Q. I am very paranoid about electricity.
but alias I have a problem. I think I have a bad circuit breaker. 3 outlets have no power.
the breaker threw about 5 times last week. now, all the receptacles are dead.
the breaker is not physically hot to the touch.
So I plan on killing the power but I've heard of stuff like a live neutral ?
What does this mean ? How would I test for it ?
I have a CAT III 6-600v ac/dc tester. it can also check continuity.
it also has a polarity function.
My plan is to kill the power and box(I have an outside pole/box) and inside panel,
then double check it that i have no power.
My question is detecting a "hot" neutral ? How can I be sure ?
A. Check for voltage between the ground wire( green or bare conductor) and the neutral or white wire. Usually if there is a load down line i.e. some device that is connected to the circuit that is in the on mode power will still be passing through the circuit. I also suggest checking the affected outlets for any bad connection, corrosion or damage and replace as necessary. You may also want to make sure that there are not any devices plugged in that is tripping the breaker. Breakers do go bad. After you kill the power go into the breaker box and swap wires from the suspected breaker and one of the same current rating that is known to be good and see if the problem reoccurs with the different breaker. If it does reoccur check the outlets. If it does not reoccur suspect the breaker.Look at my website for complete answers to your open circuit question. http://www.mobilehomemanufacturedhomes.com/How-To-Find-Open-Circuit.html
Update... It was both an open circuit at an outlet connection and intermittent circuit breaker. Double whammy, frustrating to troubleshoot.
