Thread: THREE LIGHTS ON MY OUTLET TESTER

HEY ALL

fellow inspector just called me and wanted to know if i have ever seen all three lights on my outlet tester..can say that i have. he stated home was over 100 years old.. and he sees it alot in colorado springs

any answers

charlie

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hey what about my three lights

Hey, what about your lights?

Yeah, I have seen it once or twice. It means to me the wiring is fubar is some way the little sticker on the side does not explain. I write it up and tell them to get an electrician to fix it. Usually it is only one of many electrical problems in a house and the entire electrical system needs a good overhaul.

Originally Posted by CHARLIE VAN FLEET

HEY ALL fellow inspector just called me and wanted to know if i have ever seen all three lights on my outlet tester..can say that i have. he stated home was over 100 years old.. and he sees it alot in colorado springs any answers charlie

Charlie,

When I have seen it, it means 240 volt at a 120 volt receptacle outlet.

The technical term would be "wrong-o".

I saw it a couple of times on my old SureTests (the first ones they made), they had three lights with digital readout for voltage and voltage drop, can't remember what else was digital read out - they were the STD-1 model.

I called Harold (or was it Hal, the man who invented and made the SureTest when he still owned them - I've forgotten his name now), he had no idea what could cause that and had never heard of it before.

He did some investigating (hooking up receptacles incorrectly every way he could think of) and could not replicate the three lights on condition - so when I talked to him later about it neither of us had any idea what the cause was or what the analyzer was trying to indicate.

To clarify. If the little "night-light" type tester, it is 240 volt. If one of the high-end testers, then I dunno.

Originally Posted by Jerry Peck

I saw it a couple of times on my old SureTests (the first ones they made), they had three lights with digital readout for voltage and voltage drop, can't remember what else was digital read out - they were the STD-1 model.

I called Harold (or was it Hal, the man who invented and made the SureTest when he still owned them - I've forgotten his name now), he had no idea what could cause that and had never heard of it before.

He did some investigating (hooking up receptacles incorrectly every way he could think of) and could not replicate the three lights on condition - so when I talked to him later about it neither of us had any idea what the cause was or what the analyzer was trying to indicate.

Jerry:

I believe that the UL Standard for Safety that covers "Outlet Circuit Testers and Similar Indicating Devices, UL 1436" ISBN 0-7629-0279-5 may help to clear this question up.

INTRODUCTION

1 Scope

1.1 These requirements apply to outlet circuit testers, including screwdriver and pen-style voltage
presence indicators, for use on 15–, 20–, and 30–A, 3–wire, 125–, 250–, 277–, 480–, or 600–V
receptacles, ground-fault circuit-interrupter testers and arc-fault circuit-interrupter indicators for use on 15–
and 20–A, 3–wire, 125–V receptacles, and similar indicating devices that are:

a) Intended to be connected to the receptacle for a period of time only as long as is necessary
to note the indicated pattern of lights or other similar indicating means, and
b) Not intended to be a comprehensive instrument or to determine the quality of the grounding
circuit.
1.1 revised June 15, 2004

OUTLET CIRCUIT TESTER – A device with no receptacle outlets that, when inserted into a
receptacle, indicates by a pattern of lights, or other similar means, the presence, or absence, of specific
elementary wiring conditions. An outlet circuit tester may also incorporate the provisions of a retention
tester.I would contact one of the UL Engineers at www.ul.com for assistance.

Originally Posted by CHARLIE VAN FLEET

HEY ALL

fellow inspector just called me and wanted to know if i have ever seen all three lights on my outlet tester..can say that i have. he stated home was over 100 years old.. and he sees it alot in colorado springs

any answers

charlie

More info on this thread 3-light circuit tester

The thing to note is that not all 3- light testers are the same.... Some light all 3 with 240v and some give false Hot Neutral reversed.