Originally Posted By: dbozek This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Kevin…
Just a bit of advice here.....if you test a receptacle and you receive some indication that something may be wrong with the wiring or the device itself, it would not be a good idea to plug any kind of appliance into it. If the receptacle was wired incorrectly or otherwise, damage to whatever you plug into it could happen. This would especially be true if the neutral was missing and you plugged some sort of device that uses electronics into the outlet......best way to fry a computer is turn it on without a neutral wire hooked up. 
-- You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they should and could do for themselves. Abraham Lincoln
Originally Posted By: kmcmahon This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
True…the homeowner was there when I didn’t get a reading and he was the one that plugged in the unit…I would never do something like that. He wanted to prove that the circuits were functioning normally.
Originally Posted By: jmyers This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Kevin,
I am thinking along the line that the neutral connection was severed and the ground wire was providing a neutral path by touching the metal boxes. That would be one possibility that I can think of off the top of my rather thick skull.
Well, I guess it is time for me to head on down to the basement and start playing with the electric and my sure test again. 
He wanted to prove that the circuits were functioning normally.