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I need some advice. I discovered this morning that the lights to my 2nd/3rd bedrooms were off. Every light. Also, some Christmas lights were plugged in outside and have been using the same circuit. That outlet too was without power.
I checked the breaker box and the breaker was not tripped. I cycled it off/on and the lights came back on. Then... 15 seconds later... back off again. I cycled the breaker again... still off. I cycled again... lights don't work but the "night lights" in both rooms were on. An anomaly though... turning on the main light switch in either room caused the "night lights" to shut off.
I waited about 20 minutes, then cycled the breaker one more time. Everything came on and stayed on. Weird. I've unplugged the Christmas lights. I don't know if the breaker is bad... or if a receptacle is loose or what. The fickle nature of this is somewhat troubling. Where should I begin? I'm not comfortable just calling it good. The two rooms belong to my daughters. Both under 5 years of age. Thanks.
Also: New construction. Built in 2013.
Last edited by decious; 12-30-2013 at 10:25 PM..
Reason: Added info
After this post I checked the lights in the rooms again and found them to be illuminating slowly. I swapped out the breaker with another of identical voltage and make. Everything seems to have been resolved by doing that. I even put the suspect breaker on another circuit and it displays some slight compromised behavior... so I'll be buying a new one in the morning.
I'm going out on a limb here...how about calling an electrician that is qualified to deal with something as dangerous as electricity?
Let's see, Black is hot, White is ground, and bare is grounding. I haven't even taken off my shoes yet, and still have fingers left to count. IT IS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE!
To the OP: Sounds like a bad breaker, good call. I was leaning towards a fault in what you had plugged in, but in your second post it sounds like you found it.
Let's see, Black is hot, White is ground, and bare is grounding. I haven't even taken off my shoes yet, and still have fingers left to count. IT IS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE!
To the OP: Sounds like a bad breaker, good call. I was leaning towards a fault in what you had plugged in, but in your second post it sounds like you found it.
Agree. Household electric is not that dangerous with basic understanding. No, not everyone should run around messing with the electrical panel or circuit breaker but as a home owner, one should learn a bit about the basic. Why? The service industry has changed quite a bit in this informational age. Good luck trying to get a good qualify electrican to do such a small job.
A lot of the new homes uses really cheap breaker panel and circuits breaker. Just visit your hardware store and see what one can get for less than $100 (panels and breakers). The are cheap because it's cheaply made.
Let's see, Black is hot, White is ground, and bare is grounding. IT IS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE!
And yet you still got it wrong . White is NOT ground. Unless you have a tiny bit better understanding than this, you really shouldn't be giving out any advice on electrical issues.
To the OP: Sounds like a bad breaker, good call. I was leaning towards a fault in what you had plugged in, but in your second post it sounds like you found it.
It could be a bad breaker... could be. Might not be either, there are several things that can cause exactly what the OP was describing. It could be the breaker, a loose/burnt neutral, loose/burnt hot, might even be the main neutral in the service is loose and the loads in the rooms affected are unbalanced enough for the issue to show up there and not other places in the home. In 30 years of actually being an Electrician I have seen all of these scenarios show as the same problem the OP is/was having. Out of all the troubleshooting calls of screwy circuits I have been on, the LEAST problematic device has been the breakers, the MOST common cause was a loose or missing neutral somewhere in the system.
OP - IF replacing the breaker solves the problem, you probably found it. If it comes back, DON'T replace the breaker again, call in someone who is qualified to actually find what is causing the problem.
And yet you still got it wrong . White is NOT ground. Unless you have a tiny bit better understanding than this, you really shouldn't be giving out any advice on electrical issues.
1993 NEC Article 210-5 Color Code For Branch Circuits
(a) Grounded Conductor. The grounded conductor of a branch circuit shall be identified by a continuous white or natural grey color.
Maybe it is you who should have a better understanding of your own craft.
Disclaimer, I am not an electrician. I have unfortunately had experience with goofy electrical problems. The tough ones are confused or loose neutrals. My concern is that if you may have a loose connection it can arc and heat. I had several outlets that were installed using short wire pulls and the "push in" in the back of the outlet and the result was a melted box and insulation. Potentially could have been a fire! Since I know there is good smart people involved in this thread I ask is it worth getting a lighted plug-in circuit tester to check?
Since I know there is good smart people involved in this thread I ask is it worth getting a lighted plug-in circuit tester to check?
A person should have a good circuit tester before touching electrical. Always trust what you can test and see. Don't assume. I've found switches inside the walls of some of the older homes that I rehab.
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. White is NOT ground. Unless you have a tiny bit better understanding than this, you really shouldn't be giving out any advice on electrical issues.
I have unfortunately had experience with goofy electrical problems. The tough ones are confused or loose neutrals. My concern is that if you may have a loose connection it can arc and heat. I had several outlets that were installed using short wire pulls and the "push in" in the back of the outlet and the result was a melted box and insulation. Potentially could have been a fire! Since I know there is good smart people involved in this thread I ask is it worth getting a lighted plug-in circuit tester to check?