I had a bulb burn out, and when I went to replace it, the new bulb didn't work. I put a multimeter on the socket to test it and I'm getting 20V instead of 120V.
There are no other electrical problems that I know of in the house.
Any suggestions about why this could be?
Best Answer
BMitch's answer is most likely correct, but there is another possibility as well, although it's unlikely. If the breaker tripped and the line feeding the socket follows parallel to another live line, then you can get a small amount of voltage on the line. They basically act like a very badly designed transformer. Although it won't have any real power behind it. I've seen this happen a few times before and with voltages as high as 70 volts. But again it's more of an odd occurrence than anything though, but something to think about if you rule out the usual suspects.