Differences in ammeter readings indicate that one of the meters is out of calibration or otherwise inaccurate (or both of them are but differently).
At these voltages and with these insulations, wiring losses are from voltage drop, not current diversion. Exactly the same number of electrons go into the wire as go out of it, and all but a vanishingly small number go out at the far end rather than finding some other way across. They just don't push their way out quite as hard as they were pushed in, thanks to a "pressure drop" from "friction" on their way from one end of the wire to the other.[ Parent ]
"This" being the high-resistance short. (It's unlikely because the heating would turn it into a low-resistance short in rather little time.)[ Parent ]
