Voltage on fittings?

[Scherrman]

Alright guys I have a question for you. Usually I'm trying to help others but this one has me confused. I'm sitting here watching TV when my Joey reboots. When it comes back on it works for a bit and then loses signal on the HD channel and switches to SD. The SD version did not come in either. I go in and check the Hopper and it's the same way. I check the signal and it's at 0 on 110, 119 and 129. I check my other Hopper and it's the same.

So I go outside to look and everything looks the same. I grab a fitting on the Duo Node took see if it's loose and I feel voltage. Every fitting and the terminators have voltage. Then I go inside and into the base to touch the fittings on the tap only to find voltage there as well.

Here's the odd thing, even the splitter for my antenna has voltage and it's only running to the one Hopper for the OTA module. When I go to the Hopper and Joeys to check those fittings I feel nothing. Also, while typing this my signal completely comes back but I can still feel the voltage on those fittings. What the heck is going on?

 

[stardust3]

I've ran across this before. There is either an appliance back feeding voltage through the ground or polarities are crossed on a receptacle.

Shut breakers off 1 at a time until you isolate the circuit. Then you can start narrowing it down to the actual culprit.

 

[Scherrman]

I wonder how this has been going on. It's weird, everything is back to normal now.

 

[stardust3]

Your signal issues were probably associated with the national outage.

http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/316250-Another-weather-outage-over-Wyoming

 

[Scherrman]

That makes sense. This may just be that one thing that makes me double check why I have that voltage. Strange way of finding out. LOL

 

[thomasjk]

No outage today on EA 61.5,72.7, 77.

 

[KKlare]

That makes sense. This may just be that one thing that makes me double check why I have that voltage. Strange way of finding out. LOL

I have (unused) an old 26" console Sony CRT that connected to cable would give a small shock or spark. Sony was transformerless and I was trying to hard-wire audio equipment, which they did not allow for. I found that for 25 years the set was on one of the outlets with hot (black) and neutral (white) wires reversed. It turned out exactly 1/2 of the whole house was that way. It was obvious once you opened the wall socket and knew what the problem was. The neighbor and builder had his kids, since grown, wire it. I should have paid more attention to the first shock. I went to a 3-prong neon bulb tester and have since replace the ivory plates with white and changed every connection.
-Ken

 

[Scherrman]

My house is 102 years old and has some pretty old wiring is some spots. I can see that I may have some issues.

 

[stardust3]

Get yourself 1 of these. That would be a good start. Check every receptacle in the house. If you find issues you at least know what you're dealing with.

 

[jawxx]

We're actually instructed at my RSP to NOT to replace receivers if an outlet tests anything but correct or no ground due to the likelihood of another receiver getting toasted. Its 'sorry, sir, until you have an electrician correct this power issue I cannot install another receiver for you' we'll create out own internal TC to go back afterwards if necessary.

 

[patmurphey]

Get an electrician! You could have some serious safety issues like an open neutral.

 

[jimdandyvi]

The above gadgets are good and if you see problems you still may want to use a multimeter. When you test the voltage hot to neutral then hot to ground you want the readings to be approximately equal. If you have metallic conduits, which were used to provide the ground, then over time rust and loose mechanical conduit fittings can result in high resistance. There are other things that can result in poor grounds so testing with a multimeter can help you identify problems that need to be resolved.

There are specialized meters designed for testing how good a ground is, but they are expensive and my guess is that few residential electricians have them.

 

[navychop]

That circuit tester is good, I have a couple of them. But if getting one now, go with one that also tests GFCI outlets.

 

[SQUEEZON]

Alright guys I have a question for you. Usually I'm trying to help others but this one has me confused. I'm sitting here watching TV when my Joey reboots. When it comes back on it works for a bit and then loses signal on the HD channel and switches to SD. The SD version did not come in either. I go in and check the Hopper and it's the same way. I check the signal and it's at 0 on 110, 119 and 129. I check my other Hopper and it's the same.

So I go outside to look and everything looks the same. I grab a fitting on the Duo Node took see if it's loose and I feel voltage. Every fitting and the terminators have voltage. Then I go inside and into the base to touch the fittings on the tap only to find voltage there as well.

Here's the odd thing, even the splitter for my antenna has voltage and it's only running to the one Hopper for the OTA module. When I go to the Hopper and Joeys to check those fittings I feel nothing. Also, while typing this my signal completely comes back but I can still feel the voltage on those fittings. What the heck is going on?

Same thing happened to me on the same day in Oregon. In my case we had terrific thunderstorms down in southern Oregon, which caused some spikes all the way up to Portland
160 miles. There was an induced voltage into the ground system thus causing a small voltage. Always check you system ground which should be in the ground on a ground rod
pounded into the earth. The voltage will slowly dissipate . Do an unplug on the Hopper and wait. Then do a system check to see if all satellites are working.
?If so, your problem may be gone(providing it had to do with a voltage spike)

 

[Scherrman]

I'm not sure how long this has been going but I've never actually had any receiver problems in my house and I've lived there for 4 years now. It seems my outage was from the national outage like everyone else. Still need to fix my electrical issue though.

 

[KKlare]

My problem was not the black and white wires interchanged but that they were on the wrong sides of the socket. Some kitchen duplex sockets were wired the short way across, obvious 1/2 wrong here.

While there is a quick insert for the wires nowadays it is best to strip carefully, say 1 inch, and use a needle-nose pliers to make a 270 degree wrap around the screw-down posts clockwise so that tightening does not spread the wire away.
-Ken

 

[jarvantgroup]

Usually when I've had that happen in the past, the ground plug on the outlet has either been incorrectly wired with the hot feed, or the hot wire has chafed in the wall/receptacle and is now making contact with the metal box. Usually plugging the receiver into a three-way to two-way adapter will take care of the voltage feeding back into the receiver from the ground prong of the power cord. Or use an extension cord to plug the receiver into another outlet in the room. But you should have an electrician check that outlet to fix it permanently.