Warning: I found a weird voltage reading in a 1970s house panel

I was doing a service upgrade in an old bungalow here in Portland, and my Fluke meter showed 140 volts on one leg and 90 on the other at the main lugs. The homeowner said the lights had been flickering for a year. I traced it back to a completely corroded neutral connection at the weatherhead, which was hidden under old tape. Had to replace the whole service drop. Has anyone else seen a voltage split that bad from a single bad connection?

3 comments

3 Comments

casey1613d ago

Whoa, hold up. A 140/90 split is huge, but are we sure the meter was right? Those old Flukes can act funny sometimes, especially on dirty power. I'd double check with a different meter before going straight to replacing the whole drop. Could just be a loose lug in the panel itself.

felixfisher13d ago

That's a solid point about checking the meter first. It reminds me how often people jump to the worst case before ruling out the simple stuff. A second look with a different tool saves a lot of headache.

margaret_kelly5512d ago

Casey's right about the meter check. Those old Flukes drift bad. Grab a known good meter and test at the main lugs, not just a random outlet. A loose neutral at the panel or even the meter base can cause that exact split. Seen it a dozen times. Swapping a meter base is way cheaper than a whole new service drop.