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About Greg Hughes
Expertise
Residential Electrical including Appliances and HVAC with 28 years experience.

Experience
Started training as an electrician in 1979, worked for major companies and the government.

Education/Credentials
Graduated from Electrician's School, Carrier Training, and various specialty schools.

You are here: Experts > Home/Garden > Home Improvement/Repair > Electrical Wiring in the Home > only getting 52 volts from 110 volts

Electrical Wiring in the Home - only getting 52 volts from 110 volts

Expert: Greg Hughes - 11/2/2009

Question
QUESTION: I have a wire going to light sconces where I am reading about 52 volts. This wire is connected in a switch box that has a power wire coming in at 110 volts. I connected short leg to two switches to the hot let of the power wire. When I test it with a voltmeter I only get about 52 volts from each switch. What am I doing wrong?

ANSWER: I am not sure what you mean by "short leg to two switches".

What you read depends on where you take a reading. Tell me exactly what two wires you are touching when you get this reading.

Does the light work?

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: short leg I am refering to is just a short length of wire connected to the power wire and estending to the bottom of the switch. My reading is at the box for the sconce between the black and the white neutral wire. The other switch goes to two lights which are not working.

Answer
How I would troubleshoot this is to check all the connections in the switch box (with the power off) to make sure everything has a good connection.

If everything is good in the switch box, I would turn off the power and jump the switch (bypass it) and then turn the power back on and take a reading at the sconce.

However, if your voltage reading is good at the switch box and you have multiple lights out from different switches your most likely source of problem is a loose neutral.

If all connections are good then you may have a loose neural at the breaker box or in a junction box.

A loose neutral is fairly common. Sometimes a screw at the terminal bar does not get tightened good or someone double ups because the terminal bar is out of free spaces.

Also, check to see if there is a 3-way switch on this circuit.

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