Voltage low as 74v after blackout. What's wrong?

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#1996116 14-Apr-2018 16:01

@RunningMan that outage was a new one from 12:30pm today. it also cover my house as well. it said it will solve the problem by 5pm so keep the fingers cross!

Shin

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#1996118 14-Apr-2018 16:03

@Jase2985 Its Postman road. It wasnt on the outage area since Wednesday afternoon however we are keep experiencing low voltage issue still. It now showing as a new outage from 12:30pm. so I hope my problem is same to other houses nearby. I have lodged fault on the app from Wednesday afternoon many times.

RunningMan

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#1996121 14-Apr-2018 16:04

I wasn't referring to a specific outage - the entire area is littered with them

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#1996170 14-Apr-2018 18:57

kryptonjohn:

michaelmurfy:

@Shin In my case it was - loss of neutral from the street. Somebody from the lines company came by and fixed it up and said how lucky I was to have turned it off.

The shocks were no joke but lucky for me I knew what it was pretty quickly that was causing it and I was not fully grounded (had shoes on both times). I never want to go through that again and looking at that article I am incredibly lucky. I've had some close calls with electricity but the rule of thumb is, if your electricity supply is dodgy then just don't risk it - turn it off at the main breaker where your meter is. Don't test this theory either - it hurt like hell... The shocks I got were off the fridge and off the kitchen tap in quick succession. Furthermore, I've even gone as far as to turn off things during powercuts except things protected by a UPS as it is amazing how dirty power is when it gets first switched on after a blackout. I've had electronics fried in the past.

We're not saying it is specifically the case with you but you're best to err on the side of caution here especially dealing with something with the potential to kill.

We had exactly the same thing as this and the OP. Wire broken off at the pole, and shock risk not completely mitigated by the house's earth connection. The lines company came out and fixed it pronto.

how does one detect low voltage?

Spyware

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#1996171 14-Apr-2018 19:00

With a multimeter??

Shin

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#1996182 14-Apr-2018 20:16

When I finally get connected to vector rep by pressing #1 he asked whether can I see live spark. I said no, then I transffered to fault team and I am on waiting for 45+ min so far. The 12:30pm outage that cover the area on my home said its been resolved however my problem still going on. Last time I checked the voltage its still 70v. I switched off main again.

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Jase2985

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#1996184 14-Apr-2018 20:33

What does this show? https://www.vector.co.nz/personal/outages/outage-map

and just hold on in there

Shin

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#1996188 14-Apr-2018 20:37

@Jase2985 i am on the blue dot that no one assigned yet. (no black outline)
I am hanging up the phone to vector now. need save battery for emergency tonight and their waiting music makes be really dispressing.

Graymond

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#1996209 14-Apr-2018 21:17

It has been mentioned, but I believe your area supply transformer may have a blown fuse/fuses or a line protection dropout fuse may be blown..... just a thought

Graymond

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Shin

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#1996210 14-Apr-2018 21:20

@Graymond yes it could be and most likely. problem is that there is no realistic way to let vector know about it and come and have a look. it seems they just assume that we have power re connected since wednesday afternoon.

mdav056

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#1996661 15-Apr-2018 22:16

I'm interested in this thread. Many years ago, in London, I was working in a lab building equipment from ex-military 24vDC relays and steppers (back in the days when Tottenham Court Road was full of such stuff -- shows my age). Arrived in one morning to a very nasty smell and found all my equipment blown, exploded, etc. Very expensive, very depressing. The lab had a 3-phase 230vAC supply for some massive heaters, and the electrician told me that the neutral had blown and I would have been getting around 460vAC on the outlets. I've always wondered if this was right, and why 460 vAC (a root-mean-square thing?). Thanks for any technical person who can explain this for me.

gml

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hio77

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#1996668 15-Apr-2018 22:23

@OP as someone who has been through the nightmare of vectors apps and communications...

my power was restored tonight, after the most recent "realistic" updates i was getting ready for Thursday+!

wish you the best of luck. There are tons of areas with this exact same issue, arguably a more risky issue to have than no power!

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Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

Shin

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#1996676 15-Apr-2018 22:33

@hio77 good on you. when i back from Albany for dinner and shower, I saw next door house on light, with a joy I turn the main on and test the voltage, its 200v! however the voltage gradually dropped and its now 30v within 30min. prbably some other neighbors also back to home and start use power again. i just trun the main off again. Still Vector is not answering by email, app and phone..

hio77

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#1996679 15-Apr-2018 22:38

Shin: @hio77 good on you. when i back from Albany for dinner and shower, I saw next door house on light, with a joy I turn the main on and test the voltage, its 200v! however the voltage gradually dropped and its now 30v within 30min. prbably some other neighbors also back to home and start use power again. i just trun the main off again. Still Vector is not answering by email, app and phone..

Try their social media.

i normally don't like the idea of it (apart from here) but they atleast do respond...

#include <std_disclaimer>

Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

Shin

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#1996680 15-Apr-2018 22:42

@hio77 I never used SNS, however my wife using it. I will ask her to do something...

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