How to tell if your AC wiring needs an upgrade

Rude? I wasn’t being rude. But your response certainly is. What is your problem Eric?

Stating "FALSE" by itself is actually pretty rude, it’s also false when you aren’t really reading my statement, you are answering a problem/statement I haven’t made.

Also, my name isn’t Eric, so that’s another problem right there.

I was being honest in my response. Not just for your benefit but for others reading your thread. Too much disinformation is given about the purpose and what the electrical service to earth connection is for...

And that’s why you are not reading my posts accurately. What the purpose of the ground is in terms of the NEC and basic electrical installations is not the same as what we can measure and why we can measure these values. The first is about how a home should be built, but I’m talking about the physics of electricity and what we can infer.

We can measure the voltage on the neutral relative to ground and use it to tell us something without opening up the service panel because one has current and the other does not. That’s not false, that’s physics. It’s also a lot safer than opening up a panel for the average consumer. 

BTW, the voltage drop calculators are great. I have no problem with them. The reason I am recommending measuring the neutral is that the calculator doesn’t actually take into account any actual problems inside your house.

If yo know you have 12 gauge wire, and you know it is 45’ long and that your audio system consumes a certain amount of power the voltage drop calculator will give you the best case scenario, but your home may not be best case ... 🤣

Nothing wrong with looking at the calculator and measuring the neutral before you decide what your needs are.

 

The final 0.4V reading could be nothing more an induced voltage by the HOT 120V ungrounded conductor.

I suspect the 0.9V was not correct and was influenced by noise pickup. The 0.4 is likely the accurate measure.

@erik_squires understood your meaning now.  You are using the ground-neutral voltage as a crude ammeter.