I have lost power after plugging XMAS lights in outlet in garage. Sparks etc. Have checked fuses and circuit breakers. Turned off power and checked outlet wires. Looks OK, but half the outlets no longer work. Any ideas?

Check all the garage outlets, one is probably a GFI outlet. Press the reset button.

Can you expand on "Sparks etc" Was the spark right at the plugof the Christmas lights as you plugged them in? You may need a tester, do you have one?

Yep When there is a spark it means a short circuit before you do any thing test for and fix it, like hkstroud says check look for the GFI out let most garages are equipped with one you need to reset it, good luck.

John

First of all, keep those lights unplugged until the electrical wiring in the garage has been checked for both ground fault short circuits as well as loose connections at the receptacles.

Please check your panelboard it is possible that the garage is serviced by a GFCI breaker instead of an GFCI receptacle.

Second, the lights must be inspected and tested for short circuits. A quick easy test is to restore power to the circuit and then add one string of lights at a time. When a string fails, replace it with the next string and so on until you have a complete run of lights.