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steve(ill) 
Orange Level Access
Joined: 11 Sep 2009
Location: illinois
Points: 77754
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 Posted: 11 Aug 2019 at 9:33pm |
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Don't know how your BREAKER box is built.. If you have a MAIN above all the rest and you burn the terminals off behind the 100 amp breaker, then you can not reuse that area... I have bought a NEW 100 amp breaker and install it in the 1-3 breaker location and connect the MAIN wires to this breaker which will feed everything else.... that way you don't need a NEW BOX. .............. If your main breaker is not separate, but part of the 20 individual breakers, then you can move it to a new location ( like 2-4) if the terminals are BURNT at 1-3 area.
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Like them all, but love the "B"s.
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Jim.ME
Orange Level
Joined: 19 Nov 2016
Location: Maine
Points: 934
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Posted: 11 Aug 2019 at 9:31pm |
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Lightning strikes can do strange things. You don't say if this is a stand alone service, fed directly form its own meter, or a sub panel fed from another panel in another building. It sounds like you were testing the legs above the main breaker in this panel. If one leg drops out, I would say you need to go back to the source and check it. If that is a meter that would mean contacting the power company for assistance, around here. If it is another panel in another building see if the results are the same if not I would suspect an issue with the cable connecting them. If the results are the same it may be the breaker feeding the cable.
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steve(ill)
Orange Level Access
Joined: 11 Sep 2009
Location: illinois
Points: 77754
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Posted: 11 Aug 2019 at 9:28pm |
When you said you apply a LOAD and the voltage goes out (ZERO ) , that is because the wire is LOOSE or the contact on the back of the main breaker is BURNT.. It might only pass 5 amps ( instead of 100). and when you apply a LOAD, the voltage drops to about zero. The above is not uncommon if aluminum wire was run to the box. The difference between the aluminum wire and copper lug causes corrosion after 20 years... If you have copper wire it is less common........ but the MAIN SCREWS holding the wires into the terminals need to be tightened.. you might actually LOOSEN a turn, then retighten to break up any corrosion on the aluminum..
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Like them all, but love the "B"s.
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steve(ill)
Orange Level Access
Joined: 11 Sep 2009
Location: illinois
Points: 77754
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Posted: 11 Aug 2019 at 9:23pm |
the BOX is setup with 240 volts coming in.. Every OTHER breaker in the column runs off the other leg.. Example,,, row 1 left and right are 120 v Leg 1... row 2 or (breaker 3-4) are 120 volts LEG 2......... you get 240 when you combine breakers 1 and 3 together.. I have had that problem when half the breakers don't work ( every other one in a colum).. that means ONE LEG of the 240 v coming in is weak or broken.. Common problems are a loose wire on the screw terminal where the 240 volts comes into the box, or a BURNT leg of the breaker where it plugs into the box terminals... It can also be the TERMINAL STRIP behind the breaker that it snaps into... You need to TIGHEN the screw on the big wires coming INTO the box... Then you need to pull the 100 amp MAIN breaker and look at the back side and see if the breaker is bad, or the terminals it connects to are bad.. If its the BREAKER, you can buy new.. If it has ARCED against the terminals and burn, then you may need a new box. You should be VERY familiar with electricity if you are tightening the terminals or pulling the main breaker out...
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Like them all, but love the "B"s.
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Orangeinwisco
Bronze Level Access
Joined: 13 Sep 2018
Location: NE Wisconsin
Points: 39
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Posted: 11 Aug 2019 at 8:55pm |
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Sounds like a ground burnt off and is touching a line. A meter reads difference, not necessarily voltage. Phase 1 to ground is 120, phase 1 to phase 2 is 240, but phase 1 to phase 1( two breakers on same phase) will be 0v even with power there. So, with a light on, it completes a circuit,phase to phase(240 v or 0v) depending on breaker position.
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JC-WI
Orange Level Access
Joined: 11 Sep 2009
Location: wisconsin
Points: 33640
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Posted: 11 Aug 2019 at 8:26pm |
Check the main line with a load... Check ALL grounds going all the way to the transformer on the pole... Could be a bad connection in the line, or in the old fuse box.
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He who says there is no evil has already deceived himself
The truth is the truth, sugar coated or not. Trawler II says, "Remember that."
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cabinhollow
Orange Level
Joined: 24 Mar 2018
Location: SEKY
Points: 327
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Posted: 11 Aug 2019 at 8:25pm |
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For how little a new box cost, I would just put a new one in.
No need to call a professional, even with triple checking your work, it should take less than one hour.
Kill the powder and unhook one set of wires at a time and move them to the new box.
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jaybmiller
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Joined: 12 Sep 2009
Location: Greensville,Ont
Points: 21468
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Posted: 11 Aug 2019 at 8:17pm |
I'm still trying to figure this out after 4 or 5 drawings...only thing I can come up with is a 'busted' 100AMP main breaker
The way panels are made is that every other breaker position is tied to one of the incoming lines. In your case ,if the lower right breaker is #1, then #s 1,3,5 and 7 will be on the left main feed, #s2,4,6 will be on the right main feed
Actually I can't see HOW you can get 220 on the load side of ANY breaker. L1 to N is 120v, L2 to N is 120v, L1 to L2 is 240 volt. Even IF you lost the neutral connection, you can't get 240 on ANY breaker.
I wish I could SEE it in person......
What you could do is disconnect all the load wires at the circuit breakers ( only 7 of them...)
Then turn the breakers on. You should have 120 on all of them, with respect to ground/neutral. Across ( between) #1 and 2 you'll have 240, between 3 and 4 ,240, 5 and 6 ,240. Once that's confirm attach load wire to #1 breaker. turn on whatever it controls. do the same for #2,3,4,5,6 and 7.
still thinking as I type... Only way I can see you getting 240 on a breaker is if the main feed line NOT connected to that breaker is shorted to Neutral...
Are there ANY GCFI recptacles ? They can go 'funny' but that shouldn't cross 120 to neutral...
When the cause is located PLEASE report back....it's got me confused
Jay
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3 D-14s,A-C forklift, B-112
Kubota BX23S lil' TOOT( The Other Orange Tractor)
Never burn your bridges, unless you can walk on water
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FREEDGUY
Orange Level Access
Joined: 15 Apr 2017
Location: South West Mich
Points: 5391
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Posted: 11 Aug 2019 at 6:21pm |
Dad has a 100 amp breaker box in the old bankbarn that only houses 7 20 amp breakers. 3 weeks ago dad noticed that a recept that runs a battery maintainer for his generator wasn't working. After further investigation, 1/2 of the barn lights weren't working. I stopped out to the farm yesterday and did some investigating and found that on each of the 2 legs coming into the main had 120 'ish volts as long as all of the breakers were off. turning on individual breakers did this- lowest right breaker had 120 volts until a light switch/tool was turned on,then 1 leg of the main was lost and then the breaker developed 220 volts  . The next breaker up had NO voltage but the one above that one showed 120 'ish volts until a "load" of some type was introduced, then a main leg dropped out and the small breaker went to 220 ?? I hate to guess how many light bulbs I'm going to have to change 40 feet up in the beams of the hay mow section of the barn  . Any thing that dad can look into as far as repairing whatever might be wrong, or should I advise him to call in a professional ? I have a feeling that recent lightening strike might have something to do with the problem ?? Thanks
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