Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
For about two months now, in the master bedroom, 2 of the outlets which have the TV and cable box connected and also the light in the room go out and come back on. I have checked the breaker and it doesn't trip. One of the times that it went off, it stayed off for a few minutes.
This sounds dangerous to me. I would call an electrician to come check this out.
Breakers and switches, when shut off or tripped, stay off.
Checking for loose connections is what is required.
If your power is shutting off and turning back on it sounds like a loose connection somewhere (maybe inside a device such as a switch or breaker but more typically in a wire nut or the neutral connection in the power panel).
Loose connections are heat generators. I would have an electrician track this down as soon as possible.
I have had a non working plug in our bathroom with a working light for years. We recently had a lot of work done, including rewiring the kitchen. The contractor replaced the fixture in the bathroom during the renovation.
The new fixture works like the old one. Light works, plug does not. Any idea what the issue is, and is it an easy fix? Thank you in advance.Did you explain to the electrician you hired that the plug in had never worked. If so, and he didn`t fix it, call him back and ask him to fix it, and I would not expect him to charge you for this.
Unfortunately, he's out of the country. Even when he's around, he's hard to get hold of. When the work was being done, I told my mother to have him do it, unsure as to whether it was her error for leaving out the electrical issue and he assumed I just wanted a new one for aesthetic purposes.
One of our light switches is faulty, sometimes it works, other times it doesn't. If we flip the switch off and on several times it will eventually turn the lights on and they will stay on. Many times the light turns on for a second and then turns off. If we do get the light to stay on and we plug anything in to the outlet, everything will turn off. It is not the fuse/circuit box. The outlet below the light switch (not controlled by the switch) sparks when we plug into or unplug from it.
By AndieR
It could be a number of things and it would be good to have an electrician check this out. There is plenty of opportunity to be hurt or killed if you don't know what you are doing. The situation itself sounds dangerous enough.
Although the receptacle is not switched, it sound like it is on the same circuit (breaker or fuse).
The hot wire may enter the switch box and go to the switch and on to the receptacle. If so, the neutral wire would enter the box also and go on to the receptacle.
The connection in the box is usually made with a wire nut. If a loose connection exists, It could be the repeated cycling of the switch that allows contact to be made, by vibration, and power sent on to the receptacle. Loose connections are heat generators and the wires may show sign of overheating.
Plugging something in the receptacle may then overload the poor connection at the switch and open the circuit.
There also exists switches which provide not only a switched output but also an unswitched output to reduce connections in the box. The problem with this type of switch is that when it goes bad, all power is lost downstream. If you have a switch like this, I would be suspicious of it.
Thanks for this great explanation, Bruce. And the best advice you gave was "call an electrician". Home electrical repairs are not something that untrained people should be tackling.
I've been using the same outlet for 3 years now to charge my laptop. All of a sudden the outlet doesn't work. So, I plugged my laptop into another outlet. It worked briefly, but now it doesn't work. How do I know what is wrong and how do I fix it? The breakers are not tripping.
By Sandra D
Try plugging in something other than your laptop into the outlet. If it works okay, you need to have the power supply cord to your laptop checked. They do sometimes wear out.
Check the outlet by plugging something other than your laptop. If the outlet is working, you probably need to check the power cord supply for the laptop. They do get old and wear out.
I changed our wall outlet plug in our 2nd floor bedroom from a two prong to a three prong and now I don't have power to my closet. The outlet has two hot wires, two neutrals, and two grounds. All of the wiring was stacked up on the two prong plug. I've tried various configurations to remedy the problem; however, none of them seem to work. I am able to get power to this particular outlet, but I still cannot restore power to my closet.
By Antwan from MO
Why was there a ground wire to a 2 wire outlet? Usually only a hot and neutral are at a 2 wire recept. Not sure what you mean by stacked, 2 wires under each screw?
Ditto with zoodad! Please have an electrician take care of this because the wiring as it is now could also be a fire hazard! :-(
We removed a closet from our bedroom. It turned into a nightmare. First the walls were of plaster with the wire mesh for the corners. While removing the wire mesh we cut into a tiny red wire in the ceiling. It made an outlet not work. However this outlet is run by the closet light. If the light is on the outlet works, but if it is off it does not work.
I believe this tiny red wire being cut is responsible for this because the light did not have to be turned on before this tiny red wire was cut. This tiny red wire was buried into the plaster and we cannot find where it goes. Any suggestions on making this red wire dead? I am fine with having the switch on to run the outlet.
