High Voltage at Breaker Box

[vhfuguet]

my tester reads 146v both hot wires with the neutral measured at the breaker box, but oustside in the meter is 118v, why?

 

[Lucien Nunes]

What is the voltage reading between the two hots?

Is there any load drawing current from the panel or just your tester?

 

[vhfuguet]

298 V.
All the breakers are on, I did not turn off the main breaker

 

[Lucien Nunes]

298V is not far from twice 148V so the readings are consistent and not suggestive of faulty wiring. Did you measure the 118V with the same meter? I suspect it may be giving misleading readings. What led you to check the voltage?

 

[Petej999]

my tester reads 146v both hot wires with the neutral measured at the breaker box, but oustside in the meter is 118v, why?

What are you measuring this Voltage with??

 

[vhfuguet]

With a Gardner Bender digital multimeter GDT-311

 

[vhfuguet]

I didn’t measure the voltage outside at the meter, the FPL technician did on two separate occasions

 

[Lucien Nunes]

Strong suspicion that your multimeter is malfunctioning. Suggest testing with something else. Do you have symptoms of incorrect voltage: equipment failing, overheating, lights flickering or blowing, thermal cutouts tripping?

 

[Petej999]

298 V.
All the breakers are on, I did not turn off the main breaker

What are the thresholds of HV over LV in the Land of the free

 

[vhfuguet]

Strong suspicion that your multimeter is malfunctioning. Suggest testing with something else. Do you have symptoms of incorrect voltage: equipment failing, overheating, lights flickering or blowing, thermal cutouts tripping?

My modem keeps rebooting and I suspect is due to high voltage

 

[Lucien Nunes]

Check the voltage rating on its power brick or wall wart. Most are designed for worldwide use and will operate correctly anywhere between 90 and 254 volts. Even if it only carries UL listing for operation at 120V. My hunch is this is not the problem, unless the voltage is fluctuating wildly.

At 150V anything with a wirewound transformer or induction motor would be humming more loudly and running very hot. Heating elements will be giving nearly 40% more heat as it is the square of the voltage that matters. It's not impossible but with the PoCo guys saying it's 118V I am not convinced by your multimeter reading.

 

[pc1966]

Suggestion #1 try you meter at someone else's home

Suggestion #2 get another meter of known provenance and compare them to see if they agree to around 1% or your one is simply giving crazy results.