View Full Version : Why did the power go out in one room without tripping breaker then come back on?
ConfusedAnne
Dec 14, 2012, 05:31 PM
I had my electric heater and heated blanket plugged in and on at the same time. The heater was plugged directly into the wall. The heated blanket was plugged into an extension cord (not heavy duty) that I had plugged into the wall as well. When I plugged my computer into the extension cord, the power in my room went out. Not just that particular outlet, but both outlets in the room. All of the power in my room went out. I went to look at the circuit breaker, but it was normal. None of the switches were tripped. I turned them all off and on anyway, but that made no difference. About five minutes later, the power came back on in my room on its own. My heater has been turned off ever since and the extension cord has been unplugged. The power has not gone off since then. Why is this? What's going on? Did I simply have too many high-powered objects plugged into the same area at the same time? Or is something else going on here?
Kyle_in_rure
Dec 14, 2012, 08:52 PM
You could have a loose connection somewhere, or there could be another problem that others smarter than myself might address. To answer part of your question, you should not plug anything in an electric socket that already has a high-powered appliance, such as a heater, (probably 1200-1500 watts) in it if possible. Do you know if these receptacles are on a 15 or 20 amp circuit?
shuntripper
Dec 16, 2012, 07:46 AM
Check the circuit breaker again, turn it off, then on again and tell us what you observe.
Touch the front of the breaker, is it warm? What brand circuit breaker is it? Is it very old?
tkrussell
Dec 16, 2012, 07:58 AM
Stop using these appliances and the receptacle that served these units. There is most likely a loose conneaction at this receptacle or one upstream in the circuit. This loose connection is heating up and opening the circuit. The power came back after this loose connection cooled.
This loose connection will not get better on its own and can be a fire hazard.
Please hire a qualified electrician to come in and troubleshoot the problem. This is not going to be solved by simply turning your circuit breakers on and off.
shuntripper
Dec 16, 2012, 10:05 AM
Stop using these appliances and the receptacle that served these units. There is most likely a loose conneaction at this receptacle or one upstream in the circuit. This loose connection is heating up and opening the circuit. The power came back after this loose connection cooled.
This loose connection will not get better on its own and can be a fire hazard.
Please hire a qualified electrician to come in and troubleshoot the problem. This is not going to be solved by simply turning your circuit breakers on and off.
Would help troubleshooting it though, eliminate the breaker as the problem.
ConfusedAnne
Dec 29, 2012, 07:01 PM
I decided to leave the electricity alone completely and had nothing plugged into the wall until I could get the problem solved. Today I had somebody come in and take a look at it. The outlet has been replaced completely and now the electricity is back in that room. Everything seems to be back to normal now. Thank you all for your answers! I definitely know I should come back here if I have any other problems.
Kyle_in_rure
Dec 29, 2012, 08:05 PM
Glad to hear it.