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dank28 · Feb 7, 2006, 07:09 PM

This past weekend two outlets and one light fixture went dead in my basement after turning on my stereo. I checked the breakers and none had tripped, so I re-set the one in question just to be sure. Still dead.

I haven't been in this house too long, so I thought to check for another breaker box. :confused: Didn't find one, but upon returning the lights and outlets were working. I turned on a stereo that was plugged in to one of them, and it went dead again. (The stereo works with no problems in other outlets)

I tested the outlets with a three light tester, and one of the outlets read Open Neutral, the other had all three lights lit, but that is not a reading listed on the tester.

Turned the power off at the box, and removed the plates on the outlets. All the wires were snug there, so I checked the fixture too (I read that neutrals can be shared between fixtures and outlets.) Those wires were fine too.

Turned the power back on and now the tester reads Hot / Ground Reversed for both outlets. I didn't remove any of the wires, just looked to see if they were still attached.

Any ideas about 1) the cause of the problem or 2) why the change in readings? I'm definitely at the end of my limited electrical knowledge and will probably call a professional for this, but wanted to see if anyone here has an idea of something simple I missed.

Sorry for the length of this... Any help would be greatly appriciated. Thanks, Dan

labman · Feb 7, 2006, 07:49 PM

Before you give up and call a professional, with the power off, pull out all the outlets and the fixture and look at the wiring. The outlets should be wired with a black wire to the brass screws, white to the plated, and a bare wire to the green. Red instead of black is a tip off to maybe a shared neutral. Rather than screws, #14 wire can be pushed in little holes on the same side as the screws. The light fixture may just have 2 black wires connected to the black and white.

If all the outlets and anything else you can find seem to be OK, the problem could be in the main box. It could be the outlet. How reliable can something commonly selling for $.39 be? Blow a buck on a good one.

I am not sure where the line is to call a professional. The main breaker box is getting close. Can't go too far wrong leaving the cover on it.

dank28 · Feb 27, 2006, 06:30 AM

Just wanted to update this in case someone has the same question later...

Well, I replaced both outlets, and all is well. One of the outlets WAS wired wrong all along (Hot/Neitral reverse) Glad I found that out, but it makes me a little nervous abou the rest of the house:confused:

The other outlet (carrying the shared Neutral and Ground) was wired correctly, but must have gone bad, because the new one fixed the problems.

Thanks for your help, labman

tmig04 · Oct 8, 2010, 07:06 PM

Hi, I do not have any electrical experience and I am having a problem with the outlet in our guest bathroom. It worked fine last night and has always worked fine for the 3 years we have lived here. But tonight the outlet would not work. I plugged my tester in and it reads hot/ground reverse. I have no idea what that means and have been trying to read about it on different websites and this seems to be the one I can find that might be able to help me. Anyhoop, I do not know how to replace boxes or deal with electricity but I am willing to give it a shot before calling in an electrician and a big bill. Any advice would be very helpful. Also, should I have safety concerns if I do not fix this for a few days? Thanks for any help, and if you could email me at [email protected] I sure appreciate it. Thank you

hkstroud · Oct 9, 2010, 01:52 AM

Turn off the breaker to the non-working outlet. Remove outlet from the box and see if it was wired using the quick connect holes in the back. If so, remove wires and put under the screws. Using the quick connect holes is quick and easy but also notorious for developing bad connections after a period.

The problem can be at the non-working outlet or it can be at the last working outlet before it. The problem can be with either the hot or the neutral wire. If rewiring the non-working outlet does not fix the problem you will have to go to the last working outlet and rewire it also. You really may as well start doing all the outlets as this will probably keep occurring in the future at various outlets.

donf · Oct 9, 2010, 01:14 PM

Tmig,

Gentle suggestion here. Please do not reopen a post that is four years old. Create a new posting.

When I read, bathroom and receptacle the first thing I think about is GFCI protection.

If the receptacle in the guest bathroom is not GFCI protected, check the other bathrooms for a GFCI receptacle. First press the test button and make sure the receptacle is working properly. Next, press the reset button and then go back and test the failing receptacle.

askmejohn123 · Jan 4, 2011, 05:49 PM

Good answer donf. I thought the same thing. If the receptace is not on a GFCI look around for another one that may feed the one your are having the problem with