Hot wire gets 50v to ground when switched off

tompatrick

Ok. Hall light on three way. Getting 50v when switched off. Put the tester from hot to neutral, 50v. Open neutral, right? But the hot/ switch leg also says 50v when I go hot/switch leg to the pipe/box. That's not open neutral, right. Must be something with the travellers, right? It's been awhile, hello all DIY'ers.
Tom

AllanJ

Probably phantom voltage particularly if you are using a digital meter. When you connected a 15 watt or larger incandescent lamp across the meter probes at the time of measuring, what voltage do you get?

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kbsparky

Burned out bulb. Try it again with a good bulb installed.

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tompatrick

No, it's an analog tester. 50v every time. The problem wouldn't have even been noticed until my friend replaced hid incandescant bulbs with led's. The suchers blink like runway lights when the power is off! LOL. I'm gonna look at the three way switches and double check them, but I doublechecked them before when I installed them. ???
Tom

Code05

Incandescent lamps/bulbs are not HID lighting.

kbsparky

Get rid of the lighted wall switch then. Those don't work well with LED bulbs.

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ddawg16

Your seeing induced voltage....caused by the wires traveling next to other wires that are hot.

I suspect the LED lights are blinking because the voltage is enough to charge up the voltage ckt to a point to where it fires the LED...

Two solutions....

1. Chase down the wiring...seperate it from any other energized wiring....especially if it travels next to it for a long distance.

2. Install a small load on it...say an incandescent night light? Or, just replace one of the LED lights with an incandescent bulb.

On a side note....I wouldn't swap out that lighted switch just yet....I can't see why they would not work well with an LED light.

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gregzoll

Code, they most likely meant to say his, not hid.

joed

Lighted switched will do this. Both the 50 volts and the blinking lamps.

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ddawg16

How? It's just a bulb...

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gregzoll

LED's are diodes, so it does not take much to excite the circuitry.

AllanJ

The little lamp in an illuminated switch is in series with the "main" lamp being controlled by that switch. When the switch is in the on position the switch contacts cause the current to bypass the switch lamp and go through the main lamp only.

Illuminated switches are based on the current draw (amperes) for the switch lamp being much smaller than the current draw of the "main" lamp so the main lamp does not light up. When the switch is flipped on, the switch lamp is out of the picture and the current draw in the circuit is governed by the main lamp only and of a greater amperage. LEDs and some compact fluorescents may themselves consume such a small number of amperes that they come to life with the amount of current that the switch lamp draws.

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The average homeowner who lost his house in the Oklahoma tornadoes should move for good and not rebuild. Too much complexity watchdogging the contractor. Too much a chance to be defrauded.