dunno,, but sounds out of whack to me, especially for an antenna. DOes it have a signal booster in the cicuit? No. Just straight coax from roof antenna. -- Luke |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
On Sun, 3 Apr 2005 18:36:26 -0500, "TURTLE"
wrote: "Luke" wrote in message .. . Our TV reception, from a roof antenna, was intermittently flaky. Trying to find the problem, I got a shock when I touched both the TV F-connector and coax cable antenna lead. So I put a tester on and to my surprise got a 75 volt reading. It's also 75 volts between the TV F-connector and the outlet ground plug hole or outlet screw. And, there's 75 volts between any connector on the TV and any of these grounds. I'm also getting ~40 volts off the VCR F-connector, and ~50 volts off the DVD player *housing*. Best I can determine this is the case with all house circuits. I plugged the TV into several, using extension cords, and carried the DVD player around to plug it into all circuits. I also get ~30 volts off the housing of an old stand mixer in the kitchen. This isn't normal, is it? I checked as many outlets as I could get to with a GB plug-in circuit tester, and all test correct. All outlets are at 125 volts. I opened the main panel and the one subpanel to see what I could see, and all looked right, though I really don't know what I'm looking for here. What would cause "hot" appliances, and how do I track this down? Thanks! -- Luke This is Turtle. I seen this about 10 years ago on one job and it was the VCR messing up. The VCR was putting 115 volts on the Cox's Cable line coming into the house. Take all the DVD , TV Boosters , or VCR out of the circuit and hook nothing up but the TV and you will see a difference if it is one of them. I had a 2 man crew hunting the power source over 3 hours in a attic and found it at the tv. I'm not in the TV and VCR business but the Customer of a big account had this problem. TURTLE Thanks. I already did that. I disconnected all audio/video connections. With *only* the TV plugged in, I get 75 volts off the F-connector and other outputs. ~40 volts off the VCR F-connector with *only* the VCR plugged in. And ~50 volts off the DVD player housing with only the DVD player plugged in. Also ~30 volts off the kitchen stand mixer housing, and the DVD player housing is hot on other circuits, too, so obviously disconnected from the TV and VCR. -- Luke |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
Luke,
I saw the same thing in a house 10 years ago. It had a floating ground. We were putting in a new heat pump and got lit up when we cut the Freon lines. This is really dangerous. It can kill you or damage all your electronics or BOTH. Unless you know a lot about electricity, have the test equipmentm and know how to use it - DO NOT MESS WITH IT. This not the job to learn on!! Call a licensed electrician, this is not a good place to save money by doing it yourself!! Stretch |
#11
|
|||
|
|||
wrote in message ... On Sun, 03 Apr 2005 16:50:03 -0600, Luke wrote: Our TV reception, from a roof antenna, was intermittently flaky. Trying to find the problem, I got a shock when I touched both the TV F-connector and coax cable antenna lead. So I put a tester on and to my surprise got a 75 volt reading. DVD player around to plug it into all circuits. I also get ~30 volts off the housing of an old stand mixer in the kitchen. This isn't normal, is it? NO. It's dangerous. It's gonna kill someone. Ignore the illiterate hacks Matt and Turtle aka Weasel, and get a licensed electrician in there NOW to find out what's going on, before it kills you. You have neither the tools nor the training to continue. You either have a lifted neutral, or ground, and either one can kill you, or burn your house down. BTW - I'm a licensed Master Electrician, unlike the plumber and the hack mentioned above. That is the problem, you are an electrician and not into the electronics. Many devices will have some leakage to them . A digital voltmeter will show high voltages but do not take into account the current. To see if the device is really leaking enough current to be a hazzard to the user you need to use a special meter or load the meter you have with a resistor of a known value. Some times the capacitors and surge supressors will become damaged due to old age or voltage surges. This can then become a big issue. |
#12
|
|||
|
|||
On Sun, 03 Apr 2005 23:07:14 GMT, "toller" wrote:
I am strongly tempted to say that you are having fun with us. Grounded appliance (three prong) have the chassis attached to the ground. If your ground at the breaker box was broken, and the ground wires were shorted to a hot, you could get a voltage off the chassis. This would require urgent attention. But you would not get a reading off the chassis of ungrounded appliance (two prong) because they are not attached to anything. Either explain the problem in more detail, or go away. I didn't believe it at first, either :-). Yes, only two-prong appliances show hot. Grounded appliances, like the washer, dryer, stove, as best I can test, aren't hot. I had the antenna grounded to the main house electrical ground, when I disconnected that, I still get hot two-prong appliances, testing between the appliance F-connector or housing and either the antenna lead or ground on an outlet. -- Luke |
#13
|
|||
|
|||
On Sun, 03 Apr 2005 19:21:21 -0600, Luke wrote:
On Mon, 04 Apr 2005 00:44:49 GMT, wrote: On Sun, 03 Apr 2005 16:50:03 -0600, Luke wrote: Our TV reception, from a roof antenna, was intermittently flaky. Trying to find the problem, I got a shock when I touched both the TV F-connector and coax cable antenna lead. So I put a tester on and to my surprise got a 75 volt reading. DVD player around to plug it into all circuits. I also get ~30 volts off the housing of an old stand mixer in the kitchen. This isn't normal, is it? NO. It's dangerous. It's gonna kill someone. Ignore the illiterate hacks Matt and Turtle aka Weasel, and get a licensed electrician in there NOW to find out what's going on, before it kills you. You have neither the tools nor the training to continue. You either have a lifted neutral, or ground, and either one can kill you, or burn your house down. BTW - I'm a licensed Master Electrician, unlike the plumber and the hack mentioned above. I'll ignore the personal attacks ;-). I didn't attack you, only the hacks who gave you 'advice' that could kill you. All things being equal , I would just as soon not have that happen ;-) I know I'm beyond my abilities on this, which is why I asked, and as you suggest I was going to call an electrician first thing tomorrow morning. Just curious, what's a "lifted" ground or neutral, and why do all other appliances (computer, clocks, radio, etc.) seem to work okay? 