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Ephesians289
Jan 12, 2010, 07:59 AM
I have 3 electrical outlets in my house that are not working. They are in adjoining rooms and have been inoperative for about 6 months. The wiring all looks fine and no breakers are tripped. When I turn off the breaker that I think controls these outlets, I don't notice any change with the power to supply to anything in those rooms, other than the outlets that don't work. Does this seem like a wire or breaker problem and how do I check to see if the breaker is faulty or not? The wiring for these outlets runs in an attic space which is accesible. If there was a wiring problem, what would I notice?

donf
Jan 12, 2010, 09:42 AM
You first need to determine whether there is a GFCI outlet up-stream of the failing outlets.

Check the "Reset" tabs on "All" the near-by GFCI outlets then re-check the failing outlets.

Next, follow the outlet wires in the string and find the next outlet that is working in the string. Plug a radio into the outlet and turn it up loud. When you are standing at the main panel-box and can hear the radio, turn the suspect breaker off. If the radio goes off, then you have the correct breaker and you have just isolated the failure to the receptacle where the radio is.

With the power off at the breaker, remove the face plate where the radio is and then remove the receptacle. Check for loose or broken wires. Also, if the wires are pushed into the receptacle, disconnect them and then connect the wires to the screws on the side of the receptacle.