Hi,
Here's my situation - I have a ceiling outlet that my pool table light is plugged into and one day it just stopped working (outlet is located in my dining room). The outlet use to be a permanent ceiling light (turned on by a wall on/off switch) that I replaced with a two plug outlet (the pool table light only had a plug and I didn't want to hard-wire it). Everything worked fine for months then one morning it stopped working for no apparent reason. No weather problems, I wasn't working on the electrical or house in the past 10 days, no accidentally cut lines, etc, etc.

It's an older victorian house that I remodeled about a year ago. I had the breaker box and anything else needing attention, updated with new equipment by a professional electrician. I've read about this problem happening to other people and after trying a few things, I'M STUMPED!

Here's a few things I tried/determined:

1. it's not the light itself. I plugged it into an extension cord and it worked fine.

2. I'm pretty sure the breaker box switch was not tripped the first time I checked (I reset everything multiple times anyway and it still will not work)

3. the outlet has no power going to it when the light switch is on or off (I tested it with a simple voltage tester and the wires showed no power).

4. I don't believe any GFI outlets had anything to do with it. I rest them all and nothing happened.

5. It's not the receptacle. I replaced it once and made sure there was a nice solid connection... nothing. Should I try it again? Is there a chance I bought another bad outlet?

6. The on/off switch that powers it seems to be working fine, or at least I think so. It's a two switch outlet and the other switch powers another light perfectly.

7. The rest of the house's electrical outlets, plugs, lights, etc. is working fine except for a two outside lights that have never worked.

Any suggestions? Thanks!

Have you put your test leads into the receptacle to insure there is power? If you don't have tester try using a lamp but lets see if there's power up there.

Thanks for your help. Yes, I tried that. There's no power when the switch is in the on or off position.

OK now we are getting somewhere. Put your test leads on the black and white wires that come to the outlet, if they are hot you have a bad receptacle, replace it. If they are not powered go to the switch box, you will see a black coming in and a black or white with tape going out. Do not test across these two wires but go from the black to something grounded like the metal box or green ground wire. If the black is hot but you can't get the white to be hot by flipping the switch it's a bad switch, replace it. Come back here when you've done these steps and tell us what you have.

OK, I tested the receptacle and there's no power going to it.

I tested the switch itself and I did find power. I have a standard tester with black and red prong. When the black is touching the blak wire and the red is touching the ground (green) line, it shows power (whether the switch is in the on or off position.

On the other hand, it doesn't show power when the black is touching the black and the red is touching the white.

I guess I'll try replacing the switch itself?

How many wires are in the switch box? If only 2, one should be hot all the time, and the other hot only when the switch is on. With the light plugged in, when the switch is off, you should have voltage between the black and white, but not when the switch is on. If you don't have power between the black and white with the switch off, the white is bad somewhere. Perhaps where pushed into a hole in the back of receptacle.

If you have 4 wires, there should be 2 blacks on the switch. Again, voltage between them with the switch off, and none on.

Thanks labman.

It's a two-switch box. The switch I'm looking at has a white, black and a ground wire. With the power on or off, only the black wire is hot and only when the other tester prong is grounded. The white is dead all the time.

It's got to be the white wire is bad somewhere. Is that something best left to a professional or?

If the black is hot, and the white dead with the switch on, either the switch or the connection of the white to it is bad. A new switch is about a buck. To keep his family fed, a professional might have to charge at least 50 bucks to change the switch.

Hey Bdog, remember I said to not test across the two wires at your switch. "and the red is touching the white." when you did this you will never ever get a circuit. When you flip the switch with tester black on switch white and tester red on ground do you get power? If not go get that $1 switch.

Sounds like a bad switch.
Ballanger, actually if the light is working and plugged in, and Voltage Across switch contacts is present with switch on and off, it is a bad switch. If switch was working, you would see zero volts across switch.
When I run into unknown switches, first thing I do to determine if it is switching something is by looking for voltage across switch in the OFF position. Amprobe can tell also.
If comfortable with electric, jump across switch for quick test, I should say turn power off to switches, jump, then turn breaker back on, too be safe.

Thanks for all your help! I'll try that out tonight and let you know how it goes.