Ask Experts Questions for FREE Help !
Ask
    fatb's Avatar
    fatb Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
    New Member
    		  
    #1

    May 17, 2007, 10:28 AM
    A few outlets and light switches not working
    Just recently we lost power on several outlets/lights in a section of the house. It tripped when we tried to plug the vacuum cleaner into one of the outlets. Ever since then the power is not coming back.

    I have checked the circuit breaker and test for voltage with a DMM (with one side touching the breaker screws and the other touching a fat neutral wire in the panel)

    I have also checked the GFCI outlet in the area without power with the DMM. The GFCI outlet does not serve as the load to the rest of the area. The interesting thing is that when I use DMM to check for voltage between the ground wire with either neutral(white) or hot(black) wires, I will get a reading of 120V, while it reads 0V between the hot and neutral. The reading from neutral to ground should've been zero, am I correct?

    What would be the best step to take from here? Much help is appreciated.

    Thanks
    tkrussell's Avatar
    tkrussell Posts: 9,659, Reputation: 725
    Uber Member
    		  
    #2

    May 17, 2007, 01:35 PM
    The neutral wire is open someplace between the panel and the outlets in the wiring. You may be best to start by opening the last working outlet on the circuit looking for a loose or broken neutral wire.
    Stratmando's Avatar
    Stratmando Posts: 11,188, Reputation: 508
    Uber Member
    		  
    #3

    May 18, 2007, 06:20 AM
    Good advice tk, The Neutral sounds like it opened, and you still have something plugged in, or light switch turned on,on bad circuit. Un plug and place all switches off. Should not
    Have voltage on neutral now. To find that last good receptacle, if there is one, Turn off all breakers but bad one. Now look for live receptacle near defective recpticles. Check that recpticles connections.
    Check all Neutral tight at Panel. Bad Neutrals do more damage than bad Hots.
    If in conduit, see what circuits go in conduit with bad circuit.Bath? Bedroom? Look at where those connections connect or split.
Not your question? Ask your question View similar questions
 

Question Tools Search this Question
Search this Question:

Advanced Search

Add your answer here.


Check out some similar questions!

Outlets not working! Help! [ 13 Answers ]

Hi... I came home today and the outlets in our bonus room aren't working. I checked the breaker and nothing was tripped. Then I went searching for the GFI outlets. All of them were fine except the one in the bathroom nearest the bonus room. Here is the issue: On that outlet, the power...

Non-working outlets! [ 9 Answers ]

I switched out the light switch in our laundry room and after I turned the breaker on to the whole room (laundry/ living room) I noticed my TV and dvr were not turned on I went to turn on the TV and realized that all the outlets and my closet light , including the light in my backyard as well as my...

Outlets not working [ 3 Answers ]

Long Story... The other day, my husband and I installed a ceiling fan in our master bedroom. Everything went fine and the light and fan both work. Then we went to install a dual switch, that has a light dimmer and fan control, on the wall. When we turned on the power and moved the levers on the...

Outlets not working [ 3 Answers ]

I posted a question a couple months ago about some outlets that aren't working in my house. I have done some further investigating and here is what I know as of now. The outlets that do not work are all on the same circuit - with the exception of one which is outside in the backyard. I have...

Outlets not working [ 3 Answers ]

I just bought a new home and it seems that some of the outlets in our house have stopped working since we've moved in. They are just regular outlets in the living room and also the outside outlets are not working. Is this a problem for a licensed electrician or is there something I can do to fix...

View more questions Search