electric earth voltage problems?

Question

Hello, my electrical sockets are showing there is 40v on the earth's socket. what does this mean, is it dangerous??

this was discovered during a boiler repair and now we are told not to use the boiler because it is and the rest of the house is too.

any idea about repair costs or the solution??? many thanks

Answer 1

40 volts is low voltage you might feel a tingle but it is not a big deal.
It is more than likely caused by bad insulation between live and earth in an appliance. Could be a water heater element or something like that.Unplug every single appliance and then unplug the rest as you are bound to have missed some then test the sockets to see if there is any voltage showing.I there still is a voltage showing then you need to test the insulation of the circuits .
You could rig up a simple tester to test each appliance by Getting an rcd socket (the sort you buy to plug your lawnmower into) and then plug each appliance into it one @ a time. If your appliance is leaking any current to earth the breaker will trip out Showing the appliance is faulty.
A bit of time spent by yourself testing methodically might save you a bit of hard earned
These faults can be a headache to find even for sparks !
Good Luck !

Answer 2

That 40 volts sounds like there is an open in the wiring some where. If the neutral wire should become open, or acquires more resistance than it normally would have, that would account for the voltage. It is going to be a "bear" to find, but it is possible. Isolate one circuit at a time from the fuse/circuit breaker box and check for that stray voltage. Another point to check is that the electrical ground for the house, at the service entrance has gone bad. It needs to be a damp ground, not one that is standing in water. Have that checked as well.

Answer 3

You too ought to do the comparable. electricity desires a closed circuit (direction) with the intention to circulate. so as long as they are actually not touching the different merchandise on an identical time as sitting on the cable, no injury will come to them. you should or ought to not have pronounced this, yet some birds sitting on a severe voltage cable that's on the brink of a tree, whilst flap their wings, the wings touch the tree, and by using the tree the direction is finished to floor that's at decrease ability. Now the present flows from cable by using chook, in the time of the tree and ultimately to the floor. The chook gets eloctrocuted. This phenomenon is in demand fairly for the period of wet season.

Answer 4

It means that you could get a shock from anything that uses a three-wire plug. A wire is not connected somewhere, either inside or outside the house.

Answer 5

Try unplugging metal appliances, as it could be an appliance fault rather than the installation. Might also be worth getting a second opinion.

Answer 6

40V. is high enough to cause injury if there is
significant amperage available.
It will take a 'pro` to find & correct the problem.