I’m scratching my head. I’m not sure what this would indicate. Thanks for the help!
Likely capacitive coupling, put a low impedance tester in there at it will likely show no voltage.
I would trust your plug-in tester over the non-contact sniffer. Those are prone to false positives. Make sure to wiggle your plug-in tester a bit to make sure it is making contact, and also try with a back-up tester to confirm.
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This is a good example of why all inspectors should have a simple multi-meter that will tell you exactly what you are dealing with. Non-contact sniffers do work but the one that is in the picture is one of the lower priced with dual ranges of detection and other functions. This type of sniffer will detect stray voltage. You should look at getting a 90v to 1000v sniffer that just has one purpose or use. They cost a little more but seldom are fooled by stray voltage. I like the Fluke 1 LAC-2 https://www.amazon.com/Fluke-Voltage-Detector-1000V-AC/dp/B00ATGPRRQ
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What he said!
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Maybe the proximity tester is correct. Can that plug in tester tell if there is both open ground and open neutral? Need to confirm with a different type of tester preferably a solenoid type.
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That’s what I was thinking as well. I did the wiggle test and still the same. I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t missing something.
Yes it can detect both open ground and open neutrals.
At the same time? I don’t see that as one of the options on the tester. It says open ground and open neutral not both at once.
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Exactly, those cheap little 3-Light testers fail often.
Ah at the same time. No I don’t believe it would show at the same time. At least I have never tested an outlet where it showed both.
again …time to whip out Your wiggy !!!..either one of those testers can fail without warning, I used to carry multiples of each and of course a wiggy,…I once got a call from a previous client who sold a condominium I had inspected for them when they bought it 5 years before. Turns out the new inspector used the same faulty plug in tester on each and every outlet in the place and described them as faulty…Im guessing he prolly wont due that again…it cost him his inspection fee…
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That makes sense. I was thinking my tester might just light up both lines if so. But I’m thinking it just doesn’t show open grounds and neutrals at the same time. Haha
That’s good to know. Definitely don’t want that happening. I appreciate the information. I had no idea those plug testers could be that faulty.
Time for a little study and maybe a little understanding.
Open ground and neutral would do the same (three light tester will only show one or the other not both) not real likely but possible. Best tester is a solenoid tester but if both the neutral and hot are open you won’t get a reading. Next move is to use one of these:
simple inspection will reveal the answer.
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Thinking it could be a loose connection. The voltage detector is picking up the voltage nearby, but the tester is showing that there is no connection.
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This may be a silly question, but I’m assuming you tested the bottom side of the duplex receptacle also, and got the same result?
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I was wondering the same thing. If the top half was switched and the bottom was hot, the the non contact tester would likely pick up the voltage from the bottom.
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