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Subject - voltage dropping?
ventur48 After two years of normal service, an outside 110 volt ckt. shows adequate voltage w/o a load, but plug any electrical tool/appliance into this outlet and the device runs slower than normal, dims the interior light(also plugged into the outlet), but does not trip a breaker in the panel. It has a new plug, with 10ga. 2 cond, w/ground, through the foundation and is the end of the run through 11 other outlets in the house, mostly lamps that are off. The same drill works great when plugged into any of the 11 outlets, or any other plug in the house. This dropped voltage began after a day of weed eating the back yard, on a 100ft. extension cord. I'm thinking the wire resistance of this one ckt. increased, due to added amperage needed to get 110v to the weed eater, but cannot understand how I get 110v at the plug(no load) and get a sluggish running drill, dimming lights and no tripping of a breaker.
Electricman These problems you have listed are characteristic of an open neutral, You should probably call an electrician to check this out as there is no way of troubleshooting this one on the puter.
ventur48
quote:
Originally posted by Electricman

These problems you have listed are characteristic of an open neutral, You should probably call an electrician to check this out as there is no way of troubleshooting this one on the puter.
The open nuetral was checked with an ohm meter and was found to be good(zero ohms). I checked the neutral to ground continuity and it was zero ohms. Hot to ground and hot to neutral came up 120v. This one is kicking my butt. I can't understand how I get 120v at the line, but drop to 85v when a load is on the same line. Could a breaker cause such a problem?
zapped208 ventur48,- you have either a bad cable at the foundation, or a nick in the cable during installation so now the dirts acids have ate up one of the conductors,or bad connection at the outdoor recep, which also is badly corroded, which in turn is giving you high resistance under load.
kbsparky
quote:
The same drill works great when plugged into any of the 11 outlets, or any other plug in the house.


Are your inside outlets back-stabbed? Open up that 11th outlet on the circuit, and check the connections there. You either have a loose connection on the wire that leads to the outside outlet, or a bad cable. Or a bad outlet outside. Check all these things. I'd be willing to bet one or more of them is the culprit.
lctrc789 If yo have checked all connections and are sure that no neutral line is broken, you have Voltage drop issues....
Could be Loose connections,(i.e.) back stabbed devices,poor connections (loose or bad wire nuts,nicked or frayed wires, as well as any thing that could have chewed a piece of wire enough to cause a fault (so to speak in the insulation).
I don't know where I seen it but a comapny use to make a device that plugged in to recpts. and worked very similar to a small megging device, that would be great for you to have one here.
I have actually megged homes with the same problems and find all of the above easily.
Good luck and keep us posted.
ventur48
quote:
Originally posted by lctrc789

If yo have checked all connections and are sure that no neutral line is broken, you have Voltage drop issues....
Could be Loose connections,(i.e.) back stabbed devices,poor connections (loose or bad wire nuts,nicked or frayed wires, as well as any thing that could have chewed a piece of wire enough to cause a fault (so to speak in the insulation).
I don't know where I seen it but a comapny use to make a device that plugged in to recpts. and worked very similar to a small megging device, that would be great for you to have one here.
I have actually megged homes with the same problems and find all of the above easily.
Good luck and keep us posted.

Thank you all for the responses. The chance that a wire is 'nicked' and allowing the voltage to leach to earth ground is very possible. There are signs of settling in the foudation and the problem outlets share the same 'through the poured foundation' layout. When I do discover the undisputable cause for this problem, I'll convey what I found. As for the megging device, I'll look locally to see if one is available. Thanks again to all responders in this electrical weirdness.