yo_scottie_oh

@ yo_scottie_oh @lemmy.ml

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2d ago

[HELP] Water Heater Part 2: Voltage tester detects hot wires at thermostat but multimeter reads zero volts
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yo_scottie_oh @lemmy.ml 2d ago

Thanks for checking in. I overnighted some extension leads for my multimeter so that I could check for a break in the white wire between the circuit breaker and the water heater, which are about 20 feet apart. Sure enough, that white wire seems to be the culprit (multimeter shows an open line in resistance and continuity modes). The other wire coming out of the circuit breaker is a good line, the fault is definitely w/ the white wire.
Can you think of any other steps I should take to troubleshoot? I believe the next step is to start cutting into the dry wall to see where/how these wires are routed behind the scenes.

3d ago

A song of praise for mergerFS and SnapRAID

How do you connect your disks to your host machine? Are they in an external cage w/ SATA-to-USB adaptors or mounted internally to SATA ports?

4d ago

[HELP] Water Heater Part 2: Voltage tester detects hot wires at thermostat but multimeter reads zero volts

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yo_scottie_oh @lemmy.ml 4d ago

I ran the three tests at the circuit breaker and measured 125.4, 125.7, and 250 vac, which makes me think the fault is not at the circuit breaker, which leaves one last place to investigate, under the conduit on top of the water heater like Cataphract suggested.

I believe that hole in the floor next to the water heater leads down to the crawl space. The previous owners had the crawl space encapsulated, and there is a dehumidifier down there, but I'm not sure either of those cables is related to that. The black cable is an unused coax cable that comes down into the garage from a second floor bedroom and then runs horizontally along the wall into the closet where the water heater is before it goes down through the hole into the crawl space. The white cable comes from a Verizon box mounted to the wall in the garage, perhaps that's where my internet connects to the outside world, I'm not sure.

Photos:

4d ago

[HELP] Water Heater Part 2: Voltage tester detects hot wires at thermostat but multimeter reads zero volts

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yo_scottie_oh @lemmy.ml 4d ago

Just watched that video, thanks for calling my attention back to it - it is very informative. I ran the three tests at the circuit breaker and measured 125.4, 125.7, and 250 vac, which makes me think the fault is not at the circuit breaker, which leaves one last place for me to investigate, under the conduit on top of the water heater like you suggested.

4d ago

[HELP] Water Heater Part 2: Voltage tester detects hot wires at thermostat but multimeter reads zero volts

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yo_scottie_oh @lemmy.ml 4d ago

4d ago

[HELP] Water Heater Part 2: Voltage tester detects hot wires at thermostat but multimeter reads zero volts

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yo_scottie_oh @lemmy.ml 4d ago

The middle double-wide breaker (w/ white & black wires connected to it) is the correct one for the water heater. The bottom one is for the dryer. I see what you mean about there being another splice somewhere, thanks for pointing that out. Also, I'm not sure how I didn't see the silver vertical bar higher up on the left side under the word "water," thanks for pointing that out.

For testing voltage, do I have to touch a specific point on the neutral bar or should anywhere on the neutral bar work fine?

4d ago

[HELP] Water Heater Part 2: Voltage tester detects hot wires at thermostat but multimeter reads zero volts

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yo_scottie_oh @lemmy.ml 4d ago

I went out to the garage to test the circuit breaker by following this video tutorial "Checking Testing Bad Circuit Breaker" by MoreThanMaintenance, and I'm stuck. At 1:05 in the video, he shows where to touch the red and black leads. The red lead is pretty self explanatory, but for the black lead, my panel looks different from his, mine doesn't have the white neutral bar. Any idea what I should touch the black lead to instead?

Photos:

Panel w/ cover removed:

Water heater circuit breaker:

No white neutral bars on the left side:

White neutral bars on the right side - are these for all the circuit breakers or just the right column?

