voltage question

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I am working at an old apartment building going in and remod them and service calls. In most of these places i am finding strange voltages like 23 v and 75 v hot to ground and neutral. The whole place is wired in aluminum about every box i opened rec were burned up wires broken. Wires decayin fallin apart at joints in the boxes. I don't know what is causing this if anyone knows it would be greatly appreciated.
 
I am working at an old apartment building going in and remod them and service calls. In most of these places i am finding strange voltages like 23 v and 75 v hot to ground and neutral. The whole place is wired in aluminum about every box i opened rec were burned up wires broken. Wires decayin fallin apart at joints in the boxes. I don't know what is causing this if anyone knows it would be greatly appreciated.

You have a loose neutral somewhere.
 
I assume that you read 120V from L-N? If your using a high impedance meter, it may be that you have a open ground and it's just "ghost" voltage. Try using a low impedance meter/tester.

Whoops, just reread the post correctly!
 
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Ahhh Al branch circuits

Ahhh Al branch circuits

The receptacles aren't rated for Al wire. Over time the wire has expanded and contracted at a different rate then the terminal screws of the receptacles. The wire becomes loose at the rec terminal screw which results in higher resistance which results in greater terminal temperatures. The wire insulation degrades the wire becomes brittle and breaks. Arcing occurs between the broken pieces of wire or the high resistance from the loose connections causes stuff to catch fire, receptacles to melt, etc.

Use replacement receptacles with an Al/Cu (Aluminum or Copper) rating.

OR

Pigtail copper wire to the Al wire with Ideal purple wire nuts rated for Al to Cu connections and connect the copper pigtail to the receptacle.

The odd voltage readings. Are the readings at the panel before the Main breaker. If so then probably the neutral is open before the panel. If the reading is at the receptacles, where in the daisy chain is the receptacle? Is it the first rec in the run or the last? Loose connections, poorly made splices...
 
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