Posted: 12/16/2007 5:36:40 AM EDT
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My dear sweet mother in law called and woke me up this morning to tell me how some of the walls in her house no longer had power. Apparently it is random however the main urgency is that the Christmas tree lights are out. Oh No! Wake me up! Anyway, she has flipped all of the breakers, the main switch, and reset all of the plug reset buttons. What next? Thanks |
| Loose wire in the circuit. IT Is allowing some receptacles to work , and the rest down the line to be dead. ARE you sure she checked all GFCI's? could be anywhere like in the garage, downstairs bathroom, etc. Smell for a cooking mouse with a piece of ROmex in his mouth. |
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You said the wall has "random" power. That sounds like some is loose. Have her call an electrician ASAP. A loose or intermittent connection can overheat, arc, or some other bad problem and cause a fire. Some folks don't understand breakers. When one trips, it does not go to the off position - it goes to the tripped position, which is actually in-between on and off. When one trips, you have to move it fully to the off position, then to the on position. Moving it from the tripped position to the on position will not reset it. |
HA! "Smoke Tested" an $85K lighting dimming panel yesterday. Didn't let any of the factory installed smoke out, so it's still OK. Have 4 more to test in the next couple of days. (Joke post) |
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Backstop, not random as in the same socket working one minute and then not the next, random as in kitchen wall works, living room wall doesnt, etc. She said she switched them all to off and then back to on. She put in a call to an electrician. Thanks for the heads up! |
Ahhh...OK...understood. Good move on calling an electrician. |
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Electrical work is not a hobby. However, one thing to consider is the age of the breakers. As an earlier poster said, the "Tripped" position isn't "OFF" and it could fool someone at first glance. If the breakers are, say, 20 years old, they may not work correctly any more and not turn back on. |
+1 on checking GFCIs. Checking and resetting a GFCI is generally an easy and safe DIY task, even for my mom. Don't open anything or use a screwdriver or any other tools, just push the little buttons. |