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aroslinger1 · Oct 28, 2008, 12:48 PM

I have a 15 amp circuit and breaker that is caryying 27 amps and tripping the breaker
I have turned off and unplugged evrything in the house including all the breakers except the one I am having trouble with it give me about 30 secs to get a amp reading b-4 it trips
I have taken all the devices apart on said circuit and still 27 amps
I took off neutral wire on circuit and the reading went down to about 19 amps I fianally disconnected the grond wire off the ground bar and everything is fine except now I have a ground wire in my panel tha is energized?? Rodents??

stanfortyman · Oct 28, 2008, 01:33 PM

DO NOT leave the ground disconnected. That would NOT be wise.

Trace the circuit and see where the problem lies.

Are you an electrician?

aroslinger1 · Oct 28, 2008, 01:48 PM

Yes I am
Where can the pwer be coming from

stanfortyman · Oct 28, 2008, 05:20 PM

Is everything working correctly in the house?

Sounds like it could be an open service neutral. This would explain why the ground is hot but the breaker is not tripping.
Is the neutral bond in the main intact?
Can you put an Amprobe on the grounding electrode conductor or water bond conductor?

aroslinger1 · Oct 28, 2008, 05:31 PM

Yes everything is working in house
Open service neutral?
By neutral bond do mean where it is connected to the main lug on 200 amp breaker or the groundig bar
No water bond found
I have only been in the field a short time

aroslinger1 · Oct 28, 2008, 05:31 PM

Both are secure

stanfortyman · Oct 28, 2008, 05:34 PM

Originally Posted by aroslinger1

both are secure

??

DO you mean the GEC or water bond? I was wondering if there was any current on them.

stanfortyman · Oct 28, 2008, 05:34 PM

Originally Posted by aroslinger1

I have only been in the field a short time

Then what does your boss or supervisor say about this?

aroslinger1 · Oct 28, 2008, 05:40 PM

I have not asked him about this
It was at days end and could not contact him
No current on any other bare ground except the one I am having trouble with
This is on my buddies house
Do know why the amp draw would drop by 8 amps when I disconnect the neutral

tkrussell · Oct 28, 2008, 05:48 PM

Thanks Stan, I did not see the other post. There oughta be a law.

All this sounds like is a short circuit, phase to neutral and/or ground your meter gets to read 27 amp before the breaker trips, which is normal. The CB needs to trip to clear the short. Holding to 27 amps for 30 sec, may I guess that this is a GE breaker?

If your new, most likely all you have is installation experience, and no troubleshooting skills,which requires complete knowledge of circuitry, and where to look for problems.

If you disconnected all the devices, and opened all splices, then there can be a short in the cable, like a nail or screw, or even a bad section of cable.

Here is where good electricians earn the good money, knowing how to troubleshoot a problem.

You should be able to narrow down the short to one section of cable, as long as all connections in the circuit are opened.

If the CB does not trip, I am having a hard time following some of your description, a short can be a high resistance,draw current with the neutral open, and not trip the CB. This will blow a newbies mind.

stanfortyman · Oct 28, 2008, 05:49 PM

If it is not the main neutral then it could be the circuit neutral somewhere else down the line. It sounds like there is a cross between the neutral and ground of the circuit which is why you have current on just that one neutral.
You'll need to check every box and splice on that circuit. Maybe a neutral came loose from a splice and is touching a metal box somewhere?

aroslinger1 · Oct 28, 2008, 06:00 PM

No work as been done to this house it just happened in the middle of the afternoon while they were just sitting there watching the TV
I actually thougt I was OK at trouble shooting but this one has me stumped
The temp dropped out here that afternoon
And I think maybe a mouse or rat could have chewed on wire
Just enough

aroslinger1 · Oct 28, 2008, 06:37 PM

?? rats?? mice
Chewed wire

tkrussell · Oct 28, 2008, 06:41 PM

That will do it, now your gaining troubleshooting skills.

Don't start a new thread for the same question.

aroslinger1 · Oct 28, 2008, 06:44 PM

What do you mean start a new thread?
I just found this site yesterday and DO NOT want to screw it up or piss anybody off
Thanks for your info

stanfortyman · Oct 28, 2008, 06:48 PM

Originally Posted by aroslinger1

wht do you mean start a new thread?
I just found this site yesterday and DO NOT want to screw it up or piss anybody off
thanks for your info

Just go to the original thread and post a reply to add info or ask more questions. By this I mean do not click on "Ask about Electrical & Lighting" in the orange box above to continue your conversation.

If you have another question about something different then start a new thread for that.

KISS · Oct 28, 2008, 06:49 PM

stanfortyman · Oct 28, 2008, 06:50 PM

Cool

aroslinger1 · Oct 28, 2008, 06:56 PM

Add or ask in this window?

KISS · Oct 28, 2008, 07:04 PM

It's not entirely your fault. Welcome to the board.

Yea , it confusing. I've brought this up to the admins. "answer this question" is the wrong wording when you use it 100% of the time and it gets really ambiguous for the OP (Original poster) to answer his own question. Answer this question. is really Respond to this question. "answer would be nice if there are no replies.

Believe me, there are more bugs than this and I've reported many of them.

It's just as wierd to get the Window's error "Keyboard error - depress any key to continue". And why does Otis Elevator post signs in their elevators that say "Maximum occupancy 15 persons" instead of 15 people?