Quote Originally Posted by paul borgmeier View Post
You show VSS = -5V on your sketch. It should be VSS = 0V

ALso, If you have nothing between your +5.0V power supply and your PIC, then you should measure +5.0V between VDD and VSS on your PIC (not 3.5V).

EDIT: it sounds like a grounding problem just like you suspected
Well by -5V, I mean the negative side of the power supply.
This is the power supply I'm using (pretty cheap and nasty, but I thought it would do the job (it did for a while)).
http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView...Max=&SUBCATID= - Model MP-3144 (the first one listed).
...I don't know what switchmode means...