120v at receptacle but my drill runs very slowly.

[Mtnestfarm]

My stand alone shop with a dedicated line from the power company shows 120v, but I'm only getting enough power to slowly spin my drill. The main panel had some funky readings at the breaker so it was replaced. I have disconnected every circuit from the panel except for a single receptacle. The breaker is new, the wiring is new, and the receptacle is new. I get 120v readings from both hots, using ground, and common. I checked every part of the circuit and get 120v( including plugging a pigtail into the receptacle and checking the bare wires. I have checked resistance throughout the circuit checking each section independently. Any ideas out there on what's going on?

 

[Avo Mk8]

Have you checked the voltage under load - eg with the drill switched on? Is it still 120v?

 

[Mtnestfarm]

Have you checked the voltage under load - eg with the drill switched on? Is it still 120v?

Where would I check? At the receptacle?

 

[Mtnestfarm]

I checked at the receptacle and it drops to 108?

 

[Avo Mk8]

I checked at the receptacle and it drops to 108?

Well something's up!
OK - worth checking at the panel that the same change to 108v occurs there, meaning the wiring between is OK

Could be a neutral, sorry, common fault.
It would be helpful to measure common to the other 120v hot at the panel, run the drill in the same receptacle as before, and see if that other hot goes up to around 232V, in which case you seem to have a problem with the common 0v cable or your supply.
If it doesn't change, presumably the fault lies with the 120v hot supply that you see falls to 108v

 

[Mtnestfarm]

Well something's up!
OK - worth checking at the panel that the same change to 108v occurs there, meaning the wiring between is OK

Could be a neutral, sorry, common fault.
It would be helpful to measure common to the other 120v hot at the panel, run the drill in the same receptacle as before, and see if that other hot goes up to around 232V, in which case you seem to have a problem with the common 0v cable or your supply.
If it doesn't change, presumably the fault lies with the 120v hot supply that you see falls to 108v

Thanks, I'll check that in the morning.

 

[Megawatt]

My stand alone shop with a dedicated line from the power company shows 120v, but I'm only getting enough power to slowly spin my drill. The main panel had some funky readings at the breaker so it was replaced. I have disconnected every circuit from the panel except for a single receptacle. The breaker is new, the wiring is new, and the receptacle is new. I get 120v readings from both hots, using ground, and common. I checked every part of the circuit and get 120v( including plugging a pigtail into the receptacle and checking the bare wires. I have checked resistance throughout the circuit checking each section independently. Any ideas out there on what's going on?

There is only a few things that would cause this and one of them is voltage drop which means when you measure your voltage and you have you 120 vac with no load then you plug in your drill and it runs slow. Number 1 is what size wire do you have going to your shop, number 2 is have you plugged your drill in another receptacle inside your home to see how it works. It’s very possible that your winding’s in your drill is burnt up. Measure your voltage when you plug it in and start it up and see if the voltage drops. Good luck

 

[Mtnestfarm]

Thanks, I'll check that in the morning.

Well something's up!
OK - worth checking at the panel that the same change to 108v occurs there, meaning the wiring between is OK

Could be a neutral, sorry, common fault.
It would be helpful to measure common to the other 120v hot at the panel, run the drill in the same receptacle as before, and see if that other hot goes up to around 232V, in which case you seem to have a problem with the common 0v cable or your supply.
If it doesn't change, presumably the fault lies with the 120v hot supply that you see falls to 108v

Sorry it took so long to get back to you. I checked at the plate and the supply wires and there is a voltage drop. In addition i switched the circuit breaker to the other side and got the same results(opposite sides but same drop). I'm guessing i need to call my electricity provider?

 

[Mtnestfarm]

There is only a few things that would cause this and one of them is voltage drop which means when you measure your voltage and you have you 120 vac with no load then you plug in your drill and it runs slow. Number 1 is what size wire do you have going to your shop, number 2 is have you plugged your drill in another receptacle inside your home to see how it works. It’s very possible that your winding’s in your drill is burnt up. Measure your voltage when you plug it in and start it up and see if the voltage drops. Good luck

Thanks for your response, Ido have a voltage drop. I've measured at the receptacle, plate, and supply wires, same drop. In addition I switched sides for the circuit breaker, and got same results just a mirror image. I've used a drill, and a lamp as my test unit, so the drill is eliminated. I'm guessing it's on the power companies side.

 

[Megawatt]

Thanks for your response, Ido have a voltage drop. I've measured at the receptacle, plate, and supply wires, same drop. In addition I switched sides for the circuit breaker, and got same results just a mirror image. I've used a drill, and a lamp as my test unit, so the drill is eliminated. I'm guessing it's on the power companies side.

If your whole house is doing that then yes call your power company. If it’s just 1 circuit then you have a loose neutral somewhere on that circuit. When you put a load on that circuit and it does that then somewhere you have a neutral connection breaking down.

 

[Mtnestfarm]

Well something's up!
OK - worth checking at the panel that the same change to 108v occurs there, meaning the wiring between is OK

Could be a neutral, sorry, common fault.
It would be helpful to measure common to the other 120v hot at the panel, run the drill in the same receptacle as before, and see if that other hot goes up to around 232V, in which case you seem to have a problem with the common 0v cable or your supply.
If it doesn't change, presumably the fault lies with the 120v hot supply that you see falls to 108v

Called the power company, a tree near my property line had rubbed through the common and was working on one of the hots. 1 hour later it's all good. Thanks for the help

 

[Mtnestfarm]

If your whole house is doing that then yes call your power company. If it’s just 1 circuit then you have a loose neutral somewhere on that circuit. When you put a load on that circuit and it does that then somewhere you have a neutral connection breaking down.

I called the power company, a tree branch had rubbed through the neutral and was halfway through a hot. It took them less than an hour to splice it together, and remove the offending branch. Thanks for the help.

 

[Megawatt]

I called the power company, a tree branch had rubbed through the neutral and was halfway through a hot. It took them less than an hour to splice it together, and remove the offending branch. Thanks for the help.

Congratulations my friend and don’t hesitate to come back if you have anymore issues. The people on this forum are super sharp