What does open neutral on my gb circuit tester also hot/ground reversed mean

Move wires to different breaker with same amp rating?
Try different tester?

Test wiring box-by-box to locate the reversed connection.
http://waterheatertimer.org/Basic-house-wiring.html#loose-wire
Check each box for Hot and neutral:
http://waterheatertimer.org/Basic-house-wiring.html#test

Gene

If you need further help, I’m available over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/gene_9f0ef4df2f9897e7

Manual override lever is good overall test of T101 120Volt timer.
T101 timer has 3 terminals: A 1 2

See wiring diagram on following link:
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-wire-T104-Intermatic-timer.html#T101

Electricians test, they don't guess.
So test your wire:
Separate all wires for testing.
Use ordinary 2 prong tester.
Tape wood sticks to tester leads to keep hands away from power.
Stand on dry boards. Do not hold or touch anything metal.
Turn power ON.
Test each wire to bare ground wire.
Tester lights up on Hot wire. 120V circuit has only 1 Hot wire. If you have 2 Hot wires, you might have 240Volt circuit and need T104 timer. If circuit has 1 Hot wire, then that Hot wire must connect to terminal 1.
If you have NO Hot wire, then check circuit breaker.
Hot wire is identified.
Now test Hot wire to all other wires, except bare ground wire.
Tester lights up on Neutral wire. Neutral wire must connect to terminal A.
If you have NO Neutral wire, then additional wiring is needed, or circuit needs further testing to see what type of wiring you are working with.
Bare ground wires connect to green ground screw.

Notice there are small white wires also connected to terminals A and 1. These small white wires power the 120V clock motor. With Hot on terminal 1 and Neutral on terminal A, the clock motor will run, and yellow dial will rotate.

If timer dial does not rotate after connecting Hot ans Neutral, then test voltage across Hot and Neutral to make sure it reads 120V.

Your circuit should have 2 wires remaining.
These wires go to 120Volt load (fan, light, motor)
Connect these two wires to terminals A and 2.
Try manual override.
If Load turns ON-OFF, then timer is wired correctly.
If Load does NOT turn ON-OFF, then reverse Load wires on terminals A and 2.

Add a comment any time.

You have the hot wire going to the silver terminal and the grounded wire (neutral) going to the gold terminal You need to reverse the. Hot (Black or Red wire to Gold terminal and the White wire to the Silver terminal.

I'm looking at the T-103 sitting here in my office.
Terminals are labeled: A 1 2 3 4
I have about 10 different Intermatic timers on the shelves & each is a bit different

The T103 has a 120Volt (or 110V) clock motor
You need a white Neutral wire to operate the T103 clock

120V: Let's say your Load (light, fan, pump) is 120V
The white Neutral from breaker box connects to Terminal A
The 120V black Hot wire from breaker box connects to Terminal 1
The black wire going to Load (fan, light, motor) connects to terminal 2
The white wire going to Load connects to terminal A along with the Neutral
Ground wires connects to green ground screw
If your wires from breaker and wires to load are wired in reverse, the timer will turn ON the Load but the timer will not shut the circuit OFF.
To test which wire is Hot and Neutral, look at explanation at bottom of page.

240V: Let's say your Load is 240 Volts (or 220 Volts)
The clock motor is still 120V so you still need a white Neutral wire connected on Terminal A
Now you have 2 Hot wires coming from breaker box
Hot wire 1 from breaker box connects to Terminal 1
Hot wire 2 from breaker box connects to Terminal 3
Wire 1 going to Load connects to Terminal 2
Wire 2 going to Load connects to Terminal 4
Ground wires connects to green ground screw

What if you don't have a Neutral wire and you are wiring a 240V circuit?
240V circuits normally have 2 hots and a ground, but no neutral
Buy the T-104 timer
The T-104 has a 240V clock motor
Wiring for the T-104 is exactly the same as 240V wiring shown above for T103 EXCEPT there is no Neutral on Terminal A, and Terminal A is bare
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-wire-T104-Intermatic-timer.html

How to test which wire is Hot
Test requires wires with live electricity >>> this is not advisable without precaution
Stand on dry boards, do not touch anything metal, wear dry clothes, do not hold screwdriver in mouth, wear gloves, tape tester leads to wood sticks so hands are away from power
Remove wires from terminals
Separate wires so they can be tested
Turn on power
Test each wire to bare ground wire
Tester lights up on Hot wire(s)
If circuit is 120V, then there is only one Hot wire
If circuit is 240V, then 2 wires will test hot to ground >> these wires will be Hots 1 & 2
Test assumes circuit breaker is functioning normally.

