ATOT Homeowners - Home electric wiring question

[TXHokie]

So I have in the corner of the house one light switch and 2 outlet nearby that stopped working. I've checked the fuse panel and opened up the switch/outlet just to verify it's not getting any power to the hot wire. Anything else to check or just lube up and call the electrician? I'm handy enough for general things around the house . Last time I called the electrician to troubleshoot a short which took a whole 30min for $150 seemed excessive (he didn't even put the outlet cover back behind the TV...grrr).

 

[vi edit]

Probably wired in a series and the first outlet went bad? Hit home depot and spend $2 on a couple new recepticles and swap them out?

 

[PottedMeat]

search everywhere for a tripped GFCI. i had an outlet that wasn't working and for some reason it was wired into a far off GFCI.

 

[Ronstang]

The way houses are wired is kind of crazy until you think about it. The hot from one outlet/switch can have a second wire that continues the circuit to another outlet switch so you end up with things essentially being in series. All it takes is a loose connection at one point and the rest of the things on the circuit end up dead (functionally that is, they can actually show some voltage). The biggest problem is figuring out exactly how the circuit is wired. This is the tough part. You can have things in different rooms or different floors all on the same circuit. I have this problem at the lake house and was never able to figure it out. I lost power to a ceiling fan for no reason. I had to do some wiring gymnastics in a large switch bundle to get power to it again.

 

[vi edit]

search everywhere for a tripped GFCI. i had an outlet that wasn't working and for some reason it was wired into a far off GFCI.

Good call on that too. I had a GFI pop in my bathroom that also killed my vent fan in the shower. That took me until the eveing to see the little fault light glowing.

 

[lykaon78]

Is the switch the first stop on the circuit? If not the short could be in the outlets.

You might also check the connection at the fuse box. Perhaps the short is there.

 

[DrPizza]

Is the switch the first stop on the circuit? If not the short could be in the outlets.

You might also check the connection at the fuse box. Perhaps the short is there.

It's not a short circuit - he would be blowing fuses instantly or tripping breakers if it was. It's an open circuit.

OP: Good luck! Trouble-shooting wiring is often a pita.

Also, outlets are wired in parallel, not series. (But everyone knows what you mean. )

 

[vi edit]

Also, outlets are wired in parallel, not series. (But everyone knows what you mean. )

Supposed to be...but if it's an older house who knows how they threw things together.

 

[Red Squirrel]

What's really fun is when you have a MWBC and a loose neutral, also known as floating neutral. Things can get really hairy depending on what's plugged in, and also makes for weird troubleshooting.

"The kitchen lights only work when I use the toaster!" It could happen.

 

[Blieb]

Good call on that too. I had a GFI pop in my bathroom that also killed my vent fan in the shower. That took me until the eveing to see the little fault light glowing.

GFI FTW. When I was in college I ran an extension cord for like 6 months because an outlet stopped working. The GFI was downstairs in the other bathroom ... I slapped myself silly when I figured that one out ...

Another time an outside outlet stopped, and the GFI was on the other side of the house in the garage. Go figure ...

 

[TXHokie]

It's a pretty recent house built in 99 altho I have found that the contractor were sloppy as hell when I had to tear things up to fix. Bummer no GCFI nearby that I can find. Makes no sense since there's no short tripping. The lightswitch that's out is right above the outlet and the second non working outlet is five feet away. Everything around it works except for these three. Even if the switch/outlet is bad, wouldn't the wire be "hot"?

 

[TXHokie]

UPDATE - So I had to sell the house and had to fix this to pass inspection. Finally gave in and called the electrician. Turns out it was a bad connection on a ceiling fan switch in a different outlet on another wall adjacent to it. I guess that was what was feeding power to the light and the two outlets that wasn't working. I was so focused on the area that wasn't working and didn't think to check the one that was working. Nice $140 lesson and easy money for the electrician. Well hope this helps someone out there.