Ask Experts Questions for FREE Help !
Ask
    johnben's Avatar
    johnben Posts: 2, Reputation: 1
    New Member
     
    #1

    Dec 3, 2006, 03:11 PM
    Lighting/electrical - is separate circuit possible?
    I have lights in my house that have both a regular switch and a dimmer switch. A few days ago I used the regular switch to turn on the lights and it looked like a circuit breaker tripped and the lights went out. I checked the main box and no circuits were tripped... and I looked for a sub-panel and no such luck.

    A few weeks ago someone was working on one of the outlets near the lights that went out and was using a heavy drill that tripped the outlet circuit. Again, no circuit breaker was down on the main box. The guy said that the outlet was on a different circuit... but I have no idea how he got the outlet working again.

    I tried checking all of the GFCI outlets and they all look fine to me. Does anyone have any idea what it could be?
    tkrussell's Avatar
    tkrussell Posts: 9,659, Reputation: 725
    Uber Member
     
    #2

    Dec 4, 2006, 03:30 AM
    There may be a loose connection at an outlet or a splice. Go to the closest live outlet and check the wiring connections. If you find the wires pushed into holes , then these connections are popular for loosening.
    johnben's Avatar
    johnben Posts: 2, Reputation: 1
    New Member
     
    #3

    Dec 4, 2006, 11:12 AM
    TK... thanks for the quick response. I did what you told me and I checked all the loose wiring in the live outlets... and no luck. I am a newbie so all of this is foreign to me.

    My main question that has been bothering me... is when the other handyman was using the drill and the outlet tripped... how did he get the outlet working again if he didn't trip any of the breakers in the main box? Did I miss a breaker somewhere along the circuit?
    jhardegr's Avatar
    jhardegr Posts: 25, Reputation: 5
    New Member
     
    #4

    Dec 4, 2006, 11:26 AM
    This is a reach but I thought I would mention that once or twice I have seen a breaker trip without the visual indicator really showing it. If you havent' already, flip the breaker(s) off and back on just to make sure.

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!

GFCI trips when a separate circuit is activated [ 4 Answers ]

I'd appreciate help on an odd problem. I'm pretty good with electricity but stumped on this. I installed a GFCI in the middle of a 120V outlet circuit. It works correctly, protecting itself and all the downstream load outlets. But, on a completely separate circuit (separate breaker), I also...

Lighting circuit [ 1 Answers ]

Doing some minor work to lighting in a 1957 house. The circuit seems modern(ish) but has 3 wires plus earth (instead of 2 plus earth) coloured yellow, red and blue. Need assistance understanding circuit and adding lights.

Electrical & Lighting [ 1 Answers ]

I have a Hampton Bay St. Regis ceiling fan but no directions. Can I get a copy?

Electrical & Lighting [ 1 Answers ]

I have a Hampton Bay St. Regis ceiling fan but no directions. Can I get a copy?


View more questions Search