What does it mean when Tester says open neutral?
Andrew Mitchell
Published Feb 08, 2026
What does it mean when Tester says open neutral?
If there’s an open neutral, the outlets won’t work, but they will still be energized. Use a plug-in circuit tester to check for an open hot or open neutral. If a string of lights or outlets tests for open neutral, you’ll probably find the disconnection in the device closest to the panel.
Can a bad circuit breaker cause an open neutral?
A bad connection at an outlet can cause an open neutral downstream from the outlet. This is particularly true if the outlet connections are used to provide the through path for the neutral.
How do you find where the neutral is open?
To find where the neutral is open, you will have to know how the branch circuit is wired–i.e. daisy chained–then start at the first outlet/switch in line checking line to neutral (Blk. to Wh.) voltages. When you get to the device where this voltage is zero]
Where is the hot or neutral is open in a circuit?
The other is the extent of the outage compared to the extent of that circuit. If a tester reveals Hotness still present at more than one dead item of the circuit (at the shorter slot of receptacles or the tongue in the bottom of a turned-on standard light socket, for instance), the neutral is open.
Where do dead receptacles tend to be found?
Namely, the dead receptacles will tend to be found at the places that were required to be GFCI-protected. You have the disadvantage or complication that the fault could be from hot to ground or from neutral to ground.
What does Open Neutral Mean in electrical wiring?
This entry was posted in Electrical Wiring, Troubleshooting and tagged 120 volts, broken neutral, grounded conductor, loaded neutral, neutral, neutral wires, neutrals, open neutral, open or loaded neutral, white wire. Bookmark the permalink .
To find where the neutral is open, you will have to know how the branch circuit is wired–i.e. daisy chained–then start at the first outlet/switch in line checking line to neutral (Blk. to Wh.) voltages. When you get to the device where this voltage is zero]
The other is the extent of the outage compared to the extent of that circuit. If a tester reveals Hotness still present at more than one dead item of the circuit (at the shorter slot of receptacles or the tongue in the bottom of a turned-on standard light socket, for instance), the neutral is open.
Why is my neutral on the pedestal not working?
The result was 120V, yet nothing using 120V AC power was functioning in the unit, including the 12V converter / charger unit, thus the failing battery power. However, checking from hot to neutral I had nothing. This meant the problem must be a break in the neutral path somewhere between the panel and the pedestal.
How to deal with an open or loaded neutral?
We swapped the motors, swapped the breakers with the redundant back-up motor, and finally pulled in new conductors through thousands of feet of conduit, all to no avail. That particular breaker continued this mysterious behavior and they finally just accepted it, and dealt with these random disruptions. Was (is?) it a ghost ……..?