'Lifted' is a trade slang term we use to describe it whan a connection is no longer made. IE, the ground or neutral connector has come loose, or 'lifted off', where it's supposed to be. This may be at the panel board ( breaker box ) or it may be elsewhere. What else works or doesn't work could have many answers, such as 'their design', 'are they single or double insulated ?' ( IE, designed to need or not need a ground ), hwo are the constructed internally, etc. You low-signal ( AV ) gear is going to be much more sensitive because of the very high signal amplification built into the deisgn of each one. Taking a signal from source to line level ( IE ..75 V ) is a BIG gain stage. Any noise, stray voltage, etc, can be amplified along with it. The key tell-tale issue here, though, is not your AV stuff - it's that, PLACED IN COMBINATION with that kitchen mixer. That tells me that there's something pandemic to the electrical system of your house, not just a flaky TV or such. The most common source of this kind of thing ( in a properly wired house ) is the panel board or service entrance or grounding system ( ground rod ). In an incorrectly wired house, all bets are off. |
#14
|
|||
|
|||
On Mon, 04 Apr 2005 01:27:28 GMT, "Ralph Mowery"
wrote: wrote in message .. . On Sun, 03 Apr 2005 16:50:03 -0600, Luke wrote: Our TV reception, from a roof antenna, was intermittently flaky. Trying to find the problem, I got a shock when I touched both the TV F-connector and coax cable antenna lead. So I put a tester on and to my surprise got a 75 volt reading. DVD player around to plug it into all circuits. I also get ~30 volts off the housing of an old stand mixer in the kitchen. This isn't normal, is it? NO. It's dangerous. It's gonna kill someone. Ignore the illiterate hacks Matt and Turtle aka Weasel, and get a licensed electrician in there NOW to find out what's going on, before it kills you. You have neither the tools nor the training to continue. You either have a lifted neutral, or ground, and either one can kill you, or burn your house down. BTW - I'm a licensed Master Electrician, unlike the plumber and the hack mentioned above. That is the problem, you are an electrician and not into the electronics. Many devices will have some leakage to them . 'Splain me that kitchen mixer with the voltage on the case, Lucy. 'Design leakage', you say ???? 30 V to ground on a kitchen appliance ??? You figure this 'plays nice' with GFCI kitchen circuits ????? Huh ???? DO you ???? A digital voltmeter will show high voltages but do not take into account the current. So will an analog VOLT meter. You do know that they are both measuring VOLTS, and neither one GIVES A RATS ASS about amps, right ??? You understand that NO VOLT METER is capable of seeing or recognizing or reporting AMPS, right ???? BTW, 30 V and 75 V are NOT HIGH VOLTAGE. To see if the device is really leaking enough current to be a hazzard to the user you need to use a special meter or load the meter you have with a resistor of a known value. You are either ignorant or insane. That is COMPLETE BULL****. There will be no current to ground UNTIL YOU COMPLETE THE CIRCUIT WITH YOUR BODY. Then you get all twitchy, and die. Some times the capacitors and surge supressors will become damaged due to old age or voltage surges. This can then become a big issue. Then you have a short or partial short to ground ( the SS's ), or beteeen legs ( the caps failing short ), NEITHER OF WHICH PUTS VOLTAGE ON THE CASE OF THE MIXER IN THE KITCHEN !!!! |
#15
|
|||
|
|||
"Luke" wrote in message ... On Sun, 3 Apr 2005 18:36:26 -0500, "TURTLE" wrote: "Luke" wrote in message . .. Our TV reception, from a roof antenna, was intermittently flaky. Trying to find the problem, I got a shock when I touched both the TV F-connector and coax cable antenna lead. So I put a tester on and to my surprise got a 75 volt reading. It's also 75 volts between the TV F-connector and the outlet ground plug hole or outlet screw. And, there's 75 volts between any connector on the TV and any of these grounds. I'm also getting ~40 volts off the VCR F-connector, and ~50 volts off the DVD player *housing*. Best I can determine this is the case with all house circuits. I plugged the TV into several, using extension cords, and carried the DVD player around to plug it into all circuits. I also get ~30 volts off the housing of an old stand mixer in the kitchen. This isn't normal, is it? I checked as many outlets as I could get to with a GB plug-in circuit tester, and all test correct. All outlets are at 125 volts. I opened the main panel and the one subpanel to see what I could see, and all looked right, though I really don't know what I'm looking for here. What would cause "hot" appliances, and how do I track this down? Thanks! -- Luke This is Turtle. I seen this about 10 years ago on one job and it was the VCR messing up. The VCR was putting 115 volts on the Cox's Cable line coming into the house. Take all the DVD , TV Boosters , or VCR out of the circuit and hook nothing up but the TV and you will see a difference if it is one of them. I had a 2 man crew hunting the power source over 3 hours in a attic and found it at the tv. I'm not in the TV and VCR business but the Customer of a big account had this problem. TURTLE Thanks. I already did that. I disconnected all audio/video connections. With *only* the TV plugged in, I get 75 volts off the F-connector and other outputs. ~40 volts off the VCR F-connector with *only* the VCR plugged in. And ~50 volts off the DVD player housing with only the DVD player plugged in. Also ~30 volts off the kitchen stand mixer housing, and the DVD player housing is hot on other circuits, too, so obviously disconnected from the TV and VCR. -- Luke This is Turtle. Unplug everything and just read off the two ends of the house and entrance cable to if it is coming in or backing up on just the cable. It has to be coming from somewhere 1 TURTLE |
#16
|
|||
|
|||
Does the TV have 2 prong plug or a 3 prong plug?
