i did some small add on wiring in my home and decided to check with the plug
in (3 light) tester to make sure it was done right...to my surprise it told
me i had an open neutral..so i disconnected the circuit and started cking
other outlets through out the home and every outlet came up open neutral??
the house is only 12 years old...can this be possible?? how would i begin to
solve this problem?? thanks for all replies!!

nothing (plugged in) should work if the neutral is open. perhaps your
tester is bad.


"Bill Topp" wrote in message
...
i did some small add on wiring in my home and decided to check with the
plug in (3 light) tester to make sure it was done right...to my surprise it
told me i had an open neutral..so i disconnected the circuit and started
cking other outlets through out the home and every outlet came up open
neutral?? the house is only 12 years old...can this be possible?? how would
i begin to solve this problem?? thanks for all replies!!

Has the tester EVER shown a good ckt? Sounds like the
tester has a problem, especially if you really mean
open 'neutral'. Try it on a neighbor's plug.

"Bill Topp" wrote in message
...
i did some small add on wiring in my home and decided
to check with the plug in (3 light) tester to make
sure it was done right...to my surprise it told me i
had an open neutral..so i disconnected the circuit and
started cking other outlets through out the home and
every outlet came up open neutral?? the house is only
12 years old...can this be possible?? how would i
begin to solve this problem?? thanks for all
replies!!

**********prior posted moved to bottom********************
"Bill Topp" wrote in message
...
i did some small add on wiring in my home and decided to check with the
plug in (3 light) tester to make sure it was done right...to my surprise
it
told me i had an open neutral..so i disconnected the circuit and started
cking other outlets through out the home and every outlet came up open
neutral?? the house is only 12 years old...can this be possible?? how
would
i begin to solve this problem?? thanks for all replies!!

"haklesup" wrote in message
...
nothing (plugged in) should work if the neutral is open. perhaps your
tester is bad.


Nothing except the tester.

They will show an open neutral on a grounded circuit. Now whether they work
or report on an ungrounded circuit I can't say.

Does anyone know how these things are wired to do this? Strange I was
thinking about this just this morning.


Colbyt

Appreciate what the test does. It can detect a defect but
cannot confirm a good circuit. It can report a problem but
does not provide sufficient information to say why a problem
exists. Confirming those tester readings with a digital
voltmeter can also provide numbers that will better target
reasons for the problem. Voltmeter taking measurements Hot
(black wire) to Neutral (white wire), Hot to ground (bare
copper), and ground to neutral. Readings taken both with no
load on the receptacle AND during a major load (ie. steam
iron) on that 'under test' receptacle.

With those numbers, others can better identify suspects.

An open neutral should have resulted in no appliance
operation which is why the tester report is seriously suspect.

Bill Topp wrote:
i did some small add on wiring in my home and decided to check with the plug
in (3 light) tester to make sure it was done right...to my surprise it told
me i had an open neutral..so i disconnected the circuit and started cking
other outlets through out the home and every outlet came up open neutral??
the house is only 12 years old...can this be possible?? how would i begin to
solve this problem?? thanks for all replies!!

thanks for all the help it ended up being a bad tester!!!!!!!!!
"w_tom" wrote in message
...
Appreciate what the test does. It can detect a defect but
cannot confirm a good circuit. It can report a problem but
does not provide sufficient information to say why a problem
exists. Confirming those tester readings with a digital
voltmeter can also provide numbers that will better target
reasons for the problem. Voltmeter taking measurements Hot
(black wire) to Neutral (white wire), Hot to ground (bare
copper), and ground to neutral. Readings taken both with no
load on the receptacle AND during a major load (ie. steam
iron) on that 'under test' receptacle.

With those numbers, others can better identify suspects.

An open neutral should have resulted in no appliance
operation which is why the tester report is seriously suspect.

Bill Topp wrote:
i did some small add on wiring in my home and decided to check with the
plug
in (3 light) tester to make sure it was done right...to my surprise it
told
me i had an open neutral..so i disconnected the circuit and started cking
other outlets through out the home and every outlet came up open
neutral??
the house is only 12 years old...can this be possible?? how would i begin
to
solve this problem?? thanks for all replies!!