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I have a circuit on a 15 amp breaker. It was working fine yesterday and then suddenly everything stopped working. The breaker was not tripped. My non contact voltage detector goes crazy as soon as it gets near any of the outlets. Using a digital multimeter the outlets show 31 volts with the breaker on and 0 volts with the breaker off. At the breaker in the panel there is 120 breaker to neutral bus. Removed a couple of outlets and hot to neutral shows 31 volts(with breaker on, 0 with breaker off) 2 wire ungrounded circuit (house built in the 60s). There are two lights that are on this same circuit and they work just fine. I disconnected the lights from the circuit and still only 50 volts on the outlets. I continued to disassemble all of the outlets on the circuit with the same result, 50 volts hit to neutral. I believe the outlets are pig tailed out of the wall as each outlet( so far) only has one set of wires to it. This is not in a kitchen/bathroom and has no gfci on it. This is not the same as having induced/phantom voltage. The circuit only shows the 31 volts with the power on to it at the breaker. If it were induced, it would show this when the breaker was off. However when the breaker is off it shows 0 voltage.

UPDATE: after disassembling all of the outlets, I still had the same problem. I found the main feed line and was getting 118 to it at the wall outlet it went to. The rest of the outlets on the circuit are fed from this point. I made a jumper using 12/3 from the feed to the last outlet on the circuit. Using wire buts to connect everything I then have 118.2 volts on the entire circuit, except the point where the circuit is fed from, 108 volts there. I believe I have a bad connection in the wall. This houses junction boxes are not easily accessible and have been hidden over the years. Proceeding to open the wall a bit and see what I can find.

I appreciate all of the input and help.

Outlet that feeds 2 lights and into a junction box also pictured. Hidden in the ceiling in the middle of the room.

Voodo
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    It's probably not a short-circuit since the breaker didn't trip. Most likely there is a poor connection at one of the outlets (most likely) or a broken wire in the wall. But unless you have recently done something that might have disturbed your wiring, it's probably a bad outlet or connection at the outlet. – jwh20 Jun 23 '19 at 14:02
  • If your lights are LEDs then they might work at relatively low voltage. But it is also possible they are getting full 120V. And also possible (though I think a receptacle is more likely the source of the problem) that they are actually part of the problem. So when checking you may want to test with lights both on & off, just in case they are related to the problem somehow.` – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact Jun 23 '19 at 14:07
  • No work has been done in years so that's unlikely the culprit is what I was thinking. The lights are not LEDs so I assume they are getting full voltage etc. I'll keep looking at the outlets and see. Thank you for the replies. – Voodo Jun 23 '19 at 15:48
  • TLDR: treat values like this as "0 volts". This is phantom voltage. Any DVM will see it because they are very sensitive. But this phantom voltage is not far removed from radio waves, and is incapable of powering anything. Plug a nightlight into one socket and the DVM into the other, that voltage will disappear when you turn the nightlight on. – Harper - Reinstate Monica Jun 23 '19 at 16:13
  • Not the same thing. It only shows this voltage with the breaker on. When breaker is off it shows 0 voltage. – Voodo Jun 23 '19 at 16:20
  • @Voodo Harper is likely correct. Key question (as I noted in an earlier comment, though now asking for a different reason): Does the 31V show if the lights on the same circuit are on? If it shows only when breaker is on but lights are off and disappears when you turn the lights on then Harper's hypothesis is likely correct. – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact Jun 23 '19 at 16:27
  • I understand and appreciate the help. Breaker on, light on(75W incandescent bulb) voltage at outlets 39 Volts. Bteaker on and light off, 39 Volts at outlet. Breaker off voltage at outlets 0 Volts. – Voodo Jun 23 '19 at 16:37
  • Look inside the light fixture themselves, maybe the bad connection (or full disconnect) is going on in there. Especially if this issue is AFTER the working lights. Do you have a ceiling fan, or were you running a air conditioner? Make sure none of the switches and outlets are using backstabs – noybman Jun 23 '19 at 22:55
  • @Harper, while you are probably right about the current capability (well, lack thereof), of his circuit, especially since his equipment isnt working, but .... what if the neutral was the dc? then hot is 120VAC full potential, and while neutral is dead, the circuit should NOT be treated as 0 volts. – noybman Jun 23 '19 at 23:00
  • Update, I found the outlet that is acting as the main junction.120 volts on it. Everything after that was then 50 volts on the outlets. From this same jumper the lights were being powered. I disconnected the lights so that they are out of the circuit completely. Reconnected the outlets with just wire nuts and same issue, only 50 volts. I then proceeded to run a jumper using 12/4 that I had lying around. I jumped from what I was pretty sure was the last outlet on the chain. I did this using wire more than capable of the load and wire nutting everything. 118.2 – Voodo Jun 23 '19 at 23:16
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    118.2 volts on the entire circuit, except the spot where the power is normally fed from, only 108 volts there. I believe I have a loose/bad connection in the wall. – Voodo Jun 23 '19 at 23:19
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    Every splice must be in an accessible junction box, so should turn up with enough searching. It sounds like I was hasty to VTC as dup , can you [edit] to reflect what's now known? Will VTRo. – Harper - Reinstate Monica Jun 23 '19 at 23:35
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    When you find it, please post a pic here. This post can go down in infamy as one more example of why boxes aren't supposed to be buried! As you have confirmed you can backfeed the circuit from past this box forward, why not fully disconnect this outlet, separate the wires completely (zero wire nuts), go to the outlet you are back feeding from, and hookup a toner. You have a good shot at pinpointing it. (BY THE WAY... goes without saying, SECURE ALL AC POWER to this circuit first) – noybman Jun 24 '19 at 03:41
  • was that cieling box the culprit? Or you don't know yet? It looks like it protrudes through the drywall. It's also improperly wired, and the tension on the 14/2 looks concerning. These prevent wires from getting pulled when they shouldn't and protect it from the sharp edges of the box: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Halex-3-8-in-Non-Metallic-NM-Twin-Screw-Cable-Clamp-Connectors-5-Pack-20511/100133208 – noybman Jun 25 '19 at 01:54
  • The wire in the back appears to be cloth, with a house built in the 50's and 60's, heres a nice discussion on the types (cirtex) https://inspectapedia.com/electric/Old-Fabric-Insulated-Electrical-Wire-ID.php – noybman Jun 25 '19 at 02:01
  • The box has been covered by sheetrock at some point so it is not accessible without tearing it out. I believe the box to be the. Culprit but cannot verify for sure. I will post a better answer probably this weekend. – Voodo Jun 26 '19 at 03:05

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