Not Getting Power But Circuit Breaker Was Not Tripped

I thought I had tripped the circuit breaker after turning on the TV, stereo, Satellite receiver all at the same time. However when I went to check the breaker, it had not tripped, but there was no power to any of the outlets on that circuit. Does this sound like a faulty breaker? And if so, can I change it myself?

Thanks,
GD from NY

Answers:

Not Getting Power But Circuit Breaker Was Not Tripped

My son claims one can change a faulty breaker themselves if the main electricity switch to the dwelling is cut off. They are sold at large hardware stores. I believe he said that it unscrews and pulls straight out of a normal box configuration. Take it with you when you go to buy a new one. He said it isn't hard, but our box is a bit too high for me and I prefer that he would do it if ever needed. God bless you. (09/07/2006)

By lynda

Not Getting Power But Circuit Breaker Was Not Tripped

After my father passed away my mother experienced the same thing. She asked a neighbor to come over that worked with electricity and he told her that sometimes the circuit breaker doesn't pop out all the way. She just needed to push the circuit breaker till it popped then reset it. She's not had any more problems. Hope this helps.

Nancy (09/08/2006)

By Nancy

Not Getting Power But Circuit Breaker Was Not Tripped

Just a quick question first. Are your appliances plugged into a power supply cord? If by chance they are, did you check the trip button on that? and if their not I would highly recommend you purchase one.

Go to your hardware store and talk to the salesperson about the problem and he'll direct you in how to fix it. (09/08/2006)

By Laurie

Not Getting Power But Circuit Breaker Was Not Tripped

Had a similar problem. Replaced a light fixture that had been working, however new one did not. Took it down and checked power, had no power. Circuit breaker at panel was OK, checked other lights on same circuit. My wife figured it out for me, one of the outlets on that circuit was a GFI and it had tripped. Reset it and had power back to the light. (09/17/2007)

By Joe

Not Getting Power But Circuit Breaker Was Not Tripped

I just had a "GFI situation" in my home as well. Our garage doors would not open and there was no power to the fridge in the garage, but the breakers hadn't tripped. I googled "circuit not tripped, but no power", and saw mollie01's comment, and sure enough, one of the other outlets on the circuit was a GFI in the kitchen that had tripped. Reset the GFI and voila, power again. It was nice to have a simple fix for once.(09/24/2007)

By Katie

Not Getting Power But Circuit Breaker Was Not Tripped

I recently developed a similar situation. General lighting circuit cuts out entirely (mostly on one side of the house). I checked the breakers and none were tripped. I tried them all to see if tripping them manually and resetting them would restore power, but it didn't. However, after about an hour or so, power came back on by itself with no action on my part.

Then power was on for several hours after that, then cut out again and restarted on its own after about an hour or two. Haven't checked GFI yet, but since it's restarting on its own I doubt that's the problem. Any ideas? Thanks.

Editor's Note: We had this happen once, and it didn't make sense. Call your power company to come check to make sure you are getting all the power you should be. One of their wires coming into the house had burned up the connection in their box by the street, so we were only getting half of the power we should have been getting. There is no charge to have this checked. (06/08/2009)

By Jon Leppo