4d ago

[HELP] Water Heater Part 2: Voltage tester detects hot wires at thermostat but multimeter reads zero volts

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yo_scottie_oh @lemmy.ml 4d ago

I hunted for a switch again and came up empty. I also disconnected the top left wire from the terminal and re-tested. I repeated this test on the top right side (wasn't sure if it would matter).

Latest Test Results:

Left wire disconnected from its terminal and right wire connected:
- Left wire to ground: 4.65 vac
- Left terminal to ground: 123.4 vac
Right wire disconnected from its terminal and left wire connected:
- Right wire to ground: 124.3 vac
- Right terminal to ground: 2.03 vac

I have not opened up the silver conduit piping as Cataphract suggests, but I could use help interpreting these test results. Are they consistent w/ our hypothesis that the issue is somewhere between the circuit breaker and that first thermostat? Does it help narrow down the location of the fault at all? I feel like this indicates the fault is somewhere between the left wire and the circuit breaker, but I'm not confident about that. Thank you!

Photos:

5d ago

[HELP] Water Heater Part 2: Voltage tester detects hot wires at thermostat but multimeter reads zero volts

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yo_scottie_oh @lemmy.ml 5d ago

Thanks for chiming in and for the diagrams, they are very helpful.

The reset button doesn’t always pop (it’s for overheating), but your description of having room temperature water probably means one of the elements aren’t working (one that’s got both completely out will be the same as your cold water running). This is assuming the water gets used pretty frequently as is suggested with a two-person household with showers/kitchen/etc.

This makes sense, thanks for explaining that. One thing that's changed since yesterday is we seem to no longer be getting any hot water, not even room temperature, our "hot" water is now rather chilly, nearly indistinguishable from cold water.

You’re on the right track with the videos you posted but kinda veered off from instructions with your testing. Continuity testing isn’t a sure-fire accurate assessment unfortunately, also you’re not placing your probes in the right spots for testing as is recommended in your video (timestamp around 6:30).

Good point, I had also tested the heating element even though I omitted those photos from the original post (I should've included them). I've edited the post w/ those photos.

That silver conduit piping on the top of your tank is the electrical line-in. If you want to completely eliminate the breaker/electrical line from being a problem you can unscrew the electrical panel on top (shut the breaker off first) to see the wires spliced inside (more than likely just wire nuts)... If those wires are good you know the problem is with the tank.

Thanks for the tip, I'll check this next.

Those wires running across the floor scream at me, right near the discharge hose spot as well with oldschool wire staples without the protective rubber.

They go down into a hole and I'm not sure where they go from there.

Is there a pan under your tank?

Yes, there is. It's hard to tell from the photos, but it's there.

5d ago

[HELP] Water Heater Part 2: Voltage tester detects hot wires at thermostat but multimeter reads zero volts

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yo_scottie_oh @lemmy.ml 5d ago

Gotcha, I will check again for a rogue light switch and test the way you describe and report back. I have an appointment this morning that I need to get scooching for, but I'll definitely come back to this in a few hours. Thanks again.

5d ago

[HELP] Water Heater Part 2: Voltage tester detects hot wires at thermostat but multimeter reads zero volts

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yo_scottie_oh @lemmy.ml 5d ago

I don't believe so.

5d ago

[HELP] Water Heater Part 2: Voltage tester detects hot wires at thermostat but multimeter reads zero volts

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yo_scottie_oh @lemmy.ml 5d ago

Connect one probe to a known good ground. (the water pipes should be grounded if metal, the case of the heater should be grounded as well) Probe each of the terminals with the other probe to find which wire is live. (checking for voltage)

Thanks for the tip - I went back out there and with power on, I checked individually every terminal for top and bottom thermostats/elements, and in all cases the multimeter read 125.5 and 125.7 vac.

Any ideas on what I should check next?

Is there perhaps a light switch nearby that doesn’t seem to control any lights?

No rogue light switches in the vicinity.