Why is there a missing neutral connection in the electrical box of my remodel project, and how is the circuit completed without it?
Asked by Chloe Smith 
2 months ago
Last Updated: July 31, 2024
I’ve been working on a remodel and came across this interesting electrical setup. I’ve been an electrician for a few years now, but I can’t quite figure out how this works. Two hot wires come in with a neutral, but the neutral leaves to another box. Does anyone know why there isn’t a neutral wire connected to the box and how it manages to complete a circuit without it?
Do the wires connected to the breakers power 240v loads?
It seems like they connected the neutral wire that passes through but returns… use a volt meter to check to ground, it appears that there is a water pipe nearby so you can test all the wires for hot or neutral. This is my best guess based on the photo
I’m not entirely sure what you’re referring to regarding the neutral going to another box. This is a non-polarized fuse box, meaning both current-carrying conductors are fused. Originally, there would have been 2 isolated hot wires with 120v between them, not a hot & neutral like in modern wiring. If this is connected to a modern grounded service, the neutral conductor is fused, which can be risky as the circuit remains live if only the neutral fuse blows. Solid neutral plugs should have been installed or the neutral fuse shunted when transitioning to a grounded service. I don’t think the neutral conductors go elsewhere (the lighter colored cloth wires are probably them), but strange things can occur when people tinker with things they don’t fully grasp.
Fused hot with neutral connected to the powered item/load.
Updated image showing potential setup, but make sure to use a meter and test circuits before making any assumptions.
I do occasional minor electrical work on a house. It was built in the 20s and had DC power originally. It still has the same setup as shown in the picture.
110 volt system with 110 volt circuits. Both hot and neutrals were fused. This setup was quite common in homes built before 1920.
Hey Russell! It seems like I’m in a similar situation. I was renovating my uncle’s house from the 1910s and I asked him about the electrical setup. He mentioned that the reason there was no neutral wire and a rig like that in the house was because it was originally wired for DC. Haha.
This seems similar to my situation. I was renovating my uncle’s house built in the 1910s and inquired about it. The absence of a neutral and the setup like that in his house was due to the original DC wiring. Lol
The wire on the left is the neutral, and the one on the right is the hot fuse for the neutral.
Hey, so as an electrician, you might run into situations where a neutral wire isn’t hooked up to a box. This could be because the circuit doesn’t actually need a neutral connection at that spot. The neutral wire’s job is to complete the circuit and give the current a way to flow back to the source. If the neutral wire isn’t linked to the box, it might be connected to another box or the main panel where the circuit starts. The circuit can still work fine without a direct connection of the neutral wire to the box as long as it’s connected somewhere else in the circuit. Just remember to always follow the right wiring practices and reach out to a pro if you’re unsure about what to do.
Yeah, . They took that neutral straight to a JBox. I actually think it’s cool to have the neutral in a separate can.
Well, you’d have to remove all the plaster & lath to check out the circuit and understand it. It will work if installed safely and no modifications are made.
The branch circuit wires are sometimes made with coat hanger material.
It’s pretty clear that you guys aren’t familiar with knob and tube wiring and the original screw-in fuse boxes used in the “old” days
All the circuits in this box may operate at 220 volts and may not require a neutral connection.
Some old Knob and Tube panels were 120-volt and fused both the hot and neutral wires.
Back in the day, they were careful not to waste wire. The knob and tube system has the neutral wire in the attic and it runs across the house.
I think it’s a 120-volt subpanel with fused hot and neutral, but I haven’t confirmed with a meter.
That panel has 30 amps at 110 volts and 4 original circuits with fused neutrals. In the 1920s, the minimum service was 30 amps at 110 volts.
The 2 wires running through the center are not live wires, one is the neutral, not marked with white tape, very common. They fused both wires many years ago.
The wiring is quite old, especially with the fuses. It’s likely knob and tube or aluminum wiring, so upgrading would be a good idea.
Blended neutrals
Consult a handyman
That’s an old 30 amp 110 volt 2-wire system with fused neutrals for branch circuits dating back to the 1920s. Neutrals had to be fused when the service neutral wasn’t grounded. If the service neutral was grounded, then neutrals were not supposed to be fused according to the code at that time. The practice of ungrounded service neutral and fused neutrals was phased out around the 1930s.
Interesting old technology with the fabric-covered romex entering the box on the bottom left. When I first started in this trade, the protocol was to remove the insulator under the fused neutral so only the hot fuse would “blow”.
Your hard work and dedication always pays off in the end! A well-deserved success, definitely worth celebrating. Huge thanks to Kocsis Arsalan Márk