PSA: My $200 voltage tester gave me a false reading

Last week I was troubleshooting a no-power outlet in a kitchen remodel in Austin. My Fluke T5-600 showed 120V hot to neutral, but the appliance wouldn't turn on. Turns out the neutral was open downstream and the tester was picking up induced voltage. Almost sent the homeowner a bill for a new appliance before I double checked with a wiggy. Anyone else ever get burned by a digital meter reading ghost voltage?

2 comments

2 Comments

palmer.jana2d ago

Oh man, induced voltage is a pain. Just a heads up, you said "hot to neutral" but with an open neutral downstream, you're actually reading voltage through the load path, not a direct hot-to-neutral measurement. That Fluke is reading the potential difference through the appliance's internal wiring. Next time, put a real load on it like a lamp or use that wiggy you mentioned right from the start. Those solenoid testers don't lie about ghost voltages.

casey8432d ago

I get what you're saying about ghost voltages and the wiggy being the real deal, but is this really that big of a deal? Like, you know your Fluke is showing you a potential, which is still useful info if you understand what you're seeing. I've been bit by phantom voltage before and yeah it's annoying, but throwing a lamp on there takes 2 seconds and clears it up. Seems like a lot of fuss over something that's pretty basic troubleshooting. Just my take.