If this is 120 volt circuit and you have 6 volts between the neutral and the ground, you have a circuit with excessive voltage drop. The voltage read between the neutral and the ground is nothing more than the voltage drop on the neutral between the main (or system) bonding jumper and the point of measurement. There will be additional voltage drop on the ungrounded conductor. It is very possible that the voltage drop on this circuit may exceed 10%. Note it also could be less if the excessive voltage drop on the neutral is caused by a poor connection and not just by the load.
Don
If he's dropping 6V on the neutral, he's also dropping 6V on the hot, which is a 10% voltage dip, and I'd think THAT would be causing the problems, and not 6V on the neutral.
My first reaction was inrush current on something else nearby, but 2000 times in 4 hours is a bit much for in-rush.
Lemme guess- circuit is overloaded just shy of tripping the breaker, and consists of 150' of #12?
Trevman: I'm having to reach back into memory now, but to the best of my recollection the xfmr was in what looked like an OEM box, as if it were supplied as part of the copier. I thought at first it was a surge suppressor, but it didn't look quite right for that. It was completely enclosed, and resembled the xfmr's you see on PC printers, but it was, I believe, heavier. I wish I'd thought to pay more attention. The copier was an unfamiliar brand, and many people remarked on the unusual, even bizarre, logic programmed into things like paper size selection. It all struck me as not only foreign-made (what isn't these days), but hastily adapted for the USA. I wish I could be more helpful.