Are you using a digital Voltmeter? Try this with a test lamp with a 25 Watt bulb. It is normal for 2 prong appliances to sometimes have a small amount of leakage. A digital voltmeter will respond and show this leakage. If this is a 3 prong applicance then something is very wrong and maybe dangerous And if it is either 2 or 3 prong and you can see any light at all of a 25 Watt light test bub then something is VERY wrong and it is VERY dangerous. Mark .. |
#18
|
|||
|
|||
wrote in message ... On Mon, 04 Apr 2005 01:27:28 GMT, "Ralph Mowery" wrote: wrote in message . .. On Sun, 03 Apr 2005 16:50:03 -0600, Luke wrote: Our TV reception, from a roof antenna, was intermittently flaky. Trying to find the problem, I got a shock when I touched both the TV F-connector and coax cable antenna lead. So I put a tester on and to my surprise got a 75 volt reading. DVD player around to plug it into all circuits. I also get ~30 volts off the housing of an old stand mixer in the kitchen. This isn't normal, is it? NO. It's dangerous. It's gonna kill someone. Ignore the illiterate hacks Matt and Turtle aka Weasel, and get a licensed electrician in there NOW to find out what's going on, before it kills you. You have neither the tools nor the training to continue. You either have a lifted neutral, or ground, and either one can kill you, or burn your house down. BTW - I'm a licensed Master Electrician, unlike the plumber and the hack mentioned above. That is the problem, you are an electrician and not into the electronics. Many devices will have some leakage to them . 'Splain me that kitchen mixer with the voltage on the case, Lucy. 'Design leakage', you say ???? 30 V to ground on a kitchen appliance ??? You figure this 'plays nice' with GFCI kitchen circuits ????? Huh ???? DO you ???? A digital voltmeter will show high voltages but do not take into account the current. So will an analog VOLT meter. You do know that they are both measuring VOLTS, and neither one GIVES A RATS ASS about amps, right ??? You understand that NO VOLT METER is capable of seeing or recognizing or reporting AMPS, right ???? BTW, 30 V and 75 V are NOT HIGH VOLTAGE. To see if the device is really leaking enough current to be a hazzard to the user you need to use a special meter or load the meter you have with a resistor of a known value. You are either ignorant or insane. That is COMPLETE BULL****. There will be no current to ground UNTIL YOU COMPLETE THE CIRCUIT WITH YOUR BODY. Then you get all twitchy, and die. Some times the capacitors and surge supressors will become damaged due to old age or voltage surges. This can then become a big issue. Then you have a short or partial short to ground ( the SS's ), or beteeen legs ( the caps failing short ), NEITHER OF WHICH PUTS VOLTAGE ON THE CASE OF THE MIXER IN THE KITCHEN !!!! This is Turtle. Spoken like a true software saleman. I think Mell used the same words. TURTLE |
#19
|
|||
|
|||
On Sun, 3 Apr 2005 20:57:37 -0500, "TURTLE"
wrote: This is Turtle. Unplug everything and just read off the two ends of the house and entrance cable to if it is coming in or backing up on just the cable. It has to be coming from somewhere 1 TURTLE Wow, that's ****ing perceptive. |
#20
|
|||
|
|||
On 3 Apr 2005 19:00:36 -0700, "Mark" wrote:
Does the TV have 2 prong plug or a 3 prong plug? Are you using a digital Voltmeter? Try this with a test lamp with a 25 Watt bulb. It is normal for 2 prong appliances to sometimes have a small amount of leakage. A digital voltmeter will respond and show this leakage. If this is a 3 prong applicance then something is very wrong and maybe dangerous And if it is either 2 or 3 prong and you can see any light at all of a 25 Watt light test bub then something is VERY wrong and it is VERY dangerous. What a great technical test and diagnosis. For an unemployed plumber, maybe. |
#21
|
|||
|
|||
BTW - I'm a licensed Master Electrician, unlike the plumber
and the hack mentioned above. That is the problem, you are an electrician and not into the electronics. Many devices will have some leakage to them . 'Splain me that kitchen mixer with the voltage on the case, Lucy. 'Design leakage', you say ???? 30 V to ground on a kitchen appliance ??? You figure this 'plays nice' with GFCI kitchen circuits ????? Huh ???? DO you ???? Ok, master electrician. The GFCI compairs the current going into the device on the hot wire and comming out of the device on the nutral. As the mixer probably does not have a ground wire the GFIC will not detect any leakage to ground as there is no ground involved. If it did have a ground wire the gfic would be tripping if there was a leakage of a big enough current. A device can have a small ammount of leakage and not be detected by the GFIC . A very high impedance voltmeter will show some voltage. A good old Simpson 260 will show a much lower voltage than a digital meter if this is the case. A digital voltmeter will show high voltages but do not take into account the current. So will an analog VOLT meter. You do know that they are both measuring VOLTS, and neither one GIVES A RATS ASS about amps, right ??? You understand that NO VOLT METER is capable of seeing or recognizing or reporting AMPS, right ???? BTW, 30 V and 75 V are NOT HIGH VOLTAGE. Hate to tell you but the analog voltmeters are actually current meters and are calibrated in voltage. If you take care to look at the Simpson 260 you will see it is a basic 50 microamp meter and resistors are put in series with it to give a voltage reading. There is also a diode to convert the AC to DC for the basic meter movement. As analog meters usually have a much lower impedance they will read a lower voltage than the the digital meters if the voltage source can not supply enough current due to the impedance of the circuit. I work in a large factory and deal with everything from low miliamp circuits to 480 3 phase circuits at 600 amps. In the last couple of months I have started some training on the 4160 volt and 13 K volt main feeders in the plant. |
#22
|
|||
|
|||
On Mon, 04 Apr 2005 02:27:50 GMT, "Ralph Mowery"
wrote: BTW - I'm a licensed Master Electrician, unlike the plumber and the hack mentioned above. That is the problem, you are an electrician and not into the electronics. Many devices will have some leakage to them . 'Splain me that kitchen mixer with the voltage on the case, Lucy. 'Design leakage', you say ???? 