Why would a neutral wire have voltage?

The wire used in electrical distribution systems is usually made of copper. When the wire length from the breaker panel to the service outlet is long and the connected equipment is pulling a large amount of current, the resistance in the wire will cause a voltage drop along the NEUTRAL wire.

Can neutral wire have voltage?

In the electric power grid, “neutral” is ground, by definition. So the voltage of the neutral wire is always zero… By definition.

Does a neutral wire have voltage on it?

A true neutral will have no voltage on it.. but what we usually call a neutral (because it’s the white noodle) is really just a return for the hot conductor. It’s the load side of the hot conductor. If you open that while voltage is still being supplied on the line side, you can let the smoke out of electronics.

Is it safe to touch the neutral wire on a generator?

The neutral is NOT safe to touch. When everything is working correctly, it should be at most a few volts from ground. However, and this is the big gotcha, if there is a break in the neutral line between where you are and where it is connected back to ground, it can be driven to the full line voltage.

Why is it important to positively identify and turn off neutral wires?

This is why it is extremely important to always positively identify and turn off any electrical circuit that you may be working on, even if you are working on just the the neutral wires, because if you become grounded or caught in the middle, your sure to get shocked, and this is called Not Fun!

How far should the neutral wire be from the ground?

The neutral wire SHOULDN’T be far from ground potential, and people SHOULDN’T be touching the neutral wire or anything connected to it (like a the base of a partially-inserted bulb) but neither condition in itself would be harmful.