I tested my outlet and only had 85 volts on the black side and 24 volts on the white side why? There are several outlets on the same circuit that don't work with the same readings.I checked power in the panel bos it reads 120 volts at the black wire and the white wire reads none .
Electrical – several outlets dont work on same circuit
electrical
Related Solutions
Something is seriously messed up! If you are not experienced with electrical work do not try to fix this yourself, call someone!
If you are knowledgeable (I guess you must have some knowledge to test like that), then most likely a neutral wire fell off of one plug and managed to land on the hot.
How the hell it did that I have no idea.
Or maybe there is some strange fault in the plug.
The outlets are usually chained together. Sometimes you can get lucky and guess the order of the chain from the layout in the room and where the wires from the breaker panel come in.
Figure out which is the first outlet and look for the fault there.
If necessary pick a random outlet and remove it from the wall and disconnect the wires and cover them with wire nuts secured with a bit of tape so they don't fall off. Then turn the power back on and check which outlets are working and which are not.
Continue in the direction of the working outlets and try to figure out which is the first in line, then test that one.
Good luck, and be safe! ALWAYS test the wire before touching it using a neon tester EVEN if the power is off. (Normally power off is fine, but with a strange situation like this don't take any chances.)
The NEC now prefers you use the pigtail method.Here's a quick image to help.
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Best Answer
You have a bad connection somewhere in the circuit. You'll have to pull apart the various junctions (outlets, switches, and fixtures) on this circuit to isolate the issue.
With the power turned off, disconnect the circuit somewhere that you suspect the issue to be located (unhook the load wires that go to the next junction). Outlets on the load side of that junction won't have any voltage when you turn the power back on. If the junction your testing had a low voltage issue, then you know that the issue isn't with any outlets that have no power with the load side disconnected. And if the junction your testing had the proper voltage, then the problem won't be with any junctions that still have power with the load side disconnected. Use this process of elimination to quickly narrow down which junctions could have a faulty connection.
You're simply trying to narrow down the problem in this chain, so here's an example:
breaker ---1---2---3---4X---5---6---7---
In the above, the numbers are your junctions on the circuit, and the X is your fault. Then:
The trick is that your junctions won't be numbered, so you just have to keep track of what works and what doesn't with each test. A sensitive non-contact voltage tester or stud finder with voltage sensitivity can help with tracing the circuit to find the most likely places for the bad connection.
As Tester101 would say, if you're at all uncertain, this is a good point for an electrician to help. One bad connection could indicate a lot of other issues from poor workmanship, and these issues are potential fire or electrocution hazards.