30 V to ground on a kitchen appliance ??? You figure this 'plays nice' with GFCI kitchen circuits ????? Huh ???? DO you ???? Ok, master electrician. The GFCI compairs the current going into the device on the hot wire and comming out of the device on the nutral. As the mixer probably does not have a ground wire the GFIC will not detect any leakage to ground as there is no ground involved. If it did have a ground wire the gfic would be tripping if there was a leakage of a big enough current. A device can have a small ammount of leakage and not be detected by the GFIC . A very high impedance voltmeter will show some voltage. A good old Simpson 260 will show a much lower voltage than a digital meter if this is the case. A digital voltmeter will show high voltages but do not take into account the current. So will an analog VOLT meter. You do know that they are both measuring VOLTS, and neither one GIVES A RATS ASS about amps, right ??? You understand that NO VOLT METER is capable of seeing or recognizing or reporting AMPS, right ???? BTW, 30 V and 75 V are NOT HIGH VOLTAGE. Hate to tell you but the analog voltmeters are actually current meters and are calibrated in voltage. If you take care to look at the Simpson 260 you will see it is a basic 50 microamp meter and resistors are put in series with it to give a voltage reading. There is also a diode to convert the AC to DC for the basic meter movement. The same circuit exists in your digital watch, but it can't read amps either. Hate to tell you, but you're confusing the INTERNAL mechanism ( a wheytstone ( sic ) bridge or similar ) with its ability to sense current flowing on the wire the probe is on. A VOLT meter does NOT, NEVER, EVER, tell you what current is flowing on the wire your probe is on. Period. End of story. As analog meters usually have a much lower impedance they will read a lower voltage than the the digital meters if the voltage source can not supply enough current due to the impedance of the circuit. I work in a large factory and deal with everything from low miliamp circuits to 480 3 phase circuits at 600 amps. In the last couple of months I have started some training on the 4160 volt and 13 K volt main feeders in the plant. That's nice. When you've been at it as long as I have, and have your Masters License in your pocket along with 4 others, come back and argue with me some more. Until then, you're the trainee maintenance guy in the electrical department. Don't argue with the engineers. Especially when you don't understand how your hand tools work. |
#23
|
|||
|
|||
"Ralph Mowery" wrote in message nk.net... BTW - I'm a licensed Master Electrician, unlike the plumber and the hack mentioned above. That is the problem, you are an electrician and not into the electronics. Many devices will have some leakage to them . 'Splain me that kitchen mixer with the voltage on the case, Lucy. 'Design leakage', you say ???? 30 V to ground on a kitchen appliance ??? You figure this 'plays nice' with GFCI kitchen circuits ????? Huh ???? DO you ???? Ok, master electrician. The GFCI compairs the current going into the device on the hot wire and comming out of the device on the nutral. As the mixer probably does not have a ground wire the GFIC will not detect any leakage to ground as there is no ground involved. If it did have a ground wire the gfic would be tripping if there was a leakage of a big enough current. A device can have a small ammount of leakage and not be detected by the GFIC . A very high impedance voltmeter will show some voltage. A good old Simpson 260 will show a much lower voltage than a digital meter if this is the case. A digital voltmeter will show high voltages but do not take into account the current. So will an analog VOLT meter. You do know that they are both measuring VOLTS, and neither one GIVES A RATS ASS about amps, right ??? You understand that NO VOLT METER is capable of seeing or recognizing or reporting AMPS, right ???? BTW, 30 V and 75 V are NOT HIGH VOLTAGE. Hate to tell you but the analog voltmeters are actually current meters and are calibrated in voltage. If you take care to look at the Simpson 260 you will see it is a basic 50 microamp meter and resistors are put in series with it to give a voltage reading. There is also a diode to convert the AC to DC for the basic meter movement. As analog meters usually have a much lower impedance they will read a lower voltage than the the digital meters if the voltage source can not supply enough current due to the impedance of the circuit. I work in a large factory and deal with everything from low miliamp circuits to 480 3 phase circuits at 600 amps. In the last couple of months I have started some training on the 4160 volt and 13 K volt main feeders in the plant. This is Turtle. You Whizzzzed over his Master Electrical licences in electronics. He never seen # 2 wire. TURTLE |
#24
|
|||
|
|||
wrote in message news On 3 Apr 2005 19:00:36 -0700, "Mark" wrote: Does the TV have 2 prong plug or a 3 prong plug? Are you using a digital Voltmeter? Try this with a test lamp with a 25 Watt bulb. It is normal for 2 prong appliances to sometimes have a small amount of leakage. A digital voltmeter will respond and show this leakage. If this is a 3 prong applicance then something is very wrong and maybe dangerous And if it is either 2 or 3 prong and you can see any light at all of a 25 Watt light test bub then something is VERY wrong and it is VERY dangerous. What a great technical test and diagnosis. For an unemployed plumber, maybe. This is Turtle. Hey Paul Where are you working at now or just tring sell software from home? TURTLE |
#25
|
|||
|
|||
wrote: On Sun, 03 Apr 2005 16:50:03 -0600, Luke wrote: Our TV reception, from a roof antenna, was intermittently flaky. Trying to find the problem, I got a shock when I touched both the TV F-connector and coax cable antenna lead. So I put a tester on and to my surprise got a 75 volt reading. DVD player around to plug it into all circuits. I also get ~30 volts off the housing of an old stand mixer in the kitchen. This isn't normal, is it? NO. It's dangerous. It's gonna kill someone. Ignore the illiterate hacks Matt and Turtle aka Weasel, and get a licensed electrician in there NOW to find out what's going on, before it kills you. You have neither the tools nor the training to continue. Well, licensed electricians don't work on TV's. TV repair men and electronic techs do. And in most locations there NOT licensed like electricians or HVAC men are. I do agree. If its truly leakage, it can be deadly. Most modern TV's are hot chassis. That means they don't have a direct from the power line power isolation transformer like in the old days. They turn the AC line into a high DC voltage and then switch it with a secondary transformer into the low DC rails required for the TV. This is the "cold" side of the TV. This cold side of the TV is where the signal processing and the antenna input are. If there is a leakage fault in the TV, it could cause a voltage on the antenna terminal. But you have to differentiate between a phantom voltage and a fault. A good TV shop will have a tool like a Sencore that can easily measure if any surface of the TV has a abnormal amount of AC leakage. Leakage can go both ways. EC&M magazine has had some doozy examples of how this can happen. Like a guy who had the foil insulation of his house at AC line level when a nail went through the siding and nicked the hot side of a piece of romax. Another issue is reverse wired AC outlets. A $10 home depot AC outlet and polarity checker will tell you if the hot and ground and neutral are intact in any household outlet. You either have a lifted neutral, or ground, and either one can kill you, or burn your house down. Since most modern TV's are two wire, if the TV works its would be pretty hard to have a lifted neutral at that outlet. Reversed hot/neutral maybe. For those that don't know, ground and neutral are suppose to be bonded together in the service panel. Even though there at the same potential, the ground is for safety only and NOT suppose to be a current carrying conductor in a non fault situation. Many cable TV drops develop a voltage problem when the ground strap to the households ground rod or water pipe is missing or is corroded or loose. Bob BTW - I'm a licensed Master Electrician, unlike the plumber and the hack mentioned above. ----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==---- http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups ----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =---- |
#26
|
|||
|
|||
It's OK Paul.
