looking for a bit of help. this is in a bedroom circuit, house about 25 years old. standard white NM wire(before colored wire and GFCI outlets). Adding a timer switch for the bath fan, I got hit by the bare ground wire. tested for voltage, 50 volts on the ground wire. separated the feed at the switch box. Voltage is correct from the panel, hot to ground, hot to neutral and neutral to ground. On the feed out, ( there are three outlets remaining on this circuit in the bedroom). I unplugged everything from the outlets. broke the ground connection at the switch and got 50 volts on the ground wire. removed the three old back stabbed plugs checked for loose connection there were several, checked wires for nicks or cuts. the wire casing looks like they were stripped with a razor knife and replaced with new outlets. Voltage dropped to 24 volts on the ground. I went to each outlet and "broke" the ground connection and tested for voltage. with the ground connection disconnected between the outlets there is still over 24 volts to ground. I thought a screw may have hit the wire in the wall. yet the voltage difference is continuous . I have checked outside to see if an additional outlet was tapped off yet I have not seen an additional outlet. The service is overhead on the opposite side of the house. I would appreciate comments, both helpful and comedic.
I'm so confused maybe I shouldn't even post, but I have to ask what is ground? EGC, grounded conductor (neutral), Earth?
What two points did you measure from to come up with the assumption that you have voltage on the ground?
if we are talking about the grounded conductor (neutral/white wire) then yes you can have voltage returning through a load from the hot on it, very normal and only surprises those who think it will always be at 0 volts in reference to the EGC.
Try this trick:
Get a long enough extension cord that will reach the testing area, from a known properly wired receptacle, likely one close to the main panel and verify it is wired correctly, use this receptacle end of this extension cord and reference each wire you are seeking to test from it using the ground in the extension cord to test for voltage on the subject circuit wires, do not use the hot of the extension cord as it maybe on the other leg and can have 240 volts to the circuit under test, if you again find that you have a voltage then as mention get a lamp pigtail socket with about a 100 watt lamp in it, and connect it across the test leads of your DVM, this will remove any capacitive coupling voltages that may be present.
If in fact you are testing between the EGC (equipment grounding conductor) and neutrals you may have taken apart then all you are doing is reading the line voltage through the resistance of the load, this is totally normal and is a very perfect example as to why you don't do wiring without turning off the breaker! which was my next question Why are you hooking up a timer while the circuit is hot????
I hope maybe you can clear up some of the above mysteries and maybe we can point you in a more clearer direction.
