Home electrical help please.

ben2go · Aug 5, 2015

Carhartt Cowboy said:
Get the incoming power right. You do not have a problem with the back feeding water heater. It was back feeding, feeding through the element, because one of your phases was dead. Once the incoming power is right all should be well.

Ok thanks for that bit of info.

Also,I want to thank everyone here for lending a hand.Lessons learned,go back to the beginning and work my way down.

techman · Aug 5, 2015

Sounds like an open on the black incoming power. Likely it goes into the meterbase which would have a lock tab from the utility, so not easy to check. You will most likely need co contact them.

paul

k0ua · Aug 5, 2015

CobyRupert said:
:thumbsup: The utilities transformer may have a few windings shorted and is only giving you 98V on the one leg. It's also worth double checking the neutral and ground connections, and bonding of the two, in your main disconnect.

Don't mean to go on a tangent unrelated to OP's issues, but....When there's no current flowing (i.e. all loads unplugged or off) there is no voltage drop across any resistance (be it a load or bad connection). Try this (actually don't): Lift the white wire on a lighting circuit, turn the light switch on, light will not shine but you can measure 120V from the white wire to ground, because their is no current flowing and no voltage drop across the lamp or anywhere in the circuit. If you now touch the white wire (which some electricians will do/have done because they think White=0 volts /grounded conductor) they will be touching a live conductor. The 120 volts is now split across the resistance of the light bulb and the resistance of their body which completes/ forms 2 loads in series to ground. This is why all multiwire branch circuits that share a common neutral have to be feed from a multipole breaker or breakers with their handles tied together, so that you turn off all breakers associated with that common neutral.

And even though it will be current limited somewhat by the resistance of the incandescent bulbs, it could easily be enough to kill you. At the least it would rattle your teeth. Depending on the resistance of the bulb the current will probably be less than 1 amp. But 50ma. Is enough to bring on the big sleep if it goes thru your chest cavity.

Fawken · Aug 5, 2015

I thought this panel was at your house. Is it a mobile home? Why is there Romex coming through the conduit with the service entrance cable?

LD1 · Aug 5, 2015

Subscribed.

I agree, call the power company and have them make sure you are good to the meter, and out of the meter. With no power on the black leg, you are feeding your whole house with only 120v, and the fact that the only way to power the other phase is back feeding through one of the double pole breakers can indeed explain the low voltage on that phase.

Keep us updated:thumbsup:

CobyRupert · Aug 5, 2015

Fawken said:
I thought this panel was at your house. Is it a mobile home? Why is there Romex coming through the conduit with the service entrance cable?

-Best not ask too many questions, like if this isn't the main service disconnect (and there's a service disconnect upstream) :
- Why are the white neutral wires mixed on the same bus bar as the bare equipment ground conductors?
- Where's the equipment ground conductor coming from the main service disconnect? It seems there's just a bare neutral conductor coming in that terminates on the neutral bus. Is the ground bus in the back right of the panel bonded with the neutral bus in THIS panel ( -downstream of another ground/neutral bond in the main disconnect panel) ? If so, any neutral current in service neutral wire will raise a voltage on every metal enclosure connected to the panel's "ground".

LD1 · Aug 5, 2015

CobyRupert said:
-Best not ask too many questions, like if this isn't the main service disconnect (and there's a service disconnect upstream) :

Perhaps this is an old service and grandfathered in, therefore it wont meet "current" code.

kenmac · Aug 5, 2015

To me.. the neutrals appear to be connected on the bottom buss while the bare grounds are on the right hind side buss.. Am I missing something ? Like has been said.. If possible , keep going back until you find where u lost voltage on the black

ben2go · Aug 6, 2015

Thank you everyone for the help and advice.

Power company came out.The service guy and I went through my meter box and and main breaker at the meter.We had bad storms earlier in the day.He said it appears, to him, that lightening may have run in and burn out one side of the 200A main breaker.It took me two days, and many trips into the city, to get the proper GE breakers and lugs to connect everything back up.Everything I was dealing with was really old and was phased out in my area around 40 years ago.I want to show my appreciation to McReys In Boiling Springs,SC for the deal they gave me on the GE 200A breaker,CED Electrics in Spartanburg,SC for hooking me up with CB Electrics that specializes in old home and commercial equipment.CB Electrics gave me a smoking deal on the connecting lugs and hardware.If you need something old,contact CB Electrics.He will ship.Good guy,really easy going.