We all know you are the worlds foremost expert in the use of your hand as a .... tool. And I still forgive you. Your friend, Matt |
#27
|
|||
|
|||
On Sun, 03 Apr 2005 22:02:53 -0500, Bob Urz
wrote: wrote: On Sun, 03 Apr 2005 16:50:03 -0600, Luke wrote: Our TV reception, from a roof antenna, was intermittently flaky. Trying to find the problem, I got a shock when I touched both the TV F-connector and coax cable antenna lead. So I put a tester on and to my surprise got a 75 volt reading. DVD player around to plug it into all circuits. I also get ~30 volts off the housing of an old stand mixer in the kitchen. This isn't normal, is it? NO. It's dangerous. It's gonna kill someone. Ignore the illiterate hacks Matt and Turtle aka Weasel, and get a licensed electrician in there NOW to find out what's going on, before it kills you. You have neither the tools nor the training to continue. Well, licensed electricians don't work on TV's. TV repair men and electronic techs do. And in most locations there NOT licensed like electricians or HVAC men are. I do agree. If its truly leakage, it can be deadly. Most modern TV's are hot chassis. That means they don't have a direct from the power line power isolation transformer like in the old days. They turn the AC line into a high DC voltage and then switch it with a secondary transformer into the low DC rails required for the TV. This is the "cold" side of the TV. This cold side of the TV is where the signal processing and the antenna input are. If there is a leakage fault in the TV, it could cause a voltage on the antenna terminal. But you have to differentiate between a phantom voltage and a fault. A good TV shop will have a tool like a Sencore that can easily measure if any surface of the TV has a abnormal amount of AC leakage. Yes - but when you have 30 V to ground on the case of a kitchen mixer, you don't need to go there. You need an electrician, not a bench tech. Leakage can go both ways. EC&M magazine has had some doozy examples of how this can happen. Like a guy who had the foil insulation of his house at AC line level when a nail went through the siding and nicked the hot side of a piece of romax. Yep. Who you gonna call ? :-) Another issue is reverse wired AC outlets. A $10 home depot AC outlet and polarity checker will tell you if the hot and ground and neutral are intact in any household outlet. You either have a lifted neutral, or ground, and either one can kill you, or burn your house down. Since most modern TV's are two wire, if the TV works its would be pretty hard to have a lifted neutral at that outlet. Not really. Lifted open. High resistance connection is a strong possiblity. Reversed hot/neutral maybe. For those that don't know, ground and neutral are suppose to be bonded together in the service panel. Even though there at the same potential, the ground is for safety only and NOT suppose to be a current carrying conductor in a non fault situation. Many cable TV drops develop a voltage problem when the ground strap to the households ground rod or water pipe is missing or is corroded or loose. IE 'lifted' :-) Click every day here to feed an animal !!! http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/ Paul ( pjm @ pobox . com ) - remove spaces to email me 'Some days, it's just not worth chewing through the restraints.' HVAC/R program for Palm PDA's Free demo now available online http://pmilligan.net/palm/ Free Temperature / Pressure charts for 38 Ref's http://pmilligan.net/pmtherm/ |
#28
|
|||
|
|||
Luke wrote: Our TV reception, from a roof antenna, was intermittently flaky. Trying to find the problem, I got a shock when I touched both the TV F-connector and coax cable antenna lead. So I put a tester on and to my surprise got a 75 volt ? reading. It's also 75 volts between the TV F-connector and the outlet ground plug hole or outlet screw. And, there's 75 volts between any connector on the TV and any of these grounds. I'm also getting ~40 volts off the VCR F-connector, and ~50 volts off the DVD player *housing*. Best I can determine this is the case with all house circuits. I plugged the TV into several, using extension cords, and carried the DVD player around to plug it into all circuits. I also get ~30 volts off the housing of an old stand mixer in the kitchen. The voltage on the mixer points to a household wiring problem, and the floating neutral makes the most sense. Get it fixed. Voltage on things like TVs and VCRs is often normal (but probably not in this case) because of low-value filter capacitors connected between chassis ground and the AC lines. These capacitors are small enough, no bigger than .005uF each, to limit 60 Hz AC current leakage to safe levels, just a few milliamps. There's also a low-value capacitor in series with the F-connector's center pin, also for safety isolation, but TV power supplies usually provide no isolation and have the TV's chassis connected directly to the neutral wire (why TVs came with polarized plugs long before most other appliances did). Sometimes the chassis is even held above ground, at 60-90VDC (be sure to measure with your meter set to both AC volts and DC volts). I don't understand why your TV antenna mast and cable aren't grounded for lightning protection and to prevent shock (any dead birds or rats around the antenna?). However in this case that could have caused damage to your video equipment. |
#29
|
|||
|
|||
wrote: On Sun, 03 Apr 2005 22:02:53 -0500, Bob Urz wrote: wrote: On Sun, 03 Apr 2005 16:50:03 -0600, Luke wrote: Our TV reception, from a roof antenna, was intermittently flaky. Trying to find the problem, I got a shock when I touched both the TV F-connector and coax cable antenna lead. So I put a tester on and to my surprise got a 75 volt reading. DVD player around to plug it into all circuits. I also get ~30 volts off the housing of an old stand mixer in the kitchen. This isn't normal, is it? NO. It's dangerous. It's gonna kill someone. Ignore the illiterate hacks Matt and Turtle aka Weasel, and get a licensed electrician in there NOW to find out what's going on, before it kills you. You have neither the tools nor the training to continue. Well, licensed electricians don't work on TV's. TV repair men and electronic techs do. And in most locations there NOT licensed like electricians or HVAC men are. I do agree. If its truly leakage, it can be deadly. Most modern TV's are hot chassis. That means they don't have a direct from the power line power isolation transformer like in the old days. They turn the AC line into a high DC voltage and then switch it with a secondary transformer into the low DC rails required for the TV. This is the "cold" side of the TV. This cold side of the TV is where the signal processing and the antenna input are. If there is a leakage fault in the TV, it could cause a voltage on the antenna terminal. But you have to differentiate