Possible hit electric wire with screw? (Home Depot, color, detector, insulation)
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So I cut out a small square of drywall, so I could take it to Home Depot and color match the paint. Anyways, I put it back with a couple of drywall screws.
I walk away after screwing the piece back in, and maybe 1-2 minutes later, whole house loses power. I checked and the main circuit breaker tripped. (Which I’ve never seen happen before) I flipped it back and it’s been fine since?
Did I possibly hit an electrical wire ?? Or weird coincidence?
Some thoughts to consider:
I would think if I hit a wire, the power would go out immediately.
If I did hit a wire, I feel like something would happen (flickering lights, noise, etc)
Wouldn’t the breaker retrip if there was a drywall screw screwed into wiring?
Just to add: Very old house with atleast 2 layers of drywall, and most likely lathe and plaster under that. I did not see any wires but with so many layers, who can be sure?
I have checked with a stud finder which did detect electrical..however, the wall doesn’t even have any outlets on it
The screw did contact a wire such that it took the 1-2 minute delay for the pressure of the screw to displace the wire's insulation, that dead-shorted the hot to neutral or ground, and the resulting arc burned away the tip of the screw, removing the short.
BTW, I have witnessed a dead-short trip the main breaker before the branch. BTDT, AMHIK :-(
I've seen a nail through a wire bypass the breaker that the wire was on, and trip the main. Usually flipping the breaker back causes it to trip again, unless the original incident caused the wire/nail to blow out the wire, in which case the breaker will reset, but only because you have a blown out wire in the wall that is no longer making contact with anything.
Kill the main for a second (in case the screw is still electrified) and pull the screw back out. Do you see any burned/melted parts? 100Amps or more is bound to leave a mark. Do you still have power in all receptacles/lights in house?
The screw did contact a wire such that it took the 1-2 minute delay for the pressure of the screw to displace the wire's insulation, that dead-shorted the hot to neutral or ground, and the resulting arc burned away the tip of the screw, removing the short.
BTW, I have witnessed a dead-short trip the main breaker before the branch. BTDT, AMHIK :-(
Maybe remove the screw and see if it's damaged.
OK, possible. I am wondering what was shorted? A screw into a hot wire isn't going to short unless it is grounded. I would also remove and inspect the screw. Lots of questions. It's an old house...Knob and Tube, BX, Romex?
There IS lots of questions, which I honestly don’t have the answers for. It could be any type of wire for all I know. Or maybe no wire at all.
As far as I can tell, everything seems to work fine. There is a couple of things I will check, but I’m guessing they’re fine.
By “blown out wire” you mean the wire no longer working ?
I’m going to remove the screw, but first I’m going to check it with a voltage detector. Then probably make the hole in the wall even bigger and look for a wire. I don’t want to burn the place down.
OK, possible. I am wondering what was shorted? A screw into a hot wire isn't going to short unless it is grounded. ?
A typical house wire usually contains 3 wires. hot, neutral and ground. A screw or nail through the wire usually shorts the hot to either the neutral or ground. It usually causes whatever shorted across it to blow out. Removing the screw (with power off first) would be a good way to see if in fact it went through. A chunk likely will be missing.
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