House is ~50 years old. Copper Wiring. On one 20a circuit there are a
number of duplex boxes. On three adjacent to each other the voltage
reads 120 -- ~40 -- 120. The previous owner switched one box to a
single receptacle and switch. And wired to the switch a lamp
(incandescent) in a new skylight. The operation of which has always
been problematic.

I tracked down the low voltage recaptacle when I move the refrigerator
plug to that outlet.

Any thoughts on this?
Thanks.

You're probably reading the voltage thru the filament of the light
bulb. Something has been wired wrong. Rip it apart and check for
normal wiring. If you cant do it, call an electrician. The black wire
from the source should go to the gold screws on outlet, white wires to
silver screw. The switch should be connected internally to the switch
(if this is a switch outlet combo). The wire to the light should go
to the screw closest to the switch, the white to the light should also
be connected to a silver screw on outlet (or wire nutted together).
If the light is problematic, either the switch is bad, or the fixture
is bad. Replace both and get the job done. Otherwise, do one at a
time. This is pretty basic wiring, if you dont feel competent to fix
it, get a pro.

On 10 Jan 2007 08:28:24 -0800, "Don't Wait Up"
wrote:

House is ~50 years old. Copper Wiring. On one 20a circuit there are a
number of duplex boxes. On three adjacent to each other the voltage
reads 120 -- ~40 -- 120. The previous owner switched one box to a
single receptacle and switch. And wired to the switch a lamp
(incandescent) in a new skylight. The operation of which has always
been problematic.

I tracked down the low voltage recaptacle when I move the refrigerator
plug to that outlet.

Any thoughts on this?
Thanks.

Don't Wait Up wrote:
House is ~50 years old. Copper Wiring. On one 20a circuit there are a
number of duplex boxes. On three adjacent to each other the voltage
reads 120 -- ~40 -- 120. The previous owner switched one box to a
single receptacle and switch. And wired to the switch a lamp
(incandescent) in a new skylight. The operation of which has always
been problematic.

I tracked down the low voltage recaptacle when I move the refrigerator
plug to that outlet.

Any thoughts on this?
Thanks.

Does that 40V outlet work at all? Are you measuring it under load? Are
you using a digital meter? I suspect that outlet may not be getting any
current, but still will show voltage on a sensitive digital meter. A quick
check using an old analog meter would tell you what is happening?

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia 's Muire duit

On 10 Jan 2007 08:28:24 -0800, "Don't Wait Up"
wrote:

House is ~50 years old. Copper Wiring. On one 20a circuit there are a
number of duplex boxes. On three adjacent to each other the voltage
reads 120 -- ~40 -- 120. The previous owner switched one box to a
single receptacle and switch. And wired to the switch a lamp
(incandescent) in a new skylight. The operation of which has always
been problematic.

I tracked down the low voltage recaptacle when I move the refrigerator
plug to that outlet.

Any thoughts on this?
Thanks.


IMHO, not your electrician, you have a wiring problem, that should be
looked at. Low voltage conditions can be detrimental to your
equipment.

Now if I was there, my first step would be to toss in a circuit
checker. The proceed on based on the results.

Good luck,

tom @ www.MedJobSite.com