loose neutral?

[bohl1076]

i just got a call from a friend who said some of his outlets arent working. he used a multimeter (probably a cheap one, he's not an electrician) and got 5volts reading. he said he opened his panel and noticed about the first 5 neutrals starting to turn black/burnt looking. i can't get there till tomorrow so i was wondering if these neutrals are probably loose?could it be anything else?

 

[rwade0700]

Tighten the neutrals and I'll bet that you have 120 volts at the outlets. It seems that someone must have been distracted when trimming out the panel and forgot to tighten the neutrals. It would be advisable to check all connections including the mains for tightness. Discoloring of the conductor is a sure telltale sign that there is a poor connection and a heat buildup.

 

[hurk27]

When you get there, check for multi-wire circuits sharing the same phase, very common find when you see burnt neutrals, and also very common mistake when someone adds tandem breakers in a panel.

 

[ptonsparky]

We worked at supply house last week that had 41 amps on neutral. One circuit had 35 amps on a 30 amp CB. Never tripped. All #12. As above, more than one circuit from same phase sharing neutral.

 

[electricmanscott]

Tell him to keep digging around in the panel. :roll:

 

[bohl1076]

yeah now that i think about it all the breakers were tandem, i bet thats what the problem is i didnt have a chance to read your guys' response before going there today. i had to buy a new terminal bus cause the plastic insulators on the exsiting one holding it away from the can was melted! it looked pretty bad. thanks for the input.

 

[USMC1302]

If ALL the breakers are tandems, I'd be concerned. Is the panel rated for tandems in all locations? Is the panel itself overloaded??

 

[kwired]

When you get there, check for multi-wire circuits sharing the same phase, very common find when you see burnt neutrals, and also very common mistake when someone adds tandem breakers in a panel.

If the termination on the neutral bus is tight it likely would not be heated up in just that location only - better check other termination points if that happens to be the situation.