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electrical question
#6166599
05/10/11 02:35 PM
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Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 3,129
ahren
OP
TFF Team Angler
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OP
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Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 3,129 |
Suddenly, one room in my house has no power. I have checked all the breakers, and none of them are tripped. Any ideas?
if it is within my reach, I'm going to pet it.
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Re: electrical question
[Re: ahren]
#6166704
05/10/11 02:58 PM
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Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 18,250
COFF
TFF Guru
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TFF Guru
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Posts: 18,250 |
Is it on a GFCI circuit? You may need to find an outlet that has been tripped and hit the reset button.
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Re: electrical question
[Re: COFF]
#6166729
05/10/11 03:03 PM
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Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 3,129
ahren
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Nope, no gfci in the house, I don't think they did that in the '80s. And I haven't gotten around to replacing outlets yet. I'm stumped on this one.
if it is within my reach, I'm going to pet it.
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Re: electrical question
[Re: ahren]
#6166866
05/10/11 03:28 PM
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Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 12,972
DanDaBald
TFF Guru
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Could very well be aluminum wiring & an open circuit. Gonna have to trace this one from the breaker box - the open might be at the box or at the first outlet in the room.
NEVER FORGET 9/11/2001
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Re: electrical question
[Re: DanDaBald]
#6167318
05/10/11 05:04 PM
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Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 3,129
ahren
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OP
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It seems like I have copper wire throughout, or at least its copper at all the fixtures and outlets. Bedrooms 2 and 3 share a breaker and bedroom 2 has power everywhere except the outlet on the wall that it shares with bedroom 3. I guess to trace it further, I will have to go to the attic. I was really hoping to avoid digging through all that insulation.
if it is within my reach, I'm going to pet it.
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Re: electrical question
[Re: ahren]
#6168079
05/10/11 07:51 PM
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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 934
TonyH.
Pro Angler
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Pro Angler
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Posts: 934 |
Find the leader -- usually there "should" be no more than twelve receptacles to a 20A circuit -
Your lighting should be on 15A breakers
Hopefully your breaker box was marked --
You can use a circuit tester to follow wiring that is powered , most likely you lost a neutral leg as this is commonly wire nutted -
Last edited by TonyH.; 05/10/11 07:53 PM.
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Re: electrical question
[Re: TonyH.]
#6168254
05/10/11 08:33 PM
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Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 1,730
Old Town
Extreme Angler
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Posts: 1,730 |
I would suspect that you have a loose connection in an outlet box that is feeding the bedroom. I would check each outlet in the area with a non contact voltage tester. The first dead one I found I would open it up and examine it. This is a common problem with "back stabbed" receptacles. I usually is the white (neutral) that is loose. Most often the wires can be re landed on the terminal screws and the problem will clear up. If the wires can easily be pulled form the back of the receptacle the fault usually lies there.
"Those who live by the sword get shot by those that don't"
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Re: electrical question
[Re: Old Town]
#6168280
05/10/11 08:39 PM
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Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 41,595
butch sanders
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now thats some solid advice from a profesional
Old Town, I have a wire i want to check inside a wall,what is a no contact tester? Do you point it in the area of the wire & look for voltage? This leads to my heater.
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Re: electrical question
[Re: butch sanders]
#6168395
05/10/11 09:02 PM
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Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 18,250
COFF
TFF Guru
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TFF Guru
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Posts: 18,250 |
Fluke makes a voltage tester that just has to be close to the current. Not sure how well it will work through drywall though. Works great for checking Christmas lights.
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Re: electrical question
[Re: COFF]
#6168664
05/10/11 10:00 PM
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Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 3,129
ahren
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Well, I didn't have a non contact tester, so I pulled all five of the non working outlets and the light switch. All connections looked good. The only thing I haven't checked is the connections at the ceiling fan, and the stuff in the attic. I may have to call in a professional on this one.
if it is within my reach, I'm going to pet it.
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Re: electrical question
[Re: ahren]
#6169833
05/11/11 02:07 AM
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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 934
TonyH.
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First off your ceiling fan shouldn't be on your wall outlet circuit, some older homes did not have ceiling lights and relied on switched outlets (as in the wall switch)-- you can go to Lowes , Home Depot and purchase a non contact wire tester, which will determine where power STOPS - fluke or greenlee are fine, around $20 and usually it has to be within 1/2" of hot wire to indicate power - handy dandy gadget to have around - you need to find where your home run to the breaker for that room is and work from first powered outlet on till you find the problem -- as said its probably a loss of neutral.
Last edited by TonyH.; 05/11/11 02:10 AM.
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Re: electrical question
[Re: TonyH.]
#6171242
05/11/11 02:20 PM
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 2,227
TBS
Extreme Angler
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Extreme Angler
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Posts: 2,227 |
You could also have a bad breaker or a wire may have come loose in the breaker box. I would check all three wires in the breaker box and change out the breaker, They are cheap, probably $5 or less. Easy check before you start digging through insulation.
"I Ain't Often Right But I've Never Been Wrong"
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Re: electrical question
[Re: ahren]
#6175528
05/12/11 01:22 PM
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 998
spro
Pro Angler
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Pro Angler
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Posts: 998 |
All connections looked good. But did you actually try to tighten the connections. They can look good but may still be just a little loose. Had a similar thing happen to me. All looked OK but one of them was just a little loose. Tightened one only a quarter turn and all was fixed.
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Re: electrical question
[Re: spro]
#6178303
05/13/11 12:37 AM
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Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 3,129
ahren
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OP
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yeah, all the outlets are connected at the rear as opposed to being screwed on the posts. i ended up replacing all five of the non working ones. still no power. i know it's not the breaker, as two rooms share the breaker and one has power except to one outlet. here is a quick sketch of what i'm looking at:
if it is within my reach, I'm going to pet it.
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Re: electrical question
[Re: ahren]
#6178402
05/13/11 01:01 AM
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Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 32,007
JustWingem
Gentleman Jack
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Gentleman Jack
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 32,007 |
May have dropped a leg of power. Any 220V issues?
Squirel or rat chew partially through a wire in the attic?
DON'T GET CONFUSED BETWEEN MY PERSONALITY AND MY ATTITUDE. MY PERSONALITY IS WHO I AM...MY ATTITUDE DEPENDS ON WHO YOU ARE
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