Yesterday, my wife noticed that a half-sized refrigerator that we keep in our basement was no longer working. Upon further inspection, I noticed that a handful of electrical receptacles were not working either.

My initial guess was that a circuit breaker had been tripped. My best guess is that the basement wiring originates from a sub-panel located in the basement, but I couldn't find any tripped breakers there. I also looked at the main panel in the garage, but there were no tripped breakers there.

My next guess was that there was a GFCI receptacle somewhere in the basement that I didn't know about (there are shelves and such in many places; some of the receptacles are blocked from view). I couldn't find any GFCI receptacles anywhere in the basement, except in the bathroom (and it was fine).

I did find a receptacle near the sump that has the letters "GFI" written on the cover plate, but it otherwise appears to be a normal receptacle (are there GFCI receptacles that look like normal receptacles?)

Any thoughts on what could be causing these receptacles to not work? I apologize for the relatively little information, but I didn't have a lot of time to investigate further last night.

Thanks!
Tim

First, all receptacles in an unfinished basement are to be GFCI protected. "GFI" stands for the same thing.

There is one exception under the 2008 code, but that is for receptacles that serve a permanently installed fire alarm system. They should not be on a GFCI protected circuit.

The 2005 and earlier additions also allowed for other exceptions. For example, dedicated circuits that supplied an appliance (refrigerator / freezer). Or receptacles that were relatively inaccessible. But these exceptions were removed in 2008.

On to your problem. Are the receptacles that have failed all on the same circuit or are some on a different circuit?

If they are all on the same circuit, then you are looking for a loose connection in the circuit wiring or a defective circuit breaker.

One thing to check, on the breaker that protects the circuit, slide the handle as far to the left as possible and listen for clicks to indicate that you have reset the breaker, then turn the breaker back on.

Thanks for the advice and response!

Unfortunately/fortunately, my wife just discovered the solution to our problem. The three or so receptacles in the basement that were not working are connected to the circuit on the top level (we have a two-story house) that includes both bathrooms and the laundry room. She discovered this, just now, when she tried to use a blow-dryer and noticed that the GFCI in the bathroom needed to be reset.

By the way, this seems like an awful lot of stuff to be on one circuit (three basement receptacles, two bathrooms, and a laundry). Any thoughts on this? At the very least, I'm going to plug the small refrigerator into a receptacle that's on a different circuit.

And... we just noticed that a half-bath on the main level is on the same circuit too. So, three bathrooms, a laundry (washing machine only), and a few receptacles in the basement.

Well, based on the 2008 NEC you already have at least two code violations.

First of all, is this basement finished or unfinished or partially finished and partially unfinished? This is critical for us to know.

Each bathroom receptacle should be on its own 20 amp GFCI protected circuit.

If the only supply to a bathroom is the 20 amp feed, then other outlets can be served. Lights should not be on a GFCI protected circuit.

If the same 20 amp GFCI circuit is run between two different bathrooms, then that circuit can supply nothing else but those receptacles.

Based on the description of the half bath, you would need a separate 20 amp GFCI protected circuit there also, unless it is the only supply to that room.

In the basement, you need a dedicated 20 GFCI protected circuit for the washing machine and another 20 amp GFCI protected circuit in the laundry room.

As I said earlier, all receptacles in an unfinished basement need to be GFCI protected.

You really need to find somewhere else to plug in the mini refrigerator. It should not be on a GFCI protected circuit and if the basement is unfinished, then all receptacles must be GFCI protected.

Thanks again for responding. I think that I am not giving you enough detail.

The circuit, as best as I can tell, feeds receptacles only, but includes:
(1) two receptacles in the master bath (upstairs)
(2) one receptacle in the second upstairs bathroom (upstairs); this is the GFCI-receptacle
(3) one receptacle in the laundry (upstairs)
(4) one receptacle in a half-bath (main level)
(5) three receptacles in the unfinished area of the basement

The house was built in 1995 and I think that the basement was originally unfinished. Our recollection is that the previous owner finished the basement just before we purchased the home in 2003.

One thing that doesn't make much sense to me is the routes that this wiring would have to be running... trusting that a person might give in to laziness rather than strictly following code... this way would actually be more difficult (and require more wire) than putting in multiple circuits (i.e. wires have to be going back and forth all over the place!).

I think that I am going to spend some time this weekend figuring out which receptacles/fixtures are on which circuits.

I have removed the refrigerator from this circuit and it's now on a different circuit, so that problem has been solved.

In general, most folks do not have the slightest idea of "Code".

The area of the finished basement does not require GFCI protection.

Starting with items 1 and 2:
A single 20 amp GFCI protected circuit can supply the receptacles in both bathrooms. However, that is all they can service. Anything else in the bathrooms cannot be on that circuit.

The laundry room actually requires two receptacles. One GFCI protected receptacle for the washer and one for use in the room (ironing).

The 1/2 bath would require its own 20 amp GFCI circuit.

The garage would require its own 20 amp GFCI receptacles.

If I were you, I would make sure I get a permit to to the work and an inspection when the work is complete.

You can also ask the inspectors what edition of the electrical code they are using.