What should neutral to ground read

Four practical approaches can be used to minimize voltage drop problems: Increasing the number or size of conductors. Reducing the load current on the circuit.

Decreasing conductor length, and. Decreasing conductor temperature. Can I use my ground as a neutral? Yes, the ground wire will function as a neutral wire and the ground wire and neutral wire are bonded together at the panelboard.

So since the ground and neutral wires are essentially the same and bonded together, why would you not use the ground wire as a neutral? Because it causes the potential for electrical shock. What is a floating neutral? The neutral should never be connected to a ground except at the point at the service where the neutral is initially grounded At Distribution Transformer.

Can we short neutral and earth? The short circuit between phase line to body of electrical appliance could be due to fault within fan motor winding. What happens if neutral and ground are reversed? This happens when the hot and neutral wires get flipped around at an outlet, or upstream from an outlet. Reversed polarity creates a potential shock hazard, but it's usually an easy repair. The other wire doesn't get connected to the earth, and it's called the ungrounded conductor, or hot wire.

For more information on neutral-to-earth voltage, contact your county Cooperative Extension Office. Videotapes related to N-E voltage are also available by writing to:. Neutral-To-Earth Voltage Safety tips and much more Traditionally, the hot wire is black and the neutral white. Normally, electricity flows through the black wire, through the device to be powered and returns to the source through the neutral white wire. Who is Affected? What are the Symptoms?

Dairy cows exposed to neutral-to-earth voltage can exhibit three general types of symptoms: Behavior changes Hesitate or refuse to approach certain waterers, feeders, or metallic equipment. Hesitate to enter parlor or jump across transition joints.

Tread, kick, or appear nervous while milking. Reluctant to consume water or feed. Milking problems Poor milk letdown and incomplete or uneven milkout leaving abnormal amounts of residual milk in one or more quarters.

Increased milking time. Poor production Increased mastitis. Lowered milk production. Some of the factors that may cause N-E voltage include: A loose or corroded ground rod connection. Badly rusted electrical boxes or conduit a tube or duct for enclosing electric wires or cable.

Wires, electrical boxes, or motors in wet or damp areas. Accumulation of dust on or around electrical equipment. Bent or broken conduit. Scraped insulation, exposing wires. Insulated wires wrapped around metal pipes. Electrical boxes missing covers, or covers that are loose. Loose, hanging wires. If the breaker is tripping, there's likely a short to ground. Disconnecting the grounding conductor means there's no path for current to flow, so the breaker no longer trips. Short to ground was my initial thought, so I have started going through each junction box and light fixture looking for any place a hot is contacting a ground.

No luck yet, but thanks for the help. You should probably disconnect everything and start over. You may not have gotten the wire nuts connected well enough.

Show 1 more comment. Active Oldest Votes. Improve this answer. Lee Lee 21 1 1 bronze badge. Add a comment. The breaker tripping upon initial power up shows that you had the power and ground wires touching somewhere in your newly installed wiring. The problem is not in the electrical panel if the switch was existing. The problem is between the switch and the last can light. Now, with the ground disconnected if the lights work but you get weird readings No, you have energized the metal housing of the can with the black wire.

Now, touching them could kill you. The housing is still energized and ready to kill someone. Neutral to hot reads volts, as it should. Hire an electrician! Kevin Simpson Kevin Simpson 39 3 3 bronze badges. Rory Rory 11 1 1 bronze badge. Machavity Dontgethurt Dontgethurt 1 1 1 bronze badge. Ramesh Ramesh 1. The short could be anywhere in the circuit.

When the grounding conductor is connected, the electricity has a path to flow along which causes the breaker to trip. Sign up or log in Sign up using Google.