Just a reminder for all of you guys who do electrical work only now and then. I just worked on a switch that no one knew what it went to; when I disconnected the wires from the switch there was no voltage. I ran an extension cord from an operating outlet and when I tested the voltage of both wires to the common of the extension cord, I got 126 and 122 volts, similar to what I had under the building a couple weeks ago when someone switched the hot and neutral for the subpanel fusebox.
What I think happened in this case was that they had an outlet that wasn't working (because the switch to it was off) and so they ran power to it. Seeing the wires from the switch, they thought they went to another outlet somewhere so they connected them up to the newly powered outlet. Because there were other items on that circuit, there was power going to the switch on the constant leg and the switched leg. I capped off both wires and stuffed them in the box.
SO … if you ever find yourself trying to figure out why a single outlet doesn't work, look for a switch. You can always short the two wires together at the switch to keep the outlet on constantly.
Posted by: Ron Johnson <l0c0l0b0@hotmail.com>
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