Thread: Calling those with electrical knowledge...

I'm having a problem with the wiring in my house and shop, and I'm hoping you guys can give me an idea of where to start. Basically, two different outlets just stopped working over the weekend. One outlet is in my shop (built-in garage), and one is in the main bathroom. I'm guessing they're on the same circuit.

I tried resetting all of the circuit breakers, even though none appeared to have been tripped. The outlets are still without power.

Any suggestions on my next troubleshooting step? I'll likely end up calling an electrician, but if there are a few simple things I can try first, I'd like to give them a shot.

Thanks,
Josh

Josh,

I assume you checked the main circuit breaker panel.

Look to see if you have any GFI (Ground Fault Interrupt) outlets that have tripped. You'll need to reset them if they have. These outlets can be anywhere in your house, but still on the affected circuit.

Whenever it rains, I have to check one in my basement to get things going again.

american wireing is diffrent to the wiring in the uk. BUT REMEMBER IT IS ALL DANGEROUS!

I think it is rather unusual for only two socets to be on a circuit let alone two spread so far. but its been my experience that when people do DIY they do it badly. so i`m never surprised.
As you don`t know what circuit/s these sockets are on i would....

1) Turn off ALL the electrics in the building, turn it off as far back as possible,
I.e as close to the mains feed as you can.

2) take the face pannels off the socets and see if any of the wires there or even the sockets are loose, show signs of corrosion, any black "burnt" areas or any where that the rubber insulation has been worn or nicked.

if that fails to show up any causes you would probably want to call a sparky, as they will be able to trace any faults.

I'm not an electrician but ...... I had an outlet with a microwave overload which blew a wire off of one of the outlets behind the face plate. An electrician friend I called told me to check the outlet. Sometimes for some reason when a microwave is involved it will cause a jolt that will force the wire out of the connection in the outlet and so it did. This outlet was in series with another in an adjoining room and of course both were out. I reconnected the one wire and upon flipping the breaker on both were good to go again.

I'm suspecting a loose wire in one of the outlets as well. The bathroom outlet has always felt a little warm to the touch, and it's been on my list to look into. It no longer feels warm.

There may be other sockets that are out as well; we have a couple of rooms with unused outlets, so I wouldn't have noticed those not working.

We haven't had any thunderstorms or indoor fireworks shows , so I don't know what might have caused this. I was using my drill press in that outlet on Saturday, and it worked fine.

Thanks for the warnings--I'll be careful. Electricity is something I respect deeply.

Josh

Sockets should not be warm.......

I would definatly have a look at that one, very closely!

I find it strange that you can have sockets in the bath room in america, Here there very much a no, no, unless you have some majore electric magic going on.

In U.S. you have different voltages than we do in EU but the basics are same.
If the circuit breakers are ok, there might be some wire cut between the breaker and the blackened outlets. I do not know if you are able to do it by yourself there, but with multimeter it is easy to check if the current goes out of the breaker.
Another thing that might be wrong is if all the phases are coming to your house. You have 3-phase system and if one of these phases is missing then it surely will cause troubles in some (but not all) power outlets. Checking phases is surely the job only professionals can do.
If you are not familiar with electronics and do not know what you are doing then the only way to get help is to call professional.

K.I.S.S.


As was suggested, check the GFIs first. One is in a bathroom. The other to an outdoor location.

Whatever caused them to trip is a non-issue if they do not trip again.


Loose wires are usually one of the last things to look for. And loose wires do not cause heat. They cause an incomplete circuit. A warm receptacle is caused by too much current flowing though it. SO possibly, the receptacles that are downstream have been connected to the outlet screw terminals, versus the more proper way of using a pigtail in the junction box. Both are code, but the pigtail is just a better way to do it.

And if the bathroom GFI is the first on the circuit, then this should definitely NOT be the way to handle line and load on the GFI

Is there a way to confirm whether I have a GFI circuit? None of the outlets in my house have the test/reset buttons that I normally associate with a GFI system.

Thanks,
Josh

Originally Posted by Desdinova

K.I.S.S.


As was suggested, check the GFIs first. One is in a bathroom. The other to an outdoor location.

Whatever caused them to trip is a non-issue if they do not trip again.


Loose wires are usually one of the last things to look for. And loose wires do not cause heat. They cause an incomplete circuit. A warm receptacle is caused by too much current flowing though it. SO possibly, the receptacles that are downstream have been connected to the outlet screw terminals, versus the more proper way of using a pigtail in the junction box. Both are code, but the pigtail is just a better way to do it.

And if the bathroom GFI is the first on the circuit, then this should definitely NOT be the way to handle line and load on the GFI

I beg to disagree here and no disrespect intended but...

Loose wire = increased resistance to current flow = excess heat.