Check out some similar questions!

garegb · Dec 30, 2007, 09:28 PM

My wife was using her hair dryer in one of 3 bathroom outlets when it quit working. The breaker did not appear to be tripped, I reset it anyway. None of the 3 outlets work so I replaced all three. I put 2 gfci and one regular outlet. They still do not work, although I put a meter on all three and they each read 120 volts. Should I replace the breaker? Or did the wires in the wall somewhere get fried? Several outlets upstairs on the same circuit work fine. All of the outlets were 15 amp. The breaker is 20 amp. Because of this I am thinking maybe the wires are fried somewhere. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

simoneaugie · Dec 30, 2007, 09:34 PM

Forgive me if this sounds stupid. Something similar happened to me once and someone asked, "is that little red button on the outlet reset?"

KISS · Dec 31, 2007, 12:02 AM

I'm going to have an equally stupid question. Are you sure the hair dryer works in a good outlet or did you check the outlet with something else like a lamp?

There is a thermo fuse in the hair dryer which will pop if too much dust accumulates or the intake is restricted.

Watch how you wire the GFCI's. Usually only one is needed to protect any outlets downstream. Wiring multiple GFCI's would be tricky.

garegb · Dec 31, 2007, 11:43 PM

Originally Posted by simoneaugie

Forgive me if this sounds stupid. Something similar happened to me once and someone asked, "is that little red button on the outlet reset?"

The original outlets were not gfci so they had no red button. I did find every other gfci in the house and pushed all their red buttons just in case.

garegb · Dec 31, 2007, 11:46 PM

Originally Posted by KeepItSimpleStupid

I'm going to have an equally stupid question. Are you sure the hair dryer works in a good outlet or did you check the outlet with something else like a lamp?

There is a thermo fuse in the hair dryer which will pop if too much dust accumulates or the intake is restricted.

Watch how you wire the GFCI's. Usually only one is needed to protect any outlets downstream. Wiring multiple GFCI's would be tricky.

I did try the dryer in other outlets and it works. I also tried my cell phone charger in the new outlets and it would not light up either.

oneguyinohio · Jan 1, 2008, 12:02 AM

It sounds like you have current coming to the outlets to get the 120 V reading, but perhaps the ground is not right for some reason. Is your fuse box upstairs? I am trying to figure out if the bathroom is closer to the fuse box or if the upstairs is?

I also think it might be in the wiring for the GFCI??

tkrussell · Jan 1, 2008, 04:34 AM

Originally Posted by garegb

although I put a meter on all three and they each read 120 volts.

Exactly which wires do you get 120 volts? Explain how you are testing these wires? Which two at a time do you test?

garegb · Jan 1, 2008, 04:24 PM

Originally Posted by oneguyinohio

It sounds like you have current coming to the outlets to get the 120 V reading, but perhaps the ground is not right for some reason. Is your fuse box upstairs? I am trying to figure out if the bathroom is closer to the fuse box or if the upstairs is?

I also think it might be in the wiring for the GFCI???

The main panel where the breakers are is on an outside wall downstairs. I think the upstairs area is actually closer to it however.
What do you mean the wiring for the GFCI?
Thanks

garegb · Jan 1, 2008, 04:56 PM

Originally Posted by tkrussell

Exactly which wires do you get 120 volts? Explain how you are testing these wires? Which two at a time do you test?

I bought a cheap 7 function Digital multimeter, I put it on the AC volt area. Then I put the black lead in the ground hole of the receptacle and the red lead in either the right or left slot of the receptacle. I get 122 volts from both slots. Just now I tested some other outlets in the house and the right slots have 122v and the left seem to have none. I also discovered the upstairs bath has a gfci that is also dead but reading 122 volts in each slot. I do remember resetting this gfci before replacing any of the outets.
Maybe I miswired the new gfci outlets? I followed the directions that came with them, which called for the hot wires to be attached to the top terminals and the outgoing wires to the next receptacle attached to the bottom terminals. I did notice that originally the wiring was staggered, with the incoming power wires one on the top and one on the bottom. Maybe my problem was following the directions that came with my new gfci receptacles?
Thanks

labman · Jan 1, 2008, 05:26 PM

That is exactly why tkrussell asked how you were testing. The wide slot should be no more than a volt or 2 above ground. Go back and carefully check all your connections on the white wire starting at the first outlet after the panel. With the circuit breaker off, you should get near 0 ohms between the wide slot and ground. When he comes on line, he will give more details.

KISS · Jan 1, 2008, 09:31 PM

You have to be very careful using voltage probing. It's not always an accurate way to test.
Having 120V on both sides can mean:

1) you have an open neutral and an appliance or lightbulb is providing the path to the other side.
2) You have miswired the sides of the outlet

You are looking for:
1) ~120V from the ground to the narrow socket
2) ~120V from the narrow blade to the wide socket
3) < a few volts between the wide blade and ground

With power off and near zero volts using (3), you should have a low resistance between the wide blade and ground. If it is infinate, you have an open neutral.

garegb · Jan 6, 2008, 04:12 PM

:D thanks to the website I finally figured out the problem. I had an open circuit, this is what was making both slots read 120 volts. It turned out to be the upstairs bath gfci outlet that was fried. I guess both bathrooms were wired through it. My wife thinks I'm a genius and she did not fry the wiring in the house so we are both happy. I did give credit to this website, thanks again.