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? for electrician types
riflemike
Member Posts: 10,599 ✭
lost power to a couple rooms
some receptacles in three rooms work some dont
really cant afford electrician to come out
SIL is very knowledgeable on electrical and said a ground wire appears to have an issue/ came loose somewhere...dont know what he did except he jumped a receptacle that is connected to circuit breaker that would not work (the receptacle wouldnt) with a piece of electrical wire and all is working temporarily til we can figure out where the ground issue is
gonna start with finding out all that breaker # 7 controls
wife had a vacuum plugged into a GFCI breaker when this started but that breaker checks ok
took it out of wall and checked connections on it and checked with meter even the ones in breaker box
appears there is no easy way to find it
any suggestions
if i repeated anything.. sorry... i cant draw a straight line with a ruler[:(][:D]
some receptacles in three rooms work some dont
really cant afford electrician to come out
SIL is very knowledgeable on electrical and said a ground wire appears to have an issue/ came loose somewhere...dont know what he did except he jumped a receptacle that is connected to circuit breaker that would not work (the receptacle wouldnt) with a piece of electrical wire and all is working temporarily til we can figure out where the ground issue is
gonna start with finding out all that breaker # 7 controls
wife had a vacuum plugged into a GFCI breaker when this started but that breaker checks ok
took it out of wall and checked connections on it and checked with meter even the ones in breaker box
appears there is no easy way to find it
any suggestions
if i repeated anything.. sorry... i cant draw a straight line with a ruler[:(][:D]
Comments
and readings are good
replaced one outside a few months ago that connects a little fountain
it has power and the test / reset appears to be working
Most circuits run from the panel to a light fixture box, then to the rest of the room. I would start looking for a loose joint on the white wires in there.
Keep us posted, and good luck. PS--be safe!
Note that there is a difference between GROUND and NEUTRAL. It seems to me that you have an open neutral, which is sometimes hard to find. Check for power between the "hot" side of a receptacle (smaller) slot and ground (round hole). If you have power, the neutral is open between the receptacle and the panel.
Most circuits run from the panel to a light fixture box, then to the rest of the room. I would start looking for a loose joint on the white wires in there.
Keep us posted, and good luck. PS--be safe!
ok will do that
have 5 receptacle in one room 3 work 2 dont..overhead fan and light dont work..they are all on that breaker 7 i mentioned
going to the other two rooms and see what that breaker controls
have power in all rooms like i said since he jumped that one receptacle
cant leave it like that though
Note that there is a difference between GROUND and NEUTRAL. It seems to me that you have an open neutral, which is sometimes hard to find. Check for power between the "hot" side of a receptacle (smaller) slot and ground (round hole). If you have power, the neutral is open between the receptacle and the panel.
Most circuits run from the panel to a light fixture box, then to the rest of the room. I would start looking for a loose joint on the white wires in there.
Keep us posted, and good luck. PS--be safe!
ding ding that was my 1st thought[^]
quote:Originally posted by grdad45
Note that there is a difference between GROUND and NEUTRAL. It seems to me that you have an open neutral, which is sometimes hard to find. Check for power between the "hot" side of a receptacle (smaller) slot and ground (round hole). If you have power, the neutral is open between the receptacle and the panel.
Most circuits run from the panel to a light fixture box, then to the rest of the room. I would start looking for a loose joint on the white wires in there.
Keep us posted, and good luck. PS--be safe!
ok will do that
have 5 receptacle in one room 3 work 2 dont..overhead fan and light dont work..they are all on that breaker 7 i mentioned
going to the other two rooms and see what that breaker controls
have power in all rooms like i said since he jumped that one receptacle
cant leave it like that though
One step further: Check for 120V from Hot to Ground, then from Hot to Neutral. If you get 0V from Hot to Neutral, you have an open neutral. I'm assuming your Jumper wire goes between Neutral and ground. I would remove this ASAP. Earth Grounds are not meant to carry sustained current.
Wow...maybe I misunderstand, but if your SIL did what it reads like he did be very careful! It sounds like he jumpered the hot side of a working electrical circuit to the neutral of another circuit segment, which could be pretty dangerous!
Definitely remove whatever he did before you troubleshoot this problem. Not only is it kind of dangerous (if that's what he did), but it will also make finding the problem significantly more difficult.
BTW, a ground wire coming loose wouldn't cause this problem, but a neutral would.
Also, a question: What was it that started the problem...your wife with the vacuum cleaner? Was she running it and suddenly the power went out?
I can't stand GFCI outlets and breakers! All sorts of weird problems happen with these things! (I've got a portable GMRS radio which, if I key the mic and transmit inside the house, will trip the GFCI breaker in whatever room I'm in! Seriously!)
not sure what to what he connected (short piece of white wire) but said it was fine for now..
til i can find someone that can find the issue..he did it on one receptacle in the wall that was not working that was connected to breaker mentioned earlier
like i said i cant draw a straight line with a ruler
he builds / wires / installs big electrical commercial signs for companies..family dollar, dollar general.. novant health and too too many to mention, breaker boxes....etc, etc etc ...
i have faith in what he did for time being
i read him this and he said thats what i told u last night
Note that there is a difference between GROUND and NEUTRAL. It seems to me that you have an open neutral, which is sometimes hard to find. Check for power between the "hot" side of a receptacle (smaller) slot and ground (round hole). If you have power, the neutral is open between the receptacle and the panel.
Most circuits run from the panel to a light fixture box, then to the rest of the room. I would start looking for a loose joint on the white wires in there.
Keep us posted, and good luck. PS--be safe!
like i said.ruler/straight line
he said last night it make no sense to him...
