Replies

1. 
   MarkH | Oct 19, 2006 12:37am | #1

   Anything is possible.

2. 
   Learner | Oct 19, 2006 12:43am | #2

   Definitely possible. A friend of mine found some on his kitchen remodel that went to a junction. I think you'll find it a common thing for people to do in order to make a house inspection appear that the house has had a full electrical upgrade whereas in fact only portions have been done and some is still hidden.

3. 
   cap | Oct 19, 2006 06:24am | #3

   I can tell from here that it's either:

   1) dead and abandoned,

   2) live,

   or,

   3) dead sometimes and live sometimes (as in a shared neutral, or switch leg).

   So of course, the only way to know is to test voltage.  Don't rely on a tic tracer, or on a digital multimeter.  Too likely to get false positive readings due to capacitive coupling.

   Use a wiggy or equivalent, i.e., a low impedance voltage tester, and check voltage against a reference ground.  A good ref ground is a lead of THHN clipped to the panel ground bus, or the grounding conductor of a cordset plugged into a receptacle known to have a good equipment ground.

   If this is all Greek to you, it might be a good idea to call in an old work sparky.  K&T wiring is very different than modern wiring (wire in conduit or cable).  Shared neutrals, for instance. 

   Also, there may be some devices in the circuit, like GFIs and pilot light switches, that can really confound you when you're testing.

   Good luck.

   Cliff