If a circuit shows a full supply voltage but has an open ground fault, which description best matches the symptom?

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When the ground path is open, the return path to the source is broken while the hot side remains energized. That means you can still see full supply voltage on the circuit with respect to the system ground, even though there’s no solid ground reference for the load. The fault lies in the ground side being open, not in the hot conductor or a short to ground.

In this scenario, the ground conductor isn’t connected where it should be, so the circuit can’t complete properly through the safety ground. This is different from a short to ground (which would pull current to ground and usually blow a fuse or trip a breaker) or a high resistance in the hot wire (which would cause a drop in voltage under load). It’s also not a blown fuse, which would cut power entirely. The open ground path best explains seeing full supply voltage with no valid ground return.