Quick Question for the Electricians

[sqft]

Im in the process of installing a LED track light in an upstairs hallway. The older halogen unit burnt out at the transformer after about 10 years. The ceiling mount has the type of switch where you can control the on/off from both an upstairs and a downstairs wall switch.

So, I removed the old track light. I like to be sure the circuit is off, so I put a VOM on the hot and neutral. I had 46 VAC in the off position and 125 in the on position. N to GND also gets 46 V as well as Hot to GND. I toggled the two on/off switches and got the same thing.

What does this mean and sould I get an electrician to rewire this circuit?

Additional info: The junction box feels slightly warm. Not hot, but warmer than the room. It is an attic ceiling above tho. Im pretty certain its just attic heat. Also, a few years ago the water pipe to the house was struck by lightning and fried one leg of the panel. Had that replaced and haven't had any issues.

House is 100 yrs old. It has been rewired before I owned it, but I have cloth wires in this junction box (hate that).

 

[jim111]

I believe what you are describing is a situation where your multimeter is being fooled by capacitance or "ghost voltage" rather than actual voltage. Seems to me to occur more with dimmer switches and three ways

 

[rburke65]

The upstairs switch and the down stairs switch are a set of 3-way switches. The light fixture is not always on with the switch "up"....nor is it off with the switch "down". Should have turned the fixture on and then killed it with the breaker.

 

[sqft]

I believe what you are describing is a situation where your multimeter is being fooled by capacitance or "ghost voltage" rather than actual voltage. Seems to me to occur more with dimmer switches and three ways

What do you mean "ghost voltage"? It wasnt a couple of millivolts bouncing around, it was 46 V or so.

I was reading elsewhere about "Unbalanced Neutrals". Could this be right?
Seems like that would only affect 220 systems. But my knowledge is very basic.

 

[md21722]

Sounds like a loose wire or bad connection somewhere on that circuit putting voltage on the neutral. The only thing in a home that is close to 45V is the phone system and that's DC unless the phone is ringing. Do outlets on your home exhibit this behavior too? That would at least tell you if it's a service type issue. Can't wait to see what Wylie, NorCal, or patten say on this one.

 

[rockwithjason]

ghost voltage is induced on a wire by other wires running near it. you have to put a little bit of a load on the wire to tell if the voltage is real leakage or ghost voltage. that is one disadvantage to using a dmm to troubleshoot with. the old wiggy testers had a solenoid in them that loaded the wire enough to screen out the ghosting. some of the fluke dmms have a loz setting that overcomes this problem

 

[wyliesdiesels]

What do you mean "ghost voltage"? It wasnt a couple of millivolts bouncing around, it was 46 V or so.

I was reading elsewhere about "Unbalanced Neutrals". Could this be right?
Seems like that would only affect 220 systems. But my knowledge is very basic.

Definitely ghost voltage.

An unbalanced neutral is a condition that can happen in a MWBC(multi-wire branch)....not something youre dealing with....