between a phantom voltage and a fault. A good TV shop will have a tool like a Sencore that can easily measure if any surface of the TV has a abnormal amount of AC leakage. Yes - but when you have 30 V to ground on the case of a kitchen mixer, you don't need to go there. You need an electrician, not a bench tech. Well, if its only the mixer you need an appliance tech then. A smart electrician should be able to understand the problem. One big issue on leakage is phantom voltage. And understanding what that really means. Most modern DVM's have such a high input impedance that they can read a voltage that really not there. A older analog meter like a simpson 260 would not have this problem since it has a much lower input impedance. Some people have run into this issue measuring a voltage on a un energized circuit in house wiring. They put the DVM on the dead circuit and read 30 to 60 volts or so and think they have a problem. When in reality its the capacitive coupling of wires close together generating this "phantom" voltage. Put any kind of load on the wires and it goes away. Capacitive coupling can cause this effect in other devices too. A small load and it goes away. In any case, a leakage test with proper test equipment is the best way to put an end to the issue. I have had and fixed TV's with excessive voltage on the F terminal. And the TV's DID have an internal fault. Bob Leakage can go both ways. EC&M magazine has had some doozy examples of how this can happen. Like a guy who had the foil insulation of his house at AC line level when a nail went through the siding and nicked the hot side of a piece of romax. Yep. Who you gonna call ? :-) Another issue is reverse wired AC outlets. A $10 home depot AC outlet and polarity checker will tell you if the hot and ground and neutral are intact in any household outlet. You either have a lifted neutral, or ground, and either one can kill you, or burn your house down. Since most modern TV's are two wire, if the TV works its would be pretty hard to have a lifted neutral at that outlet. Not really. Lifted open. High resistance connection is a strong possiblity. Reversed hot/neutral maybe. For those that don't know, ground and neutral are suppose to be bonded together in the service panel. Even though there at the same potential, the ground is for safety only and NOT suppose to be a current carrying conductor in a non fault situation. Many cable TV drops develop a voltage problem when the ground strap to the households ground rod or water pipe is missing or is corroded or loose. IE 'lifted' :-) Click every day here to feed an animal !!! http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/ Paul ( pjm @ pobox . com ) - remove spaces to email me 'Some days, it's just not worth chewing through the restraints.' HVAC/R program for Palm PDA's Free demo now available online http://pmilligan.net/palm/ Free Temperature / Pressure charts for 38 Ref's http://pmilligan.net/pmtherm/ ----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==---- http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups ----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =---- |
#30
|
|||
|
|||
On Sun, 03 Apr 2005 22:30:17 -0500, Bob Urz
wrote: Well, if its only the mixer you need an appliance tech then. A smart electrician should be able to understand the problem. But it's not. He said it's all over the house, all kinds of different devices, lots of different outlets. He was very specific on that. I bet if he looked further, and knew how to look further, he would have a longer list of places and devices where it shows up. BTW - he said '30 V at the mixer, 75 V elsewhere'. Unless there's a voltage doubler somewhere between the alleged leak in the mixer and the rest of the house, it's not a leak in the mixer causing this. One big issue on leakage is phantom voltage. And understanding what that really means. Most modern DVM's have such a high input impedance that they can read a voltage that really not there. What do you figure the chances are of seeing 30 - 75 V to ground on multiple appliance chassis all over the house, and there not being an actual problem ? I say 'zero'. What's your number ? away. In any case, a leakage test with proper test equipment is the best way to put an end to the issue. Yep. IE - 'call a sparky'. Click every day here to feed an animal !!! http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/ Paul ( pjm @ pobox . com ) - remove spaces to email me 'Some days, it's just not worth chewing through the restraints.' HVAC/R program for Palm PDA's Free demo now available online http://pmilligan.net/palm/ Free Temperature / Pressure charts for 38 Ref's http://pmilligan.net/pmtherm/ |
#31
|
|||
|
|||
wrote: On Sun, 03 Apr 2005 22:30:17 -0500, Bob Urz wrote: Well, if its only the mixer you need an appliance tech then. A smart electrician should be able to understand the problem. But it's not. He said it's all over the house, all kinds of different devices, lots of different outlets. He was very specific on that. I bet if he looked further, and knew how to look further, he would have a longer list of places and devices where it shows up. BTW - he said '30 V at the mixer, 75 V elsewhere'. Unless there's a voltage doubler somewhere between the alleged leak in the mixer and the rest of the house, it's not a leak in the mixer causing this. One big issue on leakage is phantom voltage. And understanding what that really means. Most modern DVM's have such a high input impedance that they can read a voltage that really not there. What do you figure the chances are of seeing 30 - 75 V to ground on multiple appliance chassis all over the house, and there not being an actual problem ? I say 'zero'. What's your number ? There are only a few possibilities here. One in the power distribution One with the appliances. Or no problem at all and misinterpretation of the data. WHen i get a chance, i will fluke some pieces i have laying around and see what the results are. If any reads high, i will put a leakage tester on them and recheck. Personally, i doubt that its in the wiring unless it has been tampered with. Bob away. In any case, a leakage test with proper test equipment is the best way to put an end to the issue. Yep. IE - 'call a sparky'. Click every day here to feed an animal !!! http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/ Paul ( pjm @ pobox . com ) - remove spaces to email me 'Some days, it's just not worth chewing through the restraints.' HVAC/R program for Palm PDA's Free demo now available online http://pmilligan.net/palm/ Free Temperature / Pressure charts for 38 Ref's http://pmilligan.net/pmtherm/ ----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==---- http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups ----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =---- |
#32
|
|||
|
|||
Luke wrote:
