the PG&E meter is spinning, nothing is plugged in but i can stop the meter if i shut off the breaker to 4 of the 30 breakers in the panel. is this a direct short? bad meter? strang the meter says i still used 2 kwh per hour while every circuit is off?
do i have a bad meter or an electricl problem?
2006-09-01 10:22:06 · 19 answers · asked by irwin g 1 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
Please listen to someone who knows what going on and I don't mean to sound conceded. Sounds to me like your PG&E meter is faulty. The very simple thing you can do to check if it's your meter is if you turn off your main braker or you could even go as far as turning off your regular brakers as well having your main braker and all other regular brakers off. If your kilowatt spindal is still spinning there is something wrong. Call your Electrical company to check and it should be free Good Luck!!!
2006-09-01 10:41:29 · answer #1 · answered by Yahoo Anwers 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Easiest thing to do first is to have the power company come to check your meter first. If they say it is o.k.you can do a little leg work yourself before you call an electrician if you are not familiar with basic wiring.Find out what the suspect breakers are supplying electricity to.The best way would be to turn off all the breakers that are not causing your meter to turn first. Then turn off suspect breakers one at a time and see how your meter is turning. Normally and electrician would use an ammeter to read the current. There is something drawing power that you are unaware of. It is not shorting because a short causes the breaker to trip. If you have to call an electrician at least you might have narrowed it down for him or her and they will spend less time on the service call. Good luck
2006-09-01 19:07:28 · answer #2 · answered by steven a 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Meters will not run unless something is on. You maybe didn't unplug the fridge or turn off the a/c. If there were a straight short, The breaker would trip off and not be a problem till repaired. U say you cut off 4 breakers and it stops, what size are these 4 your cutting off, Have you figured out what the 4 breakers are powering? Cut them off, (The 4) and go look around house and find out whats NOT working. YIM if more help is needed..
2006-09-01 19:28:52 · answer #3 · answered by myothernewname 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hmmm, I noticed the same thing when I turned by main breaker off too. Anyway the meter keeps spinning as long as you have appliances and other items plugged in. The refrigerator is a big user, but you also have clocks, this computer that you are using, and on and on. Nothing to worry about.
The key is to get that meter spinning slower. Energy efficient accessories such as a flourescent light bulb will make that happen.
2006-09-04 13:57:45 · answer #4 · answered by smiley0_1_1999 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Everything off? Including refrigerator, all electronics unplugged?
Check what is on those 4 breakers - perhaps there's something there you've forgotten to count that might account for that level of usage.
Are you a single-family home or part of a condo or townhouse structure? If so, it's possible (unlikely, but possible) that one of the circuits from your box was wired to someone else's home, and you're thus paying for someone else's usage. (This would be most common in older houses that were split into apartments at some point after original construction, though an incompetent electrician could have the same effect in newer construction.)
2006-09-02 03:57:11 · answer #5 · answered by JerH1 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It could be any of the things you mentioned. It is not normal to have electric power running thru an otherwise closed off house.
Try to isolate the problem ONE circuit at a time. Turn ALL breakers off then turn each on - one by one - until you see the change. That circuit would be suspect and due additional inspection. You can usually solve this but you may have to call an electrician to locate the leak.
After your inspection, and as a last resort, call the PG&E and have them check the meter.
2006-09-01 17:44:00 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ummm you sound quite inexperienced, sorry. First off make sure you can follow the wires or pipe from your meter, to your breaker panel. when your 100% sure your at the ONE main panel, then shut the MAIN breaker off(Or disconnect to the whole panel) Then and only then can you be 100% sure you are sure of what you are saying, and only then will you NOT be using any electricity and your meter will NOT be running. ONLY when you do this will you know for sure. (master electrician for almost 30 yrs). if your meter is still running, sue your light company for past payment and make them install a new meter
2006-09-01 18:43:03 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
throw the main breaker off.........if the meter is still spinning then the meter is broken! if it stops then problem is in ur wiring....dont understand how u can cut off 4 of 30 breakers and the meter stops? unless u dont have anything else on in the house.......i would test each breaker, other than the 220 breakers( they take up slots) with a meter.
lic. gen. contactor
2006-09-01 18:06:55 · answer #8 · answered by bigg_dogg44 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well, your meter is still running (meaning using energy), but that should not be 2kW
the only way to rule out a faulty meter is to physically disconnect the outgoing lines from the meter. If it at this point still is counting up you might be able to get a nice fat payback from PG&E.
but most likely you have some old/problematic wiring and its leaking through the insulation. Have an electrician check it out ..
messing around with the wiring of the meter is seriously frowned upon.
2006-09-01 17:30:23 · answer #9 · answered by Afaflix 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are many things "RUNNING" that you don;t necessarily know are running. The clock on your stove, microwave, AC power packs (like the ones you plug your cell phone in to charge), the transformer for your doorbell, your smoke detectors, the transformer on your AC system that keeps your thermostat operable, and about 50 other things.....
If you turn ALL the breakers off and it still spins/runs THEN you have a problem. Otherwise, you always have something running UNLESS you turn all the breakers off.
Good luck...
2006-09-01 23:13:47 · answer #10 · answered by Frust Parent 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