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Shorted piece of stranded wire

mogley98mogley98 Member Posts: 18,291 ✭✭✭✭
edited May 2017 in General Discussion
Just about frustrated me!

I was changing light bulbs in several (4) bulb 2 * 4 fixtures, these are older fixtures with a pair of two bulb ballast per fixture. each one has separate power from a 2 gang switch.
One set of the 2 didn't come on.

The owner already had a bunch of 2 bulb T12 Ballast and didn't want to retro to LED or T8 so I replaced the T12 ballast with existing stock.

The bulbs still didn't come on? Hmmm, I get the meter and read 110 volts to the ballast from the hot and Neutral.


Reinstalled and nope still no light from these two. I figured maybe the tombstones were messed up and the wires might not be making good contact so I replaced the tombstones. Still no light. DAMN!

OK now I am getting pizzed off, been up and down the ladder too many times, I go get a 4 bulb T8 Ballast and 4 T8 bulbs, replaced everything and wired to one of the hot legs of the switch and capped the other one off and now no lights at all!

AARGGGH.

I check with the meter and I have 110 volts from hot to the neutral. ??!! What the heck.

After a cup of coffee I decided to look again, and as I am tracing and checking the wire nuts again I notice the neutral has partially shorted against the fixture at some time in the past and about 2 or 3 tiny strands of the wire are all that is still connected.

Apparently with a digital meter I could still read 110 volts but no current would flow in the circuit. For some reason it didn't just burn out the last few strands either.
Cut and patched the wire all good, and said I was done for the day.
Why don't we go to school and work on the weekends and take the week off!
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Comments

  • MercuryMercury Member Posts: 7,842 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    And now you know the benefit of a "load tester" when trouble shooting. [:D]

    As you've learned the hard way, voltage being read with a DMM is NOT a sufficient load to trouble-shoot!

    Welcome to the world of electronics. [:)]

    Merc
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  • 1911a1-fan1911a1-fan Member Posts: 51,193 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    sometimes you just got to stand back and give yourself a different perspective
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  • JunkballerJunkballer Member Posts: 9,310 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Give the coffee credit for re-energizing your brain [}:)].....what brand coffee did you drink ? I need some at times [:D]

    "Never do wrong to make a friend----or to keep one".....Robert E. Lee

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  • 1BigGuy1BigGuy Member Posts: 4,033 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I'm oft times surprised at how walking away for a bit tends to give one time to solve a problem.
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  • montanajoemontanajoe Forums Admins, Member, Moderator Posts: 60,253 ******
    edited November -1
    you found it,you fixed it. Mission accomplished. Good job.
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  • gunnut505gunnut505 Member Posts: 10,290 ✭
    edited November -1
    Down here, we call that the Sunshine Treatment; ya walk outside into the sunshine, and when ya go back in; it's fixed itself!
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  • remingtonoaksremingtonoaks Member Posts: 26,245 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Yep, voltage was passing through, but there was not enough amperage to run your lights going through it

    As stated above, you need to test the load too.

    I find it a lot easier to be an arm chair electrician, that an actual One[:D]
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