168v L N / 244 L E.

[electrocuted]

Good morning ,

checked a socket yesterday and measured 244v between L/E and 168v between L/N.

didn't have time to check it further as I am going back tomorrow to explore further AND just wondered what to look for apart from the obvious. as it looks like a spur.

 

[sparkytim]

Sounds like a high resistance Neutral

 

[Andy™]

most likely dodgy neutral

 

[PBC_1966]

Could well be completely broken at some point. If you were measuring with a high-impedance voltmeter, then the 168V reading you obtained could easily be due to capacitive coupling.

 

[m4tty]

capacitive couplin? please excuse my ignorance

Cheers

 

[Lurch]

capacitive couplin? please excuse my ignoranceCheers

Induced EMF. One unconnected cable run alongside a cable with a current flowing will induce a pseudo voltage in the dead cable, but with no actual current to go with it it won;t do much other than display spurious voltages on high impedance volt meters.

 

[PBC_1966]

One unconnected cable run alongside a cable with a current flowing

There does not have to be any current already flowing in that conductor. You have a run of conductor (the one which is broken) running parallel to another conductor for some distance, so a capacitance will exist between the two conductors whether current is flowing or not.

When you put a meter onto the broken conductor, you are forming a series circuit with the internal resistance of the meter and the capacitance in the cable. With it being an A.C. power source, a very small current will flow, depending upon the total impedance. The input resistance of the meter remains constant, but the capacitance will depend upon the type and length of cable run, among other factors. The result is a voltage reading on the meter somewhere between zero and 240V, depending upon that exact value of capacitance.

If you clip a load (e.g. a small lamp) across your meter in such a case, you'll see the voltage drop right down.

 

[Lurch]

There does not have to be any current already flowing in that conductor.

Yes, probably meant voltage. Shouldn;t try to think after a 36 hour shift!