any electricians here?

[mostsmooth]

having a problem with a circuit
three prong outlets:
i measure hot(black)and neutral(white) and get about 100vac
i measure the hot and ground and i get 120vac
i measure neutral to ground (just out of curiousity) and get about 3vac
nothing (no two prong appliance, charger, anything), i plug into the outlets works, and the breaker isnt tripping
im no electrician, but ive never seen something like this
what could cause this problem?

[LAGmaniac]

Can you plug a desk lamp into the outlet? A light bulb will run on less than 110 volts but many other appliances will not. You probably have either a loose or bad connection in the neutral somewhere, but I'm no expert. That neutral to ground voltage is too high that's for sure.

[mostsmooth]

i can plug a lamp in if i wanted i suppose. will it tell me anything? i already know im only getting 100v from the outlet
?

[LAGmaniac]

Well it would just confirm that the problem is indeed low voltage, I was under the impression you weren't sure. If you are sure then the first thing you can check is the voltage between the hot and neutral that connenct to the outlet and see if the bad connection is there. If that doesn't work you should check the neutral bus bar at the breaker box and make sure there are no loose connections there. Also look for any blackened areas that would indicate a loose connection.

[mostsmooth]

update
i turned the breaker off then back on(it wasnt tripped), voila, now im getting 120 from all the outlets on the circuit
whats up with that?
more update, prior to turning the breaker off then on, i took the plates off all the outlets to look at the wiring. one of the outlets looks like a child wired it.
theres two cables coming into the box. one has its black hook up to the top right post of the outlet, its white to the top left, ground to ground. cable B has its white connected to the lower RIGHT post, its black is capped off (the wire inside the cap was clipped and not stripped at all, making me think it was never used), the ground is to ground.
after i did the off/on with the breaker, the voltage was correct on this outlet from hot/neutral on both the top and bottom
also, from the top right wire (black) to the ground was 120, and from the bottom right (white) was 120. doesnt make sense to me that theres both a black and a white wire on the same side of the outlet.
any insight here?
the house is new (2 years), im quite sure the builder was a jackass. if the neutral is connected to the hot, wouldnt that cause a constant problem?

[LAGmaniac]

[ QUOTE ]
update
i turned the breaker off then back on(it wasnt tripped), voila, now im getting 120 from all the outlets on the circuit
whats up with that?

[/ QUOTE ]
Yeah I should have thought of that. The breaker sometimes will partially pop and you have to reset. That doesn't explain how you were able to get 120V from hot to ground though, which is why I assumed the breaker was not the issue.
[ QUOTE ]

also, from the top right wire (black) to the ground was 120, and from the bottom right (white) was 120. doesnt make sense to me that theres both a black and a white wire on the same side of the outlet.
any insight here?
the house is new (2 years), im quite sure the builder was a jackass. if the neutral is connected to the hot, wouldnt that cause a constant problem?

[/ QUOTE ]

If the neutral was connected to the hot the breaker would immediately pop so that white wire on the bottom right cannot be the neutral. That wire probably goes to a light switch or something. Just goes to show that you can never trust the colors of the wires.

Glad to hear you fixed the problem.

[mostsmooth]

i dont know if its "fixed"
id like to know what caused the apparent partial blow (are you sure about the partial blow thing, ive never heard of such a thing)
i just thought of something, the white wire that appears misplaced is probably for the light above the stove, the outlet is behind the stove
thanks for your support!

[mostsmooth]

fark!!
i plug the stove back in a try it out. seconds after turning on the oven, it cut out.
looks like its back to 100v again
turning the oven on started this whole mess in the first place
great
wtf!?!?!

[mostsmooth]

fark!! fark!!!
now flipping the breaker off then on doesnt get me the 120 back to the outlets
fark!!

[LAGmaniac]

Sounds like a bad circuit breaker. They're cheap and easy to replace.

[mostsmooth]

[ QUOTE ]
Sounds like a bad circuit breaker. They're cheap and easy to replace.

[/ QUOTE ]
hmm, easy to replace?
update: after turning the breaker off then on again before bed last night, the power didnt return to normal 120. i went to bed. for giggles i turned the breaker off and back on in the morning, power went back to 120. i didnt try to start the oven though, but im pretty sure it would cause trouble again. i used the oven last night on a different circuit and there was no problem, so i dont think its an oven issue.

[Ray Zee]

you need to start at the main where it comes into thehouse. if you have a break before that you can get low voltage. work your way forward while the problem is present. if its just that circut its probably that breaker. switch that one out with a working one and see if the problem goes to the other circut. best to get an electrician for a house call.

[mostsmooth]

[ QUOTE ]
you need to start at the main where it comes into thehouse. if you have a break before that you can get low voltage. work your way forward while the problem is present. if its just that circut its probably that breaker. switch that one out with a working one and see if the problem goes to the other circut. best to get an electrician for a house call.

[/ QUOTE ]
would beating up the builder be -EV?

[mostsmooth]

update:
i get home and check all the wiring in the outlet boxes, everything is seemingly ok.
i go out to the garage and check the panel, and i see the coating of one of the white wires burnt about an inch from the terminal block. im thinking the wires was partially broken there? i moved the wire a little (thinking a little movement would give a better connection).
i plug the oven in and turn it on, it stays on no trouble.
the wire doesnt heat.
im gonna turn off the breaker until saturday, when i will cut that wire about 1 1/2" from the block and rewire it.
ill strip the old wire and confirm it was broken, if not i will need to locate break of course.

[LAGmaniac]

yeah that burnt coating means a loose connection. when the power arcs across the loose connection you get that carbon residue. stripping the and reattaching should solve it. good luck.