Ghost Voltage
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HELP! I just can't figure this out. I installed low voltage lighting under my kitchen cabinets with 3-way switches. They always performed rather oddly. I would turn them on and they would light after a brief delay. I don't know why, maybe something with the transformer. Well, the transformer finally failed and I bought a replacement. I checked my wiring to try and find out why I was getting a delay and found something quite bizarre. I isolated the 3-wire and ran voltage on the black leg only. Well, my digital meter shows 57 volts on the red leg. Yes, the red leg is attached to nothing. I suspected the hot legs were touching each other and bleeding voltage through the insulation. I rang them out and there is no bleed from red to black or vice-versa. There is no short to ground. The ghost voltage also appears when I energize the opposite leg. Is this some kind of EMF? Is it safe to assume that the transformer remains energized at a low voltage even when turned off? It can't be anything with using 3-way switching with a transformer because I get the ghost voltage without the transformer being connected. The 3 wire runs behind the stove. Maybe the heat from the stove is melting the insulation enough to cause bleed, but the red and black legs ring out ok. Does this make sense to anyone? Please enlighten me, I am defeated.