HOT & GROUND REVERSED QUESTION

Receptacle tester shows hot & ground reversed. No wiring changes have been made since home new 25 years ago. Plugged in iron and power went out but didn't flip breaker. All outlets in room also out. Later all worked, plugged in iron and all went out, and breaker still not flipped. Iron works fine elsewhere. Replaced breaker and outlet. Still nothing. Outlet tester shows hot & ground reversed for all outlets on circuit. Pigtail tester shows neutral and hot both hot for all outlets on circuit. There is also a light switch and ceiling fan on circuit. Suggestions appreciated. Thanks.

Reply to
JK
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Reply to
bob kater

You have an open neutral (white) somewhere in that circuit. Those plug in testers will not give correct results with an open neutral especially when stuff is still plugged into the circuit. The 'pigtail' tester also fools you because with the neutral broken you get a hot reading as the voltage makes a circuit from the hot wire through different loads -such as light bulbs- into the 'floating' neutral wires. If you unplugged everything and turned off all lights on the circuit you would probably get accurate indications on the testers. Kevin

Reply to
Kevin Ricks

You need to find all the outlets and lights on that circuit, those still working and those no longer working, then find the open neutral, loose connection on white wire at the last live device or the first dead device on the circuit.

Reply to
RBM

I assume you use those 3-neon lights receptacle tester like this:

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If it says hot ground reversed, it probably is.

By "pigtail tester", do you mean something like this:

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where do put the test leads?

It is not likely that neutral and hot are both hot. If they are, then plugging in any device would not work.

What I don't quite understand is how the power went out and then come back later. If you didn't do anything to make the power come back, then there is either a hidden breaker (not likely), or there is a bad connection somewhere.

The simplest explanation is someone miswired hot and neutral at the first outlet or upstream of it, and there is also a bad connection. So check all the junction boxes (fan, light switch, the most upstream outlet) to try to locate the reversed hot-neutral. Hopefully that is also where the bad connection is.

Reply to
peter

Forgot to add, assuming that when you did this test you unplug every other devices and turned off everything on this circuit. Otherwise, it may mean an open neutral.

It's easy to tell whether you have open neutral or hot-neutral reversed. Plug in a low power device like a night light at the same time you have the outlet tester plugged in. If the night light lights up, it's not open neutral.

Reply to
peter

No outlet should have been on the smoke detector circuit to begin with.

Reply to
Steve Barker LT

replying to peter, Louis Seieroe wrote: Peter,

I found with everything off and with night light plugged in with neutral idea

61-501, light came on. So what doest it suggest is wrong and suggestions?
Reply to
Louis Seieroe

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