We live in an apartment building built in the 1970s, maybe 80s. My daughter had an inexpensive fan in her room that would slow down and then it just stopped working.
Last night it worked and then stopped. I jiggled the cord, unplugged the light, and the fan, and it worked then stopped. So afraid a fire or a weird wire is the culprit I moved to a different outlet and it worked fine. How do I know what is going on with the outlet, and are we in danger? Is it just the voltage to that one outlet?
The landlord is a super pain to deal with.
Thank you.
I have a problem here that I was hoping you could help me with. 1 of the 2 receptacles isn't working, in my kitchen, 1 outlet with 2 plugins. I tried changing the whole outlet, but that didn't help. It can't be the breaker as the other plugin is still working.
Please help
A duplex receptacle has a bridge between the two neutral slots (tall ones) and a bridge between the two hot slots (short ones) and the grounds are tied together internally. It would be difficult for one to be working without the other unless a bridge was cut. (Bridges are cut to make one receptacle switched on a duplex receptacle).
An electrician could fix this for you.
One of my bedroom sockets is going off and not tripping. Two of my livingroom ones just cut off and then they come back on a few hours later. Weird.
It sounds like a loose connection in your household wiring. Your wiring is metal, most likely copper (maybe aluminum). A loose connection generates heat causing the metal to expand. This can cause the circuit to open. Once open the connection cools down and the circuit closes again. I would hire an electrician to verify the connections are tight in the devices you mentioned.
The outlet for my cook top and fan is not working, but the breaker is fine. I checked the voltage between phase to neutral and it was 20V. I checked the phase to ground- 120V.
If not qualified, I would recommend getting an electrician to resolve the issue.
It sounds as though the neutral connection is open somewhere. Yes, it could be at the panel. It could also be at an electrical box between the stove and the panel.
A digital meter is precise, but does not load the circuit. A meter such as a Wiggy is less precise but loads the circuit and it is more obvious that the neutral is open.
With the breaker off, an electrician will check for continuity (zero resistance) between the neutral and ground (these are bonded in your panel).
I have a touch lamp that previously worked in my daughters' bedroom. It went out so I had a new switch put in from a lamp repair shop. Now it works in every outlet except the 2 upstairs bedrooms! Other things work in the outlets (iPod dock, video monitor cameras, sewing machine), but the lamp doesn't!
It's so strange because the lamp works in other rooms in the house. Any thoughts on this?The touch switch works on capacitance of the human body interfering with the electric field set up by the control box inside the lamp.
Human capacitance can vary with surroundings, causing the lamp to work in some rooms and not in others.
The sensitivity of the switch can usually be adjusted. I would start by returning to the lamp repair shop and asking for the switch to be made more sensitive because it is not always working.
I woke up this morning and plugged in the blender like I do every morning and night. However today it wouldn't work so, I switched it to an outlet on a different wall and it worked. I noticed the GFI light was red, this is a newer house (2-year-old), so I have never had this problem before.
I tried to fix it by unplugging everything and then pushed the GFI button in and it clicked, but it is still red. So I flipped the breaker and it is still red what should I try next? Thank you so much for any help.There is no standard on the red light. It could mean everything is okay. However, if there is no power, then push the test and then the reset. If nothing changes...
Check other receptacles in the vicinity that are not GFCI and unplug their loads. (It could be they are fed from the GFCI in question). Then go back to the GFCI and push the test and reset.
If still no luck, hire an electrician to change the GFCI.
I arced three wires in my light, the three connected. Now 1 plug in works and 1 doesn't.
If the light is plugged in the wall and had no wall switch, have an electrician come to install a new receptacle. Receptacles are cheap. In the process of changing the receptacles, he/she will have to unwire the old and wire the new so the integrity of the connections will be verified.
If the light is plugged in the wall and has a wall switch, have an electrician come to check power at the receptacle and switch. Receptacles and switches are cheap. I suspect the switch is bad (which would be indicated by no power to half of receptacle with the switch on). In the process of changing the receptacle or switch, he/she will have to unwire the old and wire the new so the integrity of the connections will be verified.
It would be helpful to identify which breaker the circuit is on, so that it can be shut off while the work is done.
I changed one outlet in my daughter's bedroom and turned the breaker off first. After turning the breaker on, the outlet works, but now there is one in another bedroom and one in her bedroom that don't work.
I tried turning the breaker off and on again and the two outlets that I didn't touch are still not working.I am glad you killed power at the breaker before working on this system. This always needs to be done. I hope you also metered it before working to make sure power was gone.
