Hot ground reverse warning from tester

[Crowz]

I bought a klein rt250 tester and I can't figure out why its showing the error its showing.

Shows hot/grd reversed and it shows 30 volts.

Everything working fine in the house. Also all outlets check out at 120v using a voltmeter.

If I put one of those 3 to 2 prong adapters on it the tester shows 120v and open ground.

I even tested it on a circuit that comes straight off the inverter. Same results.

I visually verified that outlet had an L1, neutral and ground running directly to the L1, neutral and ground on the inverters lugs.


Suggestions?

 

[Crowz]

Found this on reddit :

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskElectricians/comments/15buyxv/30v_and_wiring_fault_reported_on_working_plug

Same tool. Same error. One suggestion said :

I have the same response in my home and it turns out there is voltage in the neutral wire. My case is a lil special in that the voltage in the neutral is coming in from a bad transformer. Currently waiting on the company to swap out the unit.

Could the inverter be causing this?

 

[Supervstech]

Perhap

I bought a klein rt250 tester and I can't figure out why its showing the error its showing.

Shows hot/grd reversed and it shows 30 volts.

Everything working fine in the house. Also all outlets check out at 120v using a voltmeter.

If I put one of those 3 to 2 prong adapters on it the tester shows 120v and open ground.

I even tested it on a circuit that comes straight off the inverter. Same results.

I visually verified that outlet had an L1, neutral and ground running directly to the L1, neutral and ground on the inverters lugs.


Suggestions?

S thw neutral isnt ground referenced, or a bonding issue is present?

 

[ricardocello]

Could the inverter be causing this?

Inverting or passing thru grid?

 

[timselectric]

It's either a bad tester, a wiring issue, or a grounding issue.
A voltage meter will tell you the truth.

 

[Crowz]

Inverting or passing thru grid?

Inverting. I run on battery at all times now.

 

[SunDave]

Could check the tester somewhere else entirely. A friend's house.

 

[Crowz]

Later today I'm going to try turning off the main breaker that feeds the house from the inverter and leave the outlets right at the inverter turned on and see if I get the same weird readings.

 

[Crowz]

Could check the tester somewhere else entirely. A friend's house.

Well there is a problem with that. All of the houses close by including the two homes I own that are side by side are from the early 60's and older. All of them are wired with no grounds. Just hot and neutral. So its kind of impossible to test most of the outlets since they don't have a ground wire connected at the outlets

My main house has a few outlets that were done during renovations and I have run a few new circuits. Those have a ground wire and have the listed symptoms. But those same circuits are on the solar side wiring wise. Older outlets don't have a ground so they don't show issues with the tester.

 

[timselectric]

Sounds like a good possibility of no actual grounding.
A ground wire isn't really a ground wire, if it's not connected to a grounding system.

 

[Mattb4]

I bought a klein rt250 tester and I can't figure out why its showing the error its showing.

Shows hot/grd reversed and it shows 30 volts.

Everything working fine in the house. Also all outlets check out at 120v using a voltmeter.

If I put one of those 3 to 2 prong adapters on it the tester shows 120v and open ground.

I even tested it on a circuit that comes straight off the inverter. Same results.

I visually verified that outlet had an L1, neutral and ground running directly to the L1, neutral and ground on the inverters lugs.


Suggestions?

With your voltmeter test hot to neutral, hot to ground, neutral to ground. Than start unplugging things and do testing.

 

[Quattrohead]

Ground wire is only half the story, you need a ground rod too.. I hope I'm joking

 

[Farmhouse180]

The 30vac could be a reference to the voltage the gfci tester is using in an attempt to "trip" the circuit, when you use the 2 prong attachment, it reads correctly with open grnd as there is no grnd to use to try to trip gfci outlet

 

[timselectric]

When you use the two prong adapter, it has no ground reference to determine which is hot or neutral. All that it can tell you is that 120V is present, but not if the "polarity" is correct.

 

[Farmhouse180]

When you use the two prong adapter, it has no ground reference to determine which is hot or neutral. All that it can tell you is that 120V is present, but not if the "polarity" is correct.

Correct, but if neutral was “hot” would it not read higher than 120 on voltmeter as stated.

 

[Supervstech]

Correct, but if neutral was “hot” would it not read higher than 120 on voltmeter as stated.

No, neutral and hot reverse places 60 times a second, the tool needs a third reference to check polarity.

 

[Supervstech]

High end furnace computer boards require ground, and neutral in corect hot polarity for the flame sense to work right, so i see this all the time.

 

[Farmhouse180]

K, just a question, as I’m trying to learn here, why do 2 hots read 220 with no neutral, but if a “neutral went hot” would it not read higher voltage?

 

[Farmhouse180]

Correct, but if neutral was “hot” would it not read higher than 120 on voltmeter as stated.

And I should not have stated “correct”, I should’ve have stated “agreed” I’m in no position to question or correct you, my apologies

 

[timselectric]

Correct, but if neutral was “hot” would it not read higher than 120 on voltmeter as stated.

Nope
The voltage is the same, no matter which way you connect the testing leads.

 

[timselectric]

K, just a question, as I’m trying to learn here, why do 2 hots read 220 with no neutral, but if a “neutral went hot” would it not read higher voltage?

Because in this case it would just be a reversal of a hot and neutral.
To get 240v, you need one hot from each leg.
The neutral is the center point between the two legs. Which is why it's only one half of the voltage.

 

[Farmhouse180]

Found this on reddit :

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskElectricians/comments/15buyxv/30v_and_wiring_fault_reported_on_working_plug

Same tool. Same error. One suggestion said :



Could the inverter be causing this?

I was referring to this post and OP concerns inverter was back feeding on the neutral

 

[timselectric]

I was referring to this post and OP concerns inverter was back feeding on the neutral

"Backfeeding" is when power is flowing in the opposite (from normal) direction.
This isn't a Backfeeding issue, it's a grounding (or lack of) issue.
Or a faulty tester.

 

[SparkyJJO]

Obviously you should lick your ground wire to be certain.

 

[Farmhouse180]

Backfeeding is the wrong term being used by myself then, I will do more research to use correct terminology, was voltage coming in on both hots and the neutral from hydro transformer, apologies to the op for highjacking their thread