Need help with monitor in Japan

Phab> Hi All. I'm in Japan and having a problem with a US Phab> monitor. It won't turn on...no power light or power up noises Phab> or anything. Phab> So I measured voltage across neutral and ground and there was Phab> 8VAC. So I got an electrician to wire up a proper ground. Phab> There's still 1VAC across Neutral and Ground. Shoddy wiring... not quite as shoddy now, but still pretty bad. Phab> So I have two theories: Phab> 1) The monitor is seeing the floating ground and not liking it Phab> and refusing to turn on. 2) The monitor requires at least 110V Phab> (I'm getting 103V). Phab> I'd hate to think this thing just died, so can anyone confirm Phab> that a ground to neutral measurement should yield 0V or some Phab> very negligible voltage? You can test that by wiring up a temporary adapter that connects ground and neutral together. Do NOT use that for normal operation because that would be dangerous. I doubt that's the cause, though. The low voltage may be the reason. But competent designers know that Japan's nominal AC voltage is lower than the USA -- so the standard test spec for power supplies is 95 to 265 volts (low end of Japan to high end of UK). If you can get your hands on a Variac that has the winding extending beyond the input, you can boost the voltage to the monitor. You might try a different location. It may be that you're suffering Phab> Assuming the above two theories are bunk...any other ideas? Your monitor may be busted... :-( paul