reefnjunkie Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 So I got a question......... My father in law was using his microwave oven yesterday when something popped and he lost all power to every outlet in the room that the micro was hooked up in. Imgo out there today to try any trouble shoot the problem since he is 82 and has no idea whats up, not that I do would either but figured it was a breaker at the main panel or a GFI flipped etc. The problem is the house has no GFI switches and non of the breakers in the main panel have been triped. To make things worse none of the breakers are marked so it was difficult to determine what breakers ran which outlets. I ended up turning on all the lights etc and started flipping breakers to get an idea which breaker covers that room. I believe I narrowed it down to 1 of 2 but still cant wrap my head around how every outlet is not working when none of the breakers are flipped. I dont know if a breaker can go bad but figuerd what the heck and ran to HD and got 2 new breakers and replaced both of the ones I that I narrowed down to that would cover that room and still no power. I suppose one could expose the walls and rewire the room ( not that I would since its not my house) but am curious what would an electrician do to trouble shoot the problem. The way that house is wired I have no way to determine which outlet is first in the series coming from either of the 2 "possible" breakers that cover that room. They are going to have to have an electrian come out but like I said, I was curious how someone would trouble shoot that problem??????? Just curious Does that make sense? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MVPaquatics Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 Something similar happened to me. Dishwasher popped. Breaker didnt trip but was fine (switched it to a circuit i knew worked). But my volt meter said 60-80 volts (around half what it should be). Ohm meter said circuit was ok and i had continuity. My uncle (electrician) said it could be that a connection or the line itself partially blew and was allowing some but not all current to flow, making troubleshooting hard because it says its good but its not. Also said it may be that the polarity is swiched (black and white wires mixed up (newer outlets have one larger hole, which i believe is on the left and should be the white aka common wire). Try just changing that outlet too, maybe add a gfci Ohming the circuit will tell you of you have all connections secure and if you have continuity. Volts will tell you how much power is going. Did you volt meter it? You will have to know which outlets are on the circuit, check all visable connections, ohm it for continuity fpr the ones you cant see, and volt test it. I ended up running a new line because i was getting so much conflicting info during troubleshooting. RTher than beating my head finding coneections i beat up some walls and ran new lines. If they cant find it fast, just have them run a new line, dont pay $60+ an hour to sit there and scratch their heads, make them run a new one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Re_Run Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 start at the outlet. May have blown that outlet bet the main power in comes thur that out let then "runs the room" problely just need to change out the outlet (call an electriacian About $200). The "home run comes down thru the ceiling (or floor) goes from outlet to outlet) From the CB to the in wall plug. Over time the conections get loose from heat (current draw)... then poof no more power to the room.. check the outlet that the micro was plugged into ide bet even money there is a loose or burned wire... could draw you a diagram and scan and e-mail it if needed.. Use to work summers as and electrician while in colledge.. but could be totaly wrong.. Double major business, Practical Engineering Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Re_Run Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 think power strips.. one plugged to the next ect.. drop some water one the first the rest are dead. Doesn't kill all all of them but none work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Re_Run Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 exactly you ran a new line from.. to .. to by-pass the problem.. not that hard to chase.. go to the box check the out put side of th CB if good then..go to crawl space find the wire and follow it to the right plug.. check out put to plug.. just like water where is the blockage,, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Re_Run Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 had to have blown the line, the conection to the plug. or the plug it self ( most likely the plug if its old ) or very rare the junction of CB to the main in the CB box Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Re_Run Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 need help call me 503-332-1017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted September 1, 2012 Author Share Posted September 1, 2012 Thanks for the info guys it helps. I can get an ohm meter and go that route and trying to find which outlets are fed from the CB is impossible. The wires go up into the ceiling (from the CB) then through the flooring (2 story house) and down through the walls. had to have blown the line' date=' the conection to the plug. or the plug it self ( most likely the plug if its old ) or very rare the junction of CB to the main in the CB box[/quote'] Re_run how to I tell if the "line is blown, the conection to the plug or the plug it self" I would suspect if the connection is bad I will see where it arc'd or it looks burnt, same if the plug is bad. Its not my house so I am not going to start exposing walls and rewiring, if it was my place I would for sure. To add insult to injury they tell me yesterday "none of the outlets in the living room work-never had" I suspect those to be all on one of the 2 breakers I narrowed down to be what control those series, remeber I turned on all the lights and started flipping breakers to see cotrols what. As it sits now, there are 2 breakers "off" and everything is the same as it was before I showed -Living room still not working (it never has) and the lower room he had the micro wave hooked up. I wish I know which was first in the series and I would add a GFI and the replace all the rest. Would it be a total waste of trime pulling all the old outlets and possibly replace them with new, but the main reason for pulling them is to look. I got to go give a few basics a try before an electrician comes out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MVPaquatics Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 Ohm meter will tell you if line or connections are bad. Might tell you if outlet itself is bad. Habitat for humanity has cheap outlets and gfcis. Changing outlets is where i would start. Cheapest, easiest and where most connections are Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted September 1, 2012 Author Share Posted September 1, 2012 Changing outlets is where i would start. Cheapest' date=' easiest and where most connections are[/quote'] This is the path with the least resistance- dang it and I am supposed to be wiring up another LED fixture today insteadDOH! Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted September 1, 2012 Author Share Posted September 1, 2012 I still have to wonder how this caused every out let to go bad though, I can tell ya where the outlet is in corrolation (sp?) to the CB its not first in the series, yet it was that outlet the micro was plugged into and when it "popped" it affected at least 6 other outlets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badxgillen Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 not to stray from this threads initial subject but i am having a rather similar problem but was wondering what it meant if for some reason power to the area effected suddenly comes back on for a brief period of time then shuts itself off? thinking this could be a hazard while i slept i turned the breaker off.it was never tripped mind you.later the power comes on for a few seconds then off again.i check the breaker and it is still in the off position.i know nothing in the electrition department but i do know that this is not right.possibly dangerous as wouldnt this mean there might be some arcing or piggy backing power somehow from another line?also in the beggining of this thread reef junky stated that the breaker never tripped from the sudden blow out so to speak.that is not normal correct? Thank you in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeramy Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 Because the other outlets are wired in siries with this one being first in line the power is fed to the next out let after it ans so on so if this outlet is shorted out then its not feeding power to the next out let. I sse this alot in appartments when people yank the vacume cords out of the wall and break the out lets and it breaks the socket. I know you said it was a microwave but it there was a loose conection in the wiring to the outlet then it can start to arc and corode esspecialy with something that is drawing a lot of power. I have seen wires melted all the way through from this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted September 1, 2012 Author Share Posted September 1, 2012 Because the other outlets are wired in siries with this one being first in line the power is fed to the next out let after it ans so on so if this outlet is shorted out then its not feeding power to the next out let. I sse this alot in appartments when people yank the vacume cords out of the wall and break the out lets and it breaks the socket. I know you said it was a microwave but it there was a loose conection in the wiring to the outlet then it can start to arc and corode esspecialy with something that is drawing a lot of power. I have seen wires melted all the way through from this. I understand.... This outlet is not first, I am not certain but I would bet on it wven though I have yet to tear into it. Say that since its in the middle of the room and for someone to wire it first would be totally stupid. I have a hunch which ones could be first, but certainly not this one, thats why I was wondering how that outlet arcing, frying or whatever you want to cal it could affect the outlets upstream, I understand everthing behind it will not work but why the outlets before it. Time will tell. I'm going to wear my rubber flip flops so that way I wont need to flip the main breaker and it will save me some time.(clap) J/K people - dont try this at home, I'm not an electrician but I play one on TV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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