"Defective Ground" after getting new digital meter

1165 Views 6 Replies 4 Participants Last post by ssi6, Jan 21, 2013

ssi6

Discussion Starter · Jan 20, 2013

Hi all. New here....I was using a Fry Daddy cooker on my back porch last night and after letting it heat up for 10 minutes like always, I went to use it and it seemed like it had lost electrical power. I plug it in with an extension cord to an outdoor outlet and have for many years (maybe 6 times a year?)

Now this may not be related to my problem....maybe the Fry Daddy is just worn out. But I went and got my plug-in outlet tester and checked the outlet and got a "defective ground" result. So I started testing outlets in the house and got the same result on every one I tested. About a week ago the power company came and replaced my old meter with one of the new digital ones. Could that have anything to do with this? The home was built as a spec house by the builder and is 12 years old. Never had any problems until now.

Thanks in advance.

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ssi6

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jan 21, 2013

All outlets work fine. I just worry this is a safety issue now.

I just called the power company and they are going to have someone come out or call me. They said too the meter change shouldn't have caused this but it had to. Nothing else has changed.

Thanks all. I will update whenever they come.

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ssi6

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jan 21, 2013

False alarm I suppose. I remembered this tester I have (A. W. Sperry "Stop Shock") was probably 10 years old. Although I've taken good care of it and it still looks new, I wondered if it was bad. So I ran up to Lowe's and picked up another one. When I got home, the power company was here. He checked the new meter setup and said it was good. So I opened the new tester and tried it and sure enough, I got "Correct" readings on this one. So I guess my old one is bad.

I'm surprised it could give incorrect readings like that. It's just a plastic shell with 3 led's and a few wires.

Thanks for the help all.

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