Breaker question

[techguy]

Does anyone know why when I throw a breaker I still get around 13 volts through the circuit? I was working on an outlet the other day and I tripped the breaker and my multimeter read +-13 volts. The only thing I can think of is that the break may be going bad??

[Speedy Petey]

Digital meter? More than likely "phantom voltage".
Google it and read about it.

You would not have seen anything with an analog meter.

[HayZee518]

a digital meter uses electronic circuits to measure voltage. the transistors and ic's inside are very sensitive to voltages so stray voltages are read. even if there is "tracking" across an insulation it will read. an analog meter relies on strict resistance to its measurement circuit. when you choose a range it inserts a known resistance to measure voltage for that range RX1, RX10, RX100, RX1K, RX10K, rX100K, RX1meg. Like Speedy said use an analog meter or even a volt meter like a Square D "wiggy" to check for an open or connected breaker.

[techguy]

Thanks for the responses guys. I was using a Fluke digital multimeter. I have an analog, i'll give that one a try and see what comes up.