It is standard practice for multiple items like this to be on one circuit. A 2 conductor cable consists of a black insulated, white insulated and bare wire. My guess is this enclosure had two such cables in it. One cable providing power to this box and the other carrying the power on to the next. To install a receptacle, pigtails (short piece of wire) are often run from the hot (black) neutral (white) and ground (bare) to the receptacle. This makes changing the receptacle easier.
What may have happened is moving the connection under the wire nut, either black or white wire connections, caused the circuit to be broken. The wire nuts need to be removed and re-installed or replaced.
An electrician can fix this for you.
I have a wall of outlets that are not working, but when I put a meter on them it shows they are getting power. I changed one outlet, but still not working.
By Terri
A common way of checking power is with a non-contact volt meter. It will show the presence of 120 VAC hot.
However, to make a circuit you also need the neutral. If you have the hot, but lost the neutral, it would act as you describe.
The neutral and the ground should be bonded (connected) at only one point, typically your power panel.
With the power off, an electrician could use a meter to determine if there is continuity between the neutral and ground. If there is, your neutral is good.
There are a number of ways to lose a neutral
- Run a nail through it hanging a picture
- Overload a bad connection causing it to overheat and burn open
- Rodent chewing through wire
- Human error when wiring - did not connect neutral
- Human error when wiring - switched neutral instead of hot
-Human error when wiring - GFCI wiring switched (hot and neutral reversed)
You may want to look to see if a GFCI is tripped. If it is and you reset it and you have power again, you will need to get an electrician to correct the GFCI wiring.
I can put a plug into the outlet, but any movement of the cords and they pop out. Any kind of plug in air freshener will hang partially out. It's like a loose outlet that doesn't want to hold onto anything.
By Cheryl from Cameron Park, CA
An outlet in a circuit is not working and the other outlets are also not working as a result. What is the problem?
By R
Unplug everything from the receptacles on that circuit.
Is the breaker reset? To reset a breaker, switch off then on.
The receptacles may be grouped on an AFCI or GFCI receptacle. Look for a receptacle that is one of these and needs to be reset and reset it.
If this all fails, then it could be the electrical wiring which would require an electrician to correct. Either an open hot or neutral could cause this (often bad connection at wire nut).
One day while my wife was doing laundry the dryer just stopped working. Assuming the dryer was fubar we went out and purchased another dryer. When we plugged it in, it too would not turn on. Now there is a new breaker and when I plug it in almost all the way and put my multimeter on each terminal I get power in only 2 of the openings. At the third I only get about 25 volts. Could the outlet be shot or did my new breaker (30 amp 2 pole) shoot the bed?
By Jim
Jim, you seem to have basic knowledge of electricity, so I think you should try googling for information. Try to find some sites or some Youtube videos specifically about electrical issues.
My meter shows 220, but when I plug my cord in my new unit won't turn on. How can I find the problem? It's not the new unit.
By Mark
My bathroom had one switch that turned on the lights and the fan. I replaced the switch with a double-toggle style switch so the lights and fan could be turned on separately. I can't get the switch to work on the lights or the fan now. The outlets still work. I checked the breakers and every GFCI and nothing was thrown. What do I do to fix this issue?
By JJ
This is not the site to get help for this problem, as a general rule. Try googling for specific electrical information if you think you can fix this yourself. However, do remember that electrical mistakes can cause fires in your house. Me - I'd call an electrician, since it isn't working correctly, and you think you did it right. Perhaps you know someone who is more familiar with this sort of repair who would help you, as it should have been a very simple repair job, and it has turned out not to be.
The plugs worked in the bedroom and we changed them all out even some in other parts of the house. Now all the ones in bedroom stopped working. The rest of house plugs and lights work.
By Micheal
Plug in won't work on one side of living room.
By Chris from Danville, VA
You can buy a plug in tester at Home Depot or any big box hardware store that has lights on it to indicate a short, open, open ground, etc. That is the best way (they come in 2 or 3 prong, depending if you have a grounded system) or it may be as simple as a loose screw.
Turn off the breaker. Take the cover off, and the 2 screws holding the plug. Pull it out and visually check it. Tighten the screws, or replace the plug, insuring you have the wires in the same position on the new plug. Turn the breaker back on and test again.
Or the problem may be in a connection on one of the other plugs on the circuit. Follow the same pocedure as above. Always testing the non working plug after checking connections on the other plugs.
