Testing a communications drop for signs of a loose or open neutral electric service. This method can ensure communications technicians do not get injured by completing an energized circuit and protects customers equipment and homes

Viewer comments:

as someone who did electrical troubleshooting on a regular basis with a generator company, I can tell you I saw plenty of toasted or open neutrals over the years… but never gave it a second thought that the CATV line would be a better neutral than the ground rod at the house. That’s just scary!

I’m a former power company lineman and have seen my share of loose/open neutrals. Please be aware that all may not be visible. Neutral connections can fail and look like they are fine. When this occurs, it usually means that the wrong connector was used or the connection was simply made wrong. When connecting copper to aluminum, the copper always goes on the bottom. A proper type connector must always be used and if a compression connector each crimp must be spaced according to manufacturer’s specs.

Working as an engineer on a fiber cable installation in a rural area, one of these energized drops melted and dropped into the field and set it and the woods on fire. That was some of the craziest shit I have ever seen. No real danger but those guys were moving like lightning to contain the flames and prevent it from getting into the woods and starting the pines. What a mess. Everything went up in smoke.

I was a telco contractor for 15 years and saw a few weird things, but a couple years ago I moved over to coax. I’ve already seen a few melted drops, and nobody’s really stressed the importance of this scenario.

One was melted at the ground block inside, and it sparked when I cut it, as well as when I touched it to the cast iron plumbing stack.

Another house had a history of outages going back TEN years! I tried using my voltage detector (big yellow one) but like you said, it didn’t show anything.

I then did some digging online and saw some horror stories from open neutrals, like house fires.

Anyway, thanks for sharing. I might look for an inexpensive amp clamp now!

There are a lot of people out there discussing this whole neutral thing and it can be a little difficult to understanding whats going on without being able to see whats happening.

https://www.ecmweb.com/safety/accidents-investigations/article/20904740/the-case-of-the-defective-neutral

Is this Energy Free or Free Energy?!

This is about voltage difference found between neutral and ground on some locations…

How to Fix an Outlet that Doesn’t Work: Open Neutral
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrmnfOEeCFY

Understanding an Open or Loaded Neutral
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsuezfpA-Po

What is a loaded neutral, and why did I get a shock from it? This video is about getting a shock from an open or loaded neutral conductor, how it happens, and how it can be prevented,…shut off the breaker!

This is a description of how a NEUTRAL works off the secondary side of a transformer. This circuit is 15 Volts! It is NOT meant to accurately represent any particular electrical system used for commercial or residential service in any part of the world. It is simply showing how loads are balanced and unbalanced by the absence or presence of the neutral wire. The system discussed here employs NO GROUND and has nothing to do with grounding, bonding or earthing of electrical systems. It is not intended to teach electrical safety or wiring methods.

Parallel Paths
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrHy9pwv1iQ

This demonstration shows why we do not want to connect grounds and neutrals together downstream of the service equipment.