How do you test for neutral?
If you have 120V line with only 1 hot wire, then one of the white wires will be Neutral?
Test Hot wire to each white wire
Tester lights up on neutral

Old timer: Intermatic EJ500 & ST01C timers have a battery. Battery operates the clock motor. Red wire is for 3-way circuit [a hallway with 2 switches is a 3-way circuit].

Utilitec timer, clock runs on 120Volt circuit instead of battery. So clock has to have power.

How to connect wires:
Black timer wire connects to hot wire from breaker box.
Red (or blue) timer wire goes to landscape lights.
White timer wire connects to white neutral wire [or if no neutral is available, connect to bare ground wire].
Green timer wire goes to bare ground wire.

How to find black hot wire and white neutral wire inside box: Disconnect and separate wires so you can test. Use ordinary tester. Power is on. There is only 1 black hot wire inside each electrical box. Test each black wire to bare ground until tester light comes on > that identifies the black hot wire. Next, test black hot wire to white wires until tester light comes on > that is the neutral wire. Exception: This test does not necessarily work with 3-way switches since they reverse each time switch is thrown.

The "neutral" wire in home wiring is always the "white" wire. The hot line is always the "black" wire or in the case of a multiple conductor, can be just about any color but white or green. Green is circuit ground, the nasty 3rd pin on the plugs we use, but a very important safety feature.
When you have an "open neutral" reading it means that the "white" wire has come loose some place in your wiring. A broken or loose wire is referred to as an "open" in electrical terms. I assume you are plugging an outlet tester in and get this indication. It may just be in the outlet you are testing or someplace else between the outlet and the circuit breaker.

Assuming you are in the United States, the convention with 120 volt ac circuits is that the Black is HOT, the White Neutral, and Green is Ground. Assuming your tester is a neon type light suitable for 120 volt ac circuits, the tester will illuminate when the tester leads touch the black hot and the white neutral, and also when the tester leads touch the black hot and the green ground. the tester should not illuminate when the leads simultaneously touch the white neutral and the green ground. It appears from your description that Your circuit description is operating correctly.. Surprise? ... your tentative assertion "when I touch the black hot wire and the copper ground wire with the tester. This is should not happen, correct?" this assertion (YOURS) is wrong, rather, it would be correct for it to illuminate between the black hot and the green(you say bare copper) ground. It sounds to me, if you need to ask this question, "YOU SHOULD NOT BE FOOLING AROUND WITH LETHAL 120 VOLT HOUSE VOLTAGES AND CURRENTS" I strongly recommend you should hire a licenced electrician. Besides getting electrocuted, you could set fire to the HOUSE, and maybe not when you are looking but when you are asleep, or away from home. PLEASE BE FORWARNED. thank you. Regards --- GooseBay_Camper

The Solution posted by jyackle5 is incorrect. If you HAD a problem with a breaker with Hot and Neutral reversed, you'd have the possibility for a short circuit, and it would adversely affect any electronic device plugged into a outlet on that circuit.

Fortunately, you are describing an issue with your test meter.
If you have the leads reversed on your GB (Gardner Bender) meter/tester, it will provide a negative value/number instead of a positive valve in the readout. Depending on the diagnostics you're trying to do and if you're testing voltage or resistance, you should have the correct orientation of the lead.

It's always best to make sure the red and black leads are in the proper jacks for AC or DC Voltage and in the Ohms sockets when taking resisitance measurements. Always start with the higher setting if in doubt about the voltage you're testing and you can go down one setting at a time until you have a good reading.

Hope you find this helpful and best regards!

You really need to check that circuit for ground and neutral faults before using it again.

open ground=ground wire (green) is not connected to the circuit box ground or to the earth ground.
(there should have steel rod place in the ground by the local electric company, and gtound wire is connected to that rod).
Open Neutral= same as open ground. unless you are testing 240V, which have 2 hot (110v) and a neutral (0V).
Open Hot= open 110v line (black)
hot/ground reversed= if you understand the above, then this sould be self explaintory.
same a hot/neu. reverse.

if you don't understand how electric wiring works, My suggestion is to stay out.