Hi...
I am having a problem with my circuit breakers... when a couple of them tripped and I went down to reset them... the electrical appliances and switches etc. associated with these particular switches did not come back on... went downstairs to the breaker box and reset the switches again... still with no luck
The swithces are not "mushy"... and seem to be working OK... switch back and forth from off to on..
However the appliances and electrical outlets and switches associated with these particular switches do not work...
Could it be the switches in the breaker box need to be replaced... the whole breaker?. or possibly the outlets, switches etc upstairs?.
My husband thinks it may be the circuit breakers themselves... we don't see any burnt outlets... plugs or smell anything burning... but are not sure what we should do for sure...
Any solutions would be appreciated... thanks...

Without seeing the panel box connections for myself it sounds like you are experiencing a panel box failure. If only one breaker was involved, I would suggest changing the breaker. However, you are saying several breakers are involved and that they are "mushy". Does "Mushy" mean that the breakers themselves feel loose when you pull on the handle? Do they move freely under the cover.

If the answer is yes, than your breaker box may be contaminated with corrosion and that corrosion caused several breakers to fail. If you do not know how to open the panel box and work safely inside the box, call an electrician now. You really don't want to find out how dangerous electricity can be if you don't know what you are doing. It could easily be fatal.

However, if you choose to open the box, check the load bar that the failing breakers are connected to. Let us know hat you see prior to attempting to fix it yourself. If the bar is corroded, then you will need an electrician to do the work!

Thanks for answering... The breaker switches are NOT mushy... they seem to be switching back and forth just fine... however... the electrical appliances etc upstairs are not working... the other breaker switches in the box are working OK and all the other elec. Upstairs is okay... that is why we were puzzled... nothing mushy and the switches switch OK... just no electricity to some of the appliances etc upstairs... Diane

Dear ladybug,

Do you have or can you get a simple Volt/Ohm meter?

Again, the multiple breakers bothers me. Each circuit is served by only one breaker. If several breakers failed, than your panel box took a major hit from somewhere.

Start upstairs and check the rooms for GFCI outlets. If you find any, press the reset button on the outlet and See if that restores power to your outlets.

If not, take the meter and with the red lead in the (+) hole and the Black lead in the (-) or ground hole check for power at the appliance outlet. If there is no power, then continue to work back downstream until you get to the panel box. If the breaker is not supplying power to the circuit, you will have to verify that the Load buses are getting the correct amount of power. Again, if you don't know how to work safely inside a panel box, get an electrician, there is no good reason to be a dead herione because of cost.

If the failing circuits are in a pattern of every other breaker, it could be a problem of the one buss. Adjacent breakers usually feed off opposite legs of the service.

Do you have a main breaker or fuses? If you have 2 main fuses, one of them could have blown killing everything on it. Note, any 240 appliances will cause very flaky things to happen in that case.

Hi... My husband is going to check the box with a Voltmeter as suggested... I believe the switches affected are located one under the other... hopefully it won't be an expensive fix... this house was built in the mid 70's... and a sunroom was added on in the 90's so I would think the electrical was upgraded then... but don't know for sure... will take all of this under consideration... and let everyone know... any other replies as to what could be wrong would be appreciated... then I can tell my husband all of this and hope it helps him... thanks:)

I urge you to make sure your husband takes safety measures inside the box.

He should wear electrical safety gloves, stand on a rubber mat and wear safety glasses. Sometimes electricity can issue you a small bite to get your attention. The danger is the pull back. In an effort to get clear of the shock, you pull away from the shock and slam into something else.

Also, sister electricity can just issue a fatal shock and close the conversation for good!

I will make sure he knows all of this... believe me I don't want to see him hurt... and I"m sure he doesn't want to get "zapped"... thank you so much for all of your input... hopefully its an easy fix... if not our landlord will be footing the bill for it... nothing we did... Happy Holidays:)

Ladybug,

STOP! If you have a landlord it is his obligation to make the repairs. If you do it without his permission and something goes wrong the landlord may come after you for the cost of the repairs.

I have to agree with Donf on this one.

Also if the house was built in the 70's, I doubt it would have the main fuses I suggested.

Every other breaker in the vertical ladder of the breaker box is dead... the rest in between are hot... it has a dual pole 60 amp main breaker... is my box single phasing?. help!!

There is a loose or corroded connection ahead of the panel, which can be either the Main Breaker, meter, wire connections to the utility cable, or out at the pole.

This issue is beyond a DIY'er to troubleshoot and repair.

You are best to call in a good service electrician. If the problem is ahead of the meter, the electrician should know how to call in the utility company.

Thank you for your answer... we may have to call in an electrician... if we have the electric company come out to see if it's their problem from house to pole... then it costs $55.00 just for us to have them tell us if it's their problem or if it's inside the house we still have to call an electrician... either way I think we'll have to call an electrician... thanks again...

I will make sure he knows all of this...believe me I don't want to see him hurt...and I"m sure he doesn't want to get "zapped"...thank you so much for all of your input...hopefully its an easy fix...if not our landlord will be footing the bill for it...nothing we did...Happy Holidays:)

As Donf and I said in posts #9 & #10, this is your landlord's problem. He needs to call the electrician and power company.

I am an adventuresome DIY, but I strongly agree with tkrussell that DIY's need to stop at the main breaker. Tennants need to stop at not much more than changing fuses.

Hi... back at you again... regarding the circuit breaker and partial power...
The question we have now is... half of my 110 volt circuits are dead... however... when I turn on my dryer my dead 110 circuits receive approx.60 volts... the dryer has no heat... so I am inclined to believe that one of my imput leads to my box is dead... and have no 220 volts into the main... would turning on the dryer create a bridge to the dead circuits... splitting the current through the 60 amp dryer breaker...
When we turn on the dryer... the lights etc work that were off... receive about half power... and when we shut off the dryer... the lights go off again...
The Elec. Co is coming out to see if it's their problem or if we have to call an electrician... we think we're "half-phasing"...
Any suggestions... thanks...

I said flaky things happen with 240 appliances and one side of the box dead. I would keep all your 240 loads off, and do your best with the half you have. I have to admit the first time I ran into it long ago, it took me a while to figure it out. The second time it took me longer to get the home owner to shut up and show me the breaker box than it did to replace the fuse. He bragged on me for the rest of his life.

Hi...back at you again...regarding the circuit breaker and partial power...
The question we have now is...half of my 110 volt circuits are dead...however...when I turn on my dryer my dead 110 circuits receive approx.60 volts...the dryer has no heat...so I am inclined to believe that one of my imput leads to my box is dead...and have no 220 volts into the main...would turning on the dryer create a bridge to the dead circuits...splitting the current thru the 60 amp dryer breaker...
When we turn on the dryer...the lights etc work that were off...receive about half power...and when we shut off the dryer...the lights go off again...
The Elec. Co is coming out to see if it's their problem or if we have to call an electrician...we think we're "half-phasing"...
Any suggestions...thanks...


The answer is still the same as the first answer given, call an electrician.

Hi...
Well as it turns out the Electric Co. is responsible for what is going on with our electrical... they have to come out tonight... it's dark already and dig between our neighbors yard and ours and get down to the wiring underground... and there is about 6 inches of snow on the ground... oh boy!!
The electric company said we don't have power in one leg of our 220 underground from the transformer to our meter... so they have to dig up the neighbors yard tonight to get to it to fix it... lol...
Our neighbor keeps his yard very nice... so hope they don't have to tear up his driveway... he is a nice man but he won't want his yard and or driveway torn up in the winter...
Thanks for all your help... Happy Holidays...