Ghost voltage has misled many a green tech during his troubleshooting. How are you supposed to interpret it when the VAC function of your meter tells you that you have 108 volts going to a load? Is your voltage supply bad? Or are you perhaps simply missing your Neutral?

That's where a loading meter comes to the rescue. By actually putting a load on a circuit, the loading meter shows if there really is the difference in voltage between those two points required for current to flow.

No Neutral present? 0 VAC on the loading meter. No voltage supply? Also 0 VAC on the loading meter. You'll only see a voltage reading on a loading meter if there's both a good voltage supply and a valid return path.

Let's see that in action!

Not exciting enough for you? All right, we've got a bonus for you. Here's the Samurai doing a shocking demonstration of the relationship between voltage and current. Just like the previous video, this demonstrates the importance of a valid return path in order for current to flow.

He really risked his life filming this one, so give it a watch to make his sacrifice worth it!

Now that's showmanship! Let's give him a hand, everybody.

Want to take a deeper dive into understanding electricity and troubleshooting? Click here to check out the Core Appliance Repair Training course at the Master Samurai Tech Academy