# Odd issue



## Irishslave (Jun 20, 2010)

Tinstaafl said:


> Just yankin' yer chain for a gratuitous comment regarding a tool you're not familiar with. I have an electrical/electronics background from a couple of previous lives; wasn't always a nailbanger.


I kinda know what it is and what it does. Will it pinpoint any undetected path to ground? It might tell you it's there but it's still up to you and your physical examination to find it


----------



## griz (Nov 26, 2009)

Tinstaafl said:


> Just yankin' yer chain for a gratuitous comment regarding a tool you're not familiar with. I have an electrical/electronics background from a couple of previous lives; wasn't always a nailbanger.


rumor has it you watched some old dude do something with a kite during a lightning storm....:clap::whistling

and your part time job watering pony express horses was cut short by some up start sending clicking noises over wires...:thumbup::laughing:


----------



## tjbnwi (Feb 24, 2009)

Irishslave said:


> What do those measure? Resistance?



Insulation/lead integrity, applies 1000+ volts to the line, other meter lead is connected to ground or other conductor. Any issue with the insulation or a damaged conductor shows up.

Tom


----------



## WarnerConstInc. (Jan 30, 2008)

tjbnwi said:


> Insulation/lead integrity, applies 1000+ volts to the line, other meter lead is connected to ground or other conductor. Any issue with the insulation or a damaged conductor shows up.
> 
> Tom


Yeah, I want one. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk


----------



## rrk (Apr 22, 2012)

Tinstaafl said:


> :blink: So you know it ain't cheap, but you don't know what it is? :laughing:
> 
> Another factor in the mix is whether those were "real" voltage readings or just ghost stuff picked up by a DVM. I miss my old Simpson 260.


That was the meter to have back in the day, very nice case too.


----------



## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

overanalyze said:


> Nope.


The problem is you likely are checking these with a multimeter, which will give you strange readings all day long due to phantom voltage. Use a wiggy tester instead.


----------



## Bull Trout (Dec 6, 2016)

Inner10 said:


> The problem is you likely are checking these with a multimeter, which will give you strange readings all day long due to phantom voltage. Use a wiggy tester instead.


sometimes my wiggly gets strange


----------



## RangoWA (Jun 25, 2014)

rrk said:


> That was the meter to have back in the day, very nice case too.


It's what we were issued in the Coast Guard. Also a Wiggins. I use the Ideal clone of the Wiggy mostly and have a Fluke 87v. The digitals can pick up ghost readings. Also like the Ideal for testing GFCI outlets since it will trip them but the Fluke doesn't.


----------



## 480sparky (Feb 1, 2009)

overanalyze said:


> Ok...what would you have to further diagnose the reason behind 99volts ground to hot and 30 volts between neutral and ground on 3 devices in a circuit? ..


I really can't type out an entire flow chart based on multiple and nested If/Then statements.


----------



## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Digital multimeters are great for chasing ghosts.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk


----------



## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

Irishslave said:


> I had an Oscilloscope but I lost it in a poker game :laughing:


I thought O'scopes were used to spy on the neighbors...


----------



## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

A megger might show something, but I doubt a megohmmeter would.


----------



## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

tjbnwi said:


> Insulation/lead integrity, applies 1000+ volts to the line, other meter lead is connected to ground or other conductor. Any issue with the insulation or a damaged conductor shows up.
> 
> Tom


That's an insulation tester (Megger makes a bunch)

Megohmmeter is just another DMM that will read in the megohm range, so their input resistance is in the gigohm range..


----------



## overanalyze (Dec 28, 2010)

Inner10 said:


> Digital multimeters are great for chasing ghosts.
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk


So you wouldn't have worried about the strange readings then? Was there a possible risk of fire/injury by leaving it the way it was?


----------



## Tinstaafl (Jan 6, 2008)

overanalyze said:


> So you wouldn't have worried about the strange readings then? Was there a possible risk of fire/injury by leaving it the way it was?


Put a load on it, preferably resistive, maybe 10 kilohms or so. If the voltage disappears, it's phantom and no worries.

If it doesn't, then it's time to put your investigator pants on.


----------



## tjbnwi (Feb 24, 2009)

hdavis said:


> That's an insulation tester (Megger makes a bunch)
> 
> Megohmmeter is just another DMM that will read in the megohm range, so their input resistance is in the gigohm range..


Not according to Fluke.

https://www.amazon.com/Fluke-1507-M...485971571&sr=8-1&keywords=fluke+megger+tester

Tom


----------



## 91782 (Sep 6, 2012)

hdavis said:


> A megger might show something, but I doubt a megohmmeter would.


We used a crank megger at the airport to test underground runway lighting cables.

Never quite got how something that measured extremely high values could actually cause a drag on the crank handle.

Meh, I was always an amateur.

What's a few thousand volts here or there...


----------



## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

overanalyze said:


> So you wouldn't have worried about the strange readings then? Was there a possible risk of fire/injury by leaving it the way it was?


No because I know how to test for these false readings.


----------



## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

SmallTownGuy said:


> What's a few thousand volts here or there...


Depends where the "here or there" are...


----------



## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

tjbnwi said:


> Not according to Fluke.
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/Fluke-1507-M...485971571&sr=8-1&keywords=fluke+megger+tester
> 
> Tom


Fluke says that's an insulation tester. It's also a megohmmeter.


----------

