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4dogs · Oct 2, 2009, 01:16 PM

Last night my daughter plugged a portable heater into the power strip in her bedroom. Shortly after that, all the power to the outlets in her room were dead. I checked the main box and the circuit breaker for her room did not trip.

I checked the outlets for any sign of damage, but there was nothing. I changed all of the outlets and noted that when using a voltage meter, there was power, however, when I plugged in even her lamp, it did not work. Now when checking the outlets, there is nothing registering on the voltage meter.

The funny thing is that her ceiling fan runs off the same circuit and that is working fine. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

hkstroud · Oct 2, 2009, 01:22 PM

The circuit breaker is probably tripped, even though it doesn't look like it. Turn breaker off then back on to reset.

4dogs · Oct 2, 2009, 01:28 PM

Originally Posted by hkstroud

The circuit breaker is probably tripped, even though it doesn't look like it. Turn breaker off then back on to reset.

I did res-set the circuit. The funny thing I now find is that if I unplug anything from the outlets and then use my circuit tester, it lights up, but if I plug something in, I get nothing.

tkrussell · Oct 3, 2009, 03:47 AM

First off, a heater should never be plugged into a plugstrip, ever. I know that is not the problem, just a safety comment.

There is a loose connection someplace. I have to assume since you changed all the outlets that those connections are fine. Hopefully all the connections on each device are wrap around the screw connections, and not push in type connections.

The best way to find this problem is using a voltage tester, one with leads and not just a voltage detector, one of those "pens" that light up when near voltage.

Start at the breaker and confirm voltage across hot and neutral. Trace the cable to the next junction box or outlet and confirm again, check all connections and continue to follow the circuit. Eventually the bad connection will be found.

4dogs · Oct 3, 2009, 08:44 PM

Originally Posted by tkrussell

First off, a heater should never be plugged into a plugstrip, ever. I know that is not the problem,,just a safety comment.

There is a loose connection someplace. I have to assume since you changed all the outlets that those connections are fine. Hopefully all the connections on each device are wrap around the screw connections, and not push in type connections.

The best way to find this problem is using a voltage tester, one with leads and not just a voltage detector, one of those "pens" tht light up when near voltage.

Start at the breaker and confirm voltage across hot and neutral. Trace the cable to the next junction box or outlet and confirm again, check all connections and continue to follow the circuit. Eventually the bad connection will be found.

Thanks for the advice. I traced all the wiring back to where they come in through the light switch by the door. Come to find out, the problem was with the dimmer! I don't know if the surge fried something in it, but it looked OK. It wasn't until I removed it to check the voltage did I get a normal reading. Once I changed it out, everything worked fine. Thanks again for all your help!!