Note that there is a difference between GROUND and NEUTRAL. It seems to me that you have an open neutral, which is sometimes hard to find. Check for power between the "hot" side of a receptacle (smaller) slot and ground (round hole). If you have power, the neutral is open between the receptacle and the panel.
Most circuits run from the panel to a light fixture box, then to the rest of the room. I would start looking for a loose joint on the white wires in there.
Keep us posted, and good luck. PS--be safe!
I ran into a similar problem a couple of years ago with a house that I purchased. My wife said that whenever she plugged something into one of the sockets it would spark. I checked voltage and it was 120V hot to ground but 60V hot to neutral. A quick online search indicated a shorted neutral and that it would be the outlet before the one with problems on the circuit. Sure enough, this outlet was below a window that the PO had obviously left open when it rained. The contacts were rusted and the neutral wire was barely hanging on. I cut the wire back, installed a new outlet and tested everything on the circuit. Everything now working properly.
quote:Originally posted by riflemike
he said last night it make no sense to him...
Could be the polarity is (also) reversed somewhere in the circuit also. This would explain his confusion. It's fairly common in residential wiring. Do you by chance have a polarity tester? (it's a little widget you plug into an outlet and it has 3 lights on it indicating circuit polarity).
been here 10 years and this is the first issue,,,how would that happen..sorry guys i am stupid about this
i have a tester you just touch to coated wire cable or just touch to an oultet and it will show if there is power (light comes on)
guess i need to go in attic but its to too hot right now, my brother said thats where he had a problem one time..(a light fixture)
....i have to unhook what SIL did first though..cause i have power everywhere
Neutral wire came loose from a receptacle.
what most are saying...(white wire))??
hey sam you aint too far ...come on over[:D][8D]
quote:Originally posted by Sam06
Neutral wire came loose from a receptacle.
what most are saying...(white wire))??
hey sam you aint too far ...come on over[:D][8D]
Yep white or grey.
If you are sure its not the breaker(I doubt it) or a GFI in another place tripping then its in the receptacle.
The newer receptacle boxes have these holes where you can just push in the wire(Lazy way to install) instead of loosening a screw and lopping the wire around it and tightening it down. These get old and the wires work loose.
Try tapping the receptacle with a screw driver and see if the lights flicker that will tell you which one is bad, other than that just take them out and check them over. Kill the power 1st though. Be advised it might not be obvious and you could possible need to replace the whole receptacle.
quote:Originally posted by Sam06
Neutral wire came loose from a receptacle.
what most are saying...(white wire))??
hey sam you aint too far ...come on over[:D][8D]
LOL
The wonders of the internet!
I am actually down in Atlanta visiting my Dad, he is in the hospital and they have wifi. If I was back home I would come help you for a beer[;)]
quote:Originally posted by riflemike
quote:Originally posted by Sam06
Neutral wire came loose from a receptacle.
what most are saying...(white wire))??
hey sam you aint too far ...come on over[:D][8D]
LOL
The wonders of the internet!
I am actually down in Atlanta visiting my Dad, he is in the hospital and they have wifi. If I was back home I would come help you for a beer[;)]
careful i may wait til u get back and buy u a case...cheaper than electrician ,,,[^]
first things first ..hope your dad is ok
quote:Originally posted by Flying Clay Disk
quote:Originally posted by riflemike
he said last night it make no sense to him...
Could be the polarity is (also) reversed somewhere in the circuit also. This would explain his confusion. It's fairly common in residential wiring. Do you by chance have a polarity tester? (it's a little widget you plug into an outlet and it has 3 lights on it indicating circuit polarity).
been here 10 years and this is the first issue,,,how would that happen..sorry guys i am stupid about this
i have a tester you just touch to coated wire cable or just touch to an oultet and it will show if there is power (light comes on)
guess i need to go in attic but its to too hot right now, my brother said thats where he had a problem one time..(a light fixture)
....i have to unhook what SIL did first though..cause i have power everywhere
That tells you if you have VOLTAGE....but without a place for it to go, you'll have no current, and no power.
Keep this in mind
If you do have an open neutral and you have something plugged in and turned ON (like a lamp or a radio, or anything. Since there is no neutral you won't know if it's turned on) you've got a HOT Neutral out there somewhere. Hot, meaning 120V Hot. I would be very careful.
Neal
Electrical will appear to work just fine with reversed polarity, but they create a shock hazard because neutral and hot are reversed in one part of a circuit. This is why reversed polarity gets overlooked so often. In your case it's just confusing the troubleshooting process, it's not the problem itself.
You mentioned a ceiling fan, did this come with the house or was it installed later? After market ceiling fans are notorious for being wired improperly. If the ceiling fan is upstream of the problem outlets this may be where the problem is. I'd do the tests outlined above and report back.
If I was a bettin' man I'd bet the problem is a GFCI receptacle gone wonky though.
installed 3 yrs ago.....
will get a new GFCI tomorrow and replace where wife had vacuum plugged in ..before spending millions for electrician[:D]
i can do that
quote:Originally posted by riflemike
quote:Originally posted by Sam06
Neutral wire came loose from a receptacle.
what most are saying...(white wire))??
hey sam you aint too far ...come on over[:D][8D]
LOL
The wonders of the internet!
I am actually down in Atlanta visiting my Dad, he is in the hospital and they have wifi. If I was back home I would come help you for a beer[;)]
Then you can come over and help me...[8D] I have the same issue going on down in the basement. Lights in one room work fine. Lights and outlets in the back bedroom nada. I can't find my good voltage tick, but the polarity tester shows no voltage on the failed outlets. I plan to get out the multimeter this evening and open up outlets and light switches till I find the offender.
Funny thing I would not have known except my WiFi is on one of the outlets in the storage room...
Hope your Dad is better.