My household plugs are showing 160 volts (should be 120)?

Question

Had my dad, a retired electrician, check it out. Main power coming in was fine. He found a loose neutral, repaired, problem seemed solved. However, now back to 160 volts again. The neutral is not loose this time. Any suggestions for troubleshooting this? Dad's got Parkinsons now, so he can't help. I'd like to save $ by doing the time consuming troubleshooting part myself then calling an electrician to fix the problem.

Answer 1

Do you have copper or alum wiring?  Alum was popular for a while until it became known that it was unsafe due to it loosening as it fluctuated between hot/cold temperatures.  I've had a couple homes with alum wiring, and loose neutrals or grounds plagued me, and they are a nightmare to find.  I wound up putting copper pigtails (extensions) on each outlet or switch, then attaching the copper to the switch/receptacle fittings.

One way you can isolate if your problem is this is to plug in your meter where you have 160v and start flipping breakers to see if it normalizes or remains - could narrow down the "zone" your problem is in since the breaker severs the electrical path.