It looks like a floating neutral. That means the white is not making
contact somewhere.
You may want to check all the circuit breakers to make sure one has not
gone. They don't always look like they have tripped even when they have.
It is also possible that the the neutral and ground have been
miss-wired. That is also bad. It is hard from here to determine exactly
what is going on.
If you are unsure at any time working on this, please stop and call in a
professional. Mistakes can cost your home or even your life.
--
Joseph Meehan
Dia duit
check all other outlets on this circuit, turn breaker off, put masking
tape by all dead outlets, see how many are effected.
who did the original wiring 20 years ago?
if your moderately handy and patient this can be fixed.
how many outlets are having trouble?
>> Circuit Tester lights up when hot to ground and when neutral to
>> ground. It DOES NOT light up when hot to neutral.
Those two statements are mutually exclusive.
> JK wrote:
>
>>All 5 outlets in room have live neutral and hot wires as described in
>>original post.
>
>
>>>Circuit Tester lights up when hot to ground and when neutral to
>>>ground. It DOES NOT light up when hot to neutral.
>
>
> Those two statements are mutually exclusive.
>
>
>
Huh? If hot and (should be) neutral are both hot, where's the
inconsistency?
--
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam. Our true address is of the form che...@prodigy.net.
then decide what to do next.
When I move into a house I change all outlets and switches. (both were
over 40yo and both places I found potential fire hazards)
Also when you changed the breaker did you (re)tighten all the nuetrals
I have found them loose in the pannel before?
Jeff
he may need to with all the power off inspect and replace all of the
circuit's outlets with the burnt-open neutral wire. maybe some wire
too. your description suggests the problem is somewhere between the
iron and another one or more of the connections at the five outlets or
a connection box on the way to the panel.
also maybe explore upgrading to new type of breakers
http://www.handymanwire.com/articles/AFCI.html
>JK wrote:
>> All 5 outlets in room have live neutral and hot wires as described in
>> original post.
>
>>> Circuit Tester lights up when hot to ground and when neutral to
>>> ground. It DOES NOT light up when hot to neutral.
>
> Those two statements are mutually exclusive.
That's what would happen with a good ground and a live (same
voltage/phase as hot) neutral.
--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com
"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what
to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb
contesting the vote." - Benjamin Franklin
You know I had to read that three times before it hit me in the face
that I was totally wrong.