Our TV reception, from a roof antenna, was intermittently flaky. Trying to find the problem, I got a shock when I touched both the TV F-connector and coax cable antenna lead. So I put a tester on and to my surprise got a 75 volt reading. It's also 75 volts between the TV F-connector and the outlet ground plug hole or outlet screw. And, there's 75 volts between any connector on the TV and any of these grounds. I'm also getting ~40 volts off the VCR F-connector, and ~50 volts off the DVD player *housing*. I do suggest rechecking it with an older analog meter or add a 120V lamp across the circuit before testing. See what you get. I agree with those who pointed out a number of issues like floating neutral that might be involved. You don't want to mess with this kind of problem, you want to fix it and now. Best I can determine this is the case with all house circuits. I plugged the TV into several, using extension cords, and carried the DVD player around to plug it into all circuits. I also get ~30 volts off the housing of an old stand mixer in the kitchen. This isn't normal, is it? I checked as many outlets as I could get to with a GB plug-in circuit tester, and all test correct. All outlets are at 125 volts. I opened the main panel and the one subpanel to see what I could see, and all looked right, though I really don't know what I'm looking for here. What would cause "hot" appliances, and how do I track this down? Thanks! -- Joseph Meehan Dia's Muire duit |
#33
|
|||
|
|||
Luke :
Sorry to say that we are having a little problem with one or more local trolls. It should be easy for you to ID them and ignore them. Turtle somehow get tied up in this. He has been long known for great advice and his gentleman manor. I suggest you ignore his responses to the troll(s) but do listen to his advice. Note to Turtle. The less attention given to those who have social problems, the better. Don't let them get you down. -- Joseph Meehan Dia's Muire duit |
#34
|
|||
|
|||
Luke wrote:
Our TV reception, from a roof antenna, was intermittently flaky. Trying to find the problem, I got a shock when I touched both the TV F-connector and coax cable antenna lead. So I put a tester on and to my surprise got a 75 volt reading. It's also 75 volts between the TV F-connector and the outlet ground plug hole or outlet screw. And, there's 75 volts between any connector on the TV and any of these grounds. I'm also getting ~40 volts off the VCR F-connector, and ~50 volts off the DVD player *housing*. Best I can determine this is the case with all house circuits. I plugged the TV into several, using extension cords, and carried the DVD player around to plug it into all circuits. I also get ~30 volts off the housing of an old stand mixer in the kitchen. This isn't normal, is it? I checked as many outlets as I could get to with a GB plug-in circuit tester, and all test correct. All outlets are at 125 volts. I opened the main panel and the one subpanel to see what I could see, and all looked right, though I really don't know what I'm looking for here. What would cause "hot" appliances, and how do I track this down? Thanks! Aside from all the other suggestions, don't forget that the cable system gets its power from the cable itself. That's on the order of 75 volts send down the large center conductor of the cable. You might need a visit from the Cable Guy to check it out. |
#35
|
|||
|
|||
Sounds like induced voltage. Put a resistor, say 47k up to 470k, across
those points and measure again. You can use a night light if you don't have any resistors. If the voltage goes away, it's induced voltage, which is harmless. If it looks gone, take the meter down to a lower scale, say 10Vac, and see if it still reads zero. If the voltage doesn't go away, and especially if it stays at the previous voltages, it's dangerous. Start disconnecting things one at a time until it goes away. I suspect it will go away. Hope you'll post back with the solution; interesting problem. -- Let someone else do it I'm retired! "Luke" wrote in message ... Our TV reception, from a roof antenna, was intermittently flaky. Trying to find the problem, I got a shock when I touched both the TV F-connector and coax cable antenna lead. So I put a tester on and to my surprise got a 75 volt reading. It's also 75 volts between the TV F-connector and the outlet ground plug hole or outlet screw. And, there's 75 volts between any connector on the TV and any of these grounds. I'm also getting ~40 volts off the VCR F-connector, and ~50 volts off the DVD player *housing*. Best I can determine this is the case with all house circuits. I plugged the TV into several, using extension cords, and carried the DVD player around to plug it into all circuits. I also get ~30 volts off the housing of an old stand mixer in the kitchen. This isn't normal, is it? I checked as many outlets as I could get to with a GB plug-in circuit tester, and all test correct. All outlets are at 125 volts. I opened the main panel and the one subpanel to see what I could see, and all looked right, though I really don't know what I'm looking for here. What would cause "hot" appliances, and how do I track this down? Thanks! -- Luke |
#36
|
|||
|
|||
"Mark" wrote in message
oups.com... Does the TV have 2 prong plug or a 3 prong plug? Are you using a digital Voltmeter? Try this with a test lamp with a 25 Watt bulb. It is normal for 2 prong appliances to sometimes have a small amount of leakage. A digital voltmeter will respond and show this leakage. If this is a 3 prong applicance then something is very wrong and maybe dangerous And if it is either 2 or 3 prong and you can see any light at all of a 25 Watt light test bub then something is VERY wrong and it is VERY dangerous. Mark . Better to measure voltage cross the bulb. Incandescents won't glow until they get to around 85-90V. If it's zero with the bulb, then it's just induced voltages. He said they were 2 prong outlets and thus no earth ground is present. |
#37
|
|||
|
|||
wrote in message
news On 3 Apr 2005 19:00:36 -0700, "Mark" wrote: Does the TV have 2 prong plug or a 3 prong plug? Are you using a digital Voltmeter? Try this with a test lamp with a 25 Watt bulb. It is normal for 2 prong appliances to sometimes have a small amount of leakage. A digital voltmeter will respond and show this leakage. If this is a 3 prong applicance then something is very wrong and maybe dangerous And if it is either 2 or 3 prong and you can see any light at all of a 25 Watt light test bub then something is VERY wrong and it is VERY dangerous. What a great technical test and diagnosis. For an unemployed plumber, maybe. You must be a plumber, eh? Kinda smelly where you keep that head of yours? |
#38
|
|||
|
|||
wrote in message
