phantom voltage on abandonded conductors

[Harley_Squires]

A friend of mine asked me to check out the wiring in an old building she had bought. There was some new and some real old wiring. Long story short some of the old in floor receptacles upstairs are still showing .5 to 4 volts. I figured its coming from wiring in the ceiling of the downstairs but basically don't know if it would be a hazard or not to leave the wires in the floor, but will probably remove them regardless.

 

[GoldDigger]

A friend of mine asked me to check out the wiring in an old building she had bought. There was some new and some real old wiring. Long story short some of the old in floor receptacles upstairs are still showing .5 to 4 volts. I figured its coming from wiring in the ceiling of the downstairs but basically don't know if it would be a hazard or not to leave the wires in the floor, but will probably remove them regardless.

Check by using a low impedance meter to see whether these are really phantom voltages or are capable of delivering significant current at those voltages.
4 volts is near the threshold for being sensed by touch with wet skin.

 

[Harley_Squires]

Thanks I removed all old wiring, was more curious of the level of hazard of voltages of that level than anything.