wiggy or amprobe which should i trust?

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zappy

zappy

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Location
CA.
i was testing a fuse box socket for proper voltage.my wiggy would light at the bottom but it wouldn't make the noise it usually makes when it reads 120v.and the line didn't go down to the 120v. mark.tried my amprobe digital meter model ACD-10 TRMS it read 120v.which one should i belive?thank you for your help.i check my wiggy on something else it read 120v. and so did my amprobe so i belive there both working right.
 
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Try them on a known circuit and verify that they work properly .

Throw both of them away and buy a FLUKE 87 III .

Just kidding . :D
 
zappy said:
i was testing a fuse box socket for proper voltage.my wiggy would light at the bottom but it wouldn't make the noise it usually makes when it reads 120v.and the line didn't go down to the 120v. mark.tried my amprobe digital meter model ACD-10 TRMS it read 120v.which one should i belive?thank you for your help.i check my wiggy on something else it read 120v. and so did my amprobe so i belive there both working right.
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This is where your brain and training become your best piece of test equipment. You are probably getting 120 volts but not enough current flow to operate the solenoid of the wiggy. ( bad or loose connection )

I just check the next fuse socket to see if it work there. If it does then you know you have a problem and that's all you need to know.

As a last resort you can stick a finger in the fuse socket but I don't recommend this test it gets painfull .:grin: :grin: :grin:


Edit: To check out the fuse panel, turn power off and do continuity test from line to socket. This will let you know if you have a bad connection without removing the fuse blocks. It's just a way to double check, this lets you know for sure.
 
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Bad or loose connection sounds right to me. I ran in to that this week. A safety switch was reading 120v at the switch and at the coil on the relay, but it wouldn't pull in the relay. Didn't have a wiggy, just my Fluke ,so I jumped it out and the relay closed.
 
zappy said:
which one should i belive?
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In this case, the wiggy. Neon bulbs will glow with very little current. That's the whole purpose of the solenoid: it's a genuine load.
 
ok so there is a problem.two fuse sockets my wiggy wouldn't work correctly

ok so there is a problem.two fuse sockets my wiggy wouldn't work correctly

could a loose or bad connection at the socket cause a fuse to trip??customer has two fuses tripped one on each phase.i opened everything that was dead on those circuits could not find any shorts.put a ohm meter on the hot side and the neutral side of a dead outlet and got a tone.all the switches where off,nothing was plugged in.i was desprate so i screwed in a new 20amp fuse in one of the sockets.didn't blow.and every thing was on working fine the other socket had no fuse in it.so i was thinking when you put in the other fuse it blows both because of a bolted fault some where.also there was some shotty work in outlets and switches so i knew somebody has been doing some electrical work that didn't know what they were doing.like using the ground as a neutral:mad: well they didn't want to keep me on the clock anymore and everthing was working now so got paid and left.is there a blank fuse to put in that open socket?thank you to everyone for helping me be a better electrician!!!
 
LarryFine said:
In this case, the wiggy. Neon bulbs will glow with very little current. That's the whole purpose of the solenoid: it's a genuine load.
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Very good advise. Also, as you can tell, checking hot to neutral is worthless it trying to determine if you have a good fuse or breaker. Ive seen guys doing this and wonder what they were up to.
Always check phase to phase to find a bad fuse or breaker.
Of course, you can check phase to neutral if you are testing for 120 or 277 volts.
 
zappy said:
could a loose or bad connection at the socket cause a fuse to trip??customer has two fuses tripped one on each phase.i opened everything that was dead on those circuits could not find any shorts.put a ohm meter on the hot side and the neutral side of a dead outlet and got a tone.all the switches where off,nothing was plugged in.i was desprate so i screwed in a new 20amp fuse in one of the sockets.didn't blow.and every thing was on working fine the other socket had no fuse in it.so i was thinking when you put in the other fuse it blows both because of a bolted fault some where.also there was some shotty work in outlets and switches so i knew somebody has been doing some electrical work that didn't know what they were doing.like using the ground as a neutral:mad: well they didn't want to keep me on the clock anymore and everthing was working now so got paid and left.is there a blank fuse to put in that open socket?thank you to everyone for helping me be a better electrician!!!
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Sounds like someone connected two circuits on opposite phases together somewhere. Did you check to see if the circuit on the (now) empty fuse socket was coming back hot?
 
zappy said:
could a loose or bad connection at the socket cause a fuse to trip??
Click to expand...

I don't know about your particular situation, but loose connections get hot, and fuses blow because the element gets hot enough to melt. Seems you should have seen some indication , discoloration... connected wires with melted insulation.

zappy said:
i opened everything that was dead on those circuits could not find any shorts
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Part of what is hard about troubleshooting, is not knowing what is connected to the circuit.... If these were all receptacles, after unplugging everything, you should have been able to read them all with an ohmeter from the fuse box . Making sure everything is unplugged is easier said than done sometimes.

You have to be able to read the ohm meter and decide if the reading makes sense for what should be connected. If you divide the voltage involved by the resistance it should indicate whether the circuit has a problem or not.

A motor will have a low dc resistance. If you find a circuit that has a low ohm reading, find out what is connected.

zappy said:
.put a ohm meter on the hot side and the neutral side of a dead outlet and got a tone.all the switches where off,nothing was plugged in
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If your ohmeter is working, there is some connection between the hot and neutral... It may have been useful to note the actual ohm reading. It might have helped you determine what was connected.

zappy said:
i was desprate so i screwed in a new 20amp fuse in one of the sockets.didn't blow.and every thing was on working fine the other socket had no fuse in it.so i was thinking when you put in the other fuse it blows both because of a bolted fault some where
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zappy said:
also there was some shotty work in outlets and switches so i knew somebody has been doing some electrical work that didn't know what they were doing.like using the ground as a neutral:mad: well they didn't want to keep me on the clock anymore and everthing was working now so got paid and left. is there a blank fuse to put in that open socket?
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It seems like you are bothered because you didn't find the problem to your satisfaction. Being conscientous is not the worst trait in the world. :smile:

If it is bugging you, you should talk to your boss about it.

Edited: Holy mackeral I'm slow
 
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zappy said:
well they didn't want to keep me on the clock anymore and everthing was working now so got paid and left.is there a blank fuse to put in that open socket?
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When people wish for you to stop trouble-shooting in the middle of a job it's important to write the invoice ( bill ) up correctly. You need to state clearly that the problem has not been corrected and that the homeowner decided to terminate the service call because of cost and that they are aware of the problem. State clearly that you are billing for time spent on the job and that things were left in original condition. Also note things like grounds used as neutral and that the homeowner is aware of this and does not wish to make corrections.

It was the homeowners choice to end the service call before the problem was found and corrected so don't take responsibility for work that's not completed.
 
never thought of that?good thinking!

never thought of that?good thinking!

fisherelectric said:
Sounds like someone connected two circuits on opposite phases together somewhere. Did you check to see if the circuit on the (now) empty fuse socket was coming back hot?
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well if they want me to come back all try that.
 
good advice!thanks!

good advice!thanks!

growler said:
When people wish for you to stop trouble-shooting in the middle of a job it's important to write the invoice ( bill ) up correctly. You need to state clearly that the problem has not been corrected and that the homeowner decided to terminate the service call because of cost and that they are aware of the problem. State clearly that you are billing for time spent on the job and that things were left in original condition. Also note things like grounds used as neutral and that the homeowner is aware of this and does not wish to make corrections.

It was the homeowners choice to end the service call before the problem was found and corrected so don't take responsibility for work that's not completed.
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i wrote down all the violations i saw and that phase to phase possible reason and that i tried to find this problem.
 
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