... On Sun, 03 Apr 2005 16:50:03 -0600, Luke wrote: Our TV reception, from a roof antenna, was intermittently flaky. Trying to find the problem, I got a shock when I touched both the TV F-connector and coax cable antenna lead. So I put a tester on and to my surprise got a 75 volt reading. DVD player around to plug it into all circuits. I also get ~30 volts off the housing of an old stand mixer in the kitchen. This isn't normal, is it? NO. It's dangerous. It's gonna kill someone. Ignore the illiterate hacks Matt and Turtle aka Weasel, and get a licensed electrician in there NOW to find out what's going on, before it kills you. You have neither the tools nor the training to continue. You either have a lifted neutral, or ground, and either one can kill you, or burn your house down. BTW - I'm a licensed Master Electrician, unlike the plumber and the hack mentioned above. BTW, I'm an electical engineer; so what? He DOES have the tools, he used them in order to post here, and he also has the advice to work that out without bringing in a hi-priced electrician (yet) to tell him it's induced voltages or worse yet a few thousand in repairs, most of which he probably doesn't need. IFF the equipment came as two-wire, he's fine. If he's fiddled with removing ground pins for two prong outlets eg plugged 3-wires into unearthed outlets, he's not likely to call in an electrician, is he? Thimk man, thimk! Yes, I said thimk! Pop |
#39
|
|||
|
|||
"TURTLE" wrote in message
.. . "Luke" wrote in message ... On Mon, 04 Apr 2005 00:44:49 GMT, wrote: On Sun, 03 Apr 2005 16:50:03 -0600, Luke wrote: Our TV reception, from a roof antenna, was intermittently flaky. Trying to find the problem, I got a shock when I touched both the TV F-connector and coax cable antenna lead. So I put a tester on and to my surprise got a 75 volt reading. DVD player around to plug it into all circuits. I also get ~30 volts off the housing of an old stand mixer in the kitchen. This isn't normal, is it? NO. It's dangerous. It's gonna kill someone. Ignore the illiterate hacks Matt and Turtle aka Weasel, and get a licensed electrician in there NOW to find out what's going on, before it kills you. You have neither the tools nor the training to continue. You either have a lifted neutral, or ground, and either one can kill you, or burn your house down. BTW - I'm a licensed Master Electrician, unlike the plumber and the hack mentioned above. I'll ignore the personal attacks ;-). I know I'm beyond my abilities on this, which is why I asked, and as you suggest I was going to call an electrician first thing tomorrow morning. Just curious, what's a "lifted" ground or neutral, and why do all other appliances (computer, clocks, radio, etc.) seem to work okay? -- Luke This is Turtle. Paul Milligan above here telling of hacks is nothing but a air condtioner software salesman and has not a clue as to what your problem is. The only 120 volt item that he may work on is his razar to shave with in the morning when it will not run. Now he does know a bunch about software to tell about air conditioners and heating system as to what size you would need to install. I one of the so call hacks he speaks of have held Electrican licences for over 30 years and in the hvac business for over 40 years. Also i run my own hvac business and all paul runs is his head. Watch who you listen to on the newsgroups. TURTLE Good advice. But, whenever a person wishes to call in a contractor, I would never recommend against it. The only real problem here is the buffoon with his egocentric mouth-hole in gear without a running motor to drive it. Concensus usually wins out with most posters, so one of that ilk only causes a little momentary stress. It's also possible he's right but he's bypassing the simple things that might easily determine that an electrician isn't needed, and that it won't take digging into anything more than a light bulb or resistor to measure across in order to see what kind of current might be there. Besides that, he probably enjoys flames because he gets to show off the vocabulary his father taught him. Pop |
#40
|
|||
|
|||
On Mon, 4 Apr 2005 08:43:16 -0400, "Pop"
wrote: wrote in message .. . On Sun, 03 Apr 2005 16:50:03 -0600, Luke wrote: Our TV reception, from a roof antenna, was intermittently flaky. Trying to find the problem, I got a shock when I touched both the TV F-connector and coax cable antenna lead. So I put a tester on and to my surprise got a 75 volt reading. DVD player around to plug it into all circuits. I also get ~30 volts off the housing of an old stand mixer in the kitchen. This isn't normal, is it? NO. It's dangerous. It's gonna kill someone. Ignore the illiterate hacks Matt and Turtle aka Weasel, and get a licensed electrician in there NOW to find out what's going on, before it kills you. You have neither the tools nor the training to continue. You either have a lifted neutral, or ground, and either one can kill you, or burn your house down. BTW - I'm a licensed Master Electrician, unlike the plumber and the hack mentioned above. BTW, I'm an electical engineer; so what? He DOES have the tools, he used them in order to post here, and he also has the advice to work that out without bringing in a hi-priced electrician (yet) to tell him it's induced voltages or worse yet a few thousand in repairs, most of which he probably doesn't need. IFF the equipment came as two-wire, he's fine. If he's fiddled with removing ground pins for two prong outlets eg plugged 3-wires into unearthed outlets, he's not likely to call in an electrician, is he? Thimk man, thimk! Yes, I said thimk! Pop Think about this - IF there's a hi-Z connection in the service panel ground or neutral systems, or at the system grounding point, which could certainly cause this, then what the hell does it matter 'how the equipment came' ? You're right, if it's induced, it's still not 'right' but it's not going to kill anyone or start a fire. But what if it's not ? And, given his admittedly limited electrical ability and understanding ( he's done well so far, to do the tests he did, and to know to ask ), who do you figure is qualified to see what's actually going on ? Him with a light bulb guided by your long distance guesses, or an electrician ? Click every day here to feed an animal !!! http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/ Paul ( pjm @ pobox . com ) - remove spaces to email me 'Some days, it's just not worth chewing through the restraints.' HVAC/R program for Palm PDA's Free demo now available online http://pmilligan.net/palm/ Free Temperature / Pressure charts for 38 Ref's http://pmilligan.net/pmtherm/ |
Reply |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
Megahertz PCMCIA Ethernet dongle | Electronics Repair | |||
EHT cable connector broken. | Electronics Repair | |||
Amps and Ohms and Volts? | Electronics Repair | |||
Zenith Model SY3288DT 32" TV WILL NOT TURN ON | Electronics Repair | |||
Connecting Delinghi Gas Cooker to flexible (threaded) hose connector | UK diy |