Loss of Neutral Video

[George P. Wells, CMI]

Loss of Neutral Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQJX0nprpqA

[Robert Meier]

Nice little explanation. I'm glad that he showed the ground or GEC conductor disconnected also in the second graphic. Otherwise for houses with city water systems there may be zero change in voltage if the neutral is lost and the GEC is still connected to the water pipe and the service neutral.

[George P. Wells, CMI]

Originally Posted by Robert Meier

Nice little explanation. I'm glad that he showed the ground or GEC conductor disconnected also in the second graphic. Otherwise for houses with city water systems there may be zero change in voltage if the neutral is lost and the GEC is still connected to the water pipe and the service neutral.

That's a good point about the connection to the water supply. I'm not much of an artist but I created the diagram to use as an aide in explaining why is is so important to maintain the integrity of the grounded conductor and why we put so much emphasis in the electrical trade on practices such as terminating multiple grounded conductors under a single screw and so on.

I recorded the video during one of the online InterNACHI classes I occasionally do. Questions frequently come up during the classes and on the message board related to terminating grounded conductors so I posted the video extract for the benefit of those who have not had an opportunity to participate in one of the online classes. The online classes, by the way, are free to everyone.

As home inspectors we cannot see everything that could cause loss of the neutral. A common practice that often leads to fires is to connect two or more grounded conductors in a junction box then carry a single grounded conductor back to a panel. If there is a lack of proper maintenance on the panel and the single grounded conductor becomes loose, 240V can be impressed across 120V loads. Tragically, loss of neutral is a leading cause of electrical fires.