- May 9, 2022
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- If you're a qualified, trainee, or retired electrician - Which country is it that your work will be / is / was aimed at?
- United States of America
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- My father was an Electrician who passed on his knowledge to me while working with him.
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I have a 115vac line that tests with proper voltage and will power a low watt bulb but will not run a drill etc...
Line from main panel to barn is 10-3 copper on a 30amp breaker.
Sub panel has two 20amp breakers one for lights and one for plugs.
Wire was run 30 years ago and ran a vacuum sweeper as recently as last fall.
Went to plug in the battery charge for the lawn mower yesterday and nothing.
I connected an outlet directly to the red leg of the sub panel and it will power a hand drill.
But when I connect the same outlet directly to the black leg, it will light a test light but not power a drill.
Both circuits test at 115v.
I pulled the wires off of the main breaker and out of the sub panel and connected the red and black together in the main panel and
they tested for continuity in the barn.
To be sure the 30amp breaker in the main panel was working, I switched the red and black wires and the red still ran the drill and the black did not.
It appears that the amperage is somehow dropping below what the drill needs to operate but powers a test light.
Could the black wire be partially severed somewhere so that voltage makes it through to give a voltage reading and power low watt bulbs but the wire is too thin at the partial cut to push amperage necessary to power the drill? Or, could the wire be completely severed but still touching enough to send voltage but as soon as the drill needs amperage to operate?
There are no staples, nails, insulation cuts etc... through the wire from panel to ground on either end.
The ground has never had anything heavier that a lawn mower go across the buried section.
All the screw lug connections are tight.
There are no moles, wood chucks, etc... anywhere near the area.
There could be rock or something in the ground that took 30 years to wear through the wire, but I'm skeptical.
Line from main panel to barn is 10-3 copper on a 30amp breaker.
Sub panel has two 20amp breakers one for lights and one for plugs.
Wire was run 30 years ago and ran a vacuum sweeper as recently as last fall.
Went to plug in the battery charge for the lawn mower yesterday and nothing.
I connected an outlet directly to the red leg of the sub panel and it will power a hand drill.
But when I connect the same outlet directly to the black leg, it will light a test light but not power a drill.
Both circuits test at 115v.
I pulled the wires off of the main breaker and out of the sub panel and connected the red and black together in the main panel and
they tested for continuity in the barn.
To be sure the 30amp breaker in the main panel was working, I switched the red and black wires and the red still ran the drill and the black did not.
It appears that the amperage is somehow dropping below what the drill needs to operate but powers a test light.
Could the black wire be partially severed somewhere so that voltage makes it through to give a voltage reading and power low watt bulbs but the wire is too thin at the partial cut to push amperage necessary to power the drill? Or, could the wire be completely severed but still touching enough to send voltage but as soon as the drill needs amperage to operate?
There are no staples, nails, insulation cuts etc... through the wire from panel to ground on either end.
The ground has never had anything heavier that a lawn mower go across the buried section.
All the screw lug connections are tight.
There are no moles, wood chucks, etc... anywhere near the area.
There could be rock or something in the ground that took 30 years to wear through the wire, but I'm skeptical.
