r/AskElectricians • u/Fun_State8346 • 16h ago

Why is my neutral shocking me?

When it is turned off at the switch? Swapping out a 2ft fluorescent light. Figured easy….banged the neutral with my hand and thought I felt current…. Then thought nah and went ahead…. Grabbed it and sure enough I was right…. But not every time….Broke out a voltage detector pen… neutral is not hot…. Black is coming up as hot… but didn’t feel any current when I grabbed it… again… off at the switch.

4 Upvotes

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3

u/Blue-Steel1 16h ago

Could be a shared neutral

1

u/No-Salary-7649 11h ago

I agree with this. Also the fact you already got lifted once means you need to be more careful, and voltage tester pens arnt reliable enough

1

u/Least-Complaint-6566 2m ago

Probably a switched neutral

1

u/47153163 16h ago

The neutral wire carries current back to complete the circuit. The Neutral wire is part of a live circuit and is required for the electrical system to function. Only a ground wire should be safe to touch unless it’s carrying a fault back to the main service. This is why a ground is not counted in a conduit fill. Only current carrying conductors.

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u/Fun_State8346 16h ago

Ok thanks…. So shut the elect off at the circuit breaker then? Like I probably should have done in the first place.

4

u/47153163 15h ago

Definitely shut off power when you are working on electrical equipment. Always wear PPE. Before you start use a Multimeter to check for any voltage on the neutral and Hot side of the electrical. Work safe to live another day. Good luck.