[solipsistgrl]

The other day my kids said the power just went out. They had 2 lights on and the TV (normal for this section of the home). Breaker was not tripped but we turned off and on... Nothing. Removed breaker cover and did this again to make sure it was fully going to the OFF position... Nothing. Replaced circuit breaker... Nothing ~ Swapped NEW breaker to a section of house that was working and all lights work so not the replacement circuit purchased. Pulled all outlets and swtiches to make sure no loose connections... Nothing. No GFI circuits. Ideas before calling an electrician as I don't have the money to do so!

[donf]

Do you have or can you purchase a Multi Meter?

We need to make sure the circuit is getting Voltage from the panel box.

[solipsistgrl]

I don't have one... but can get one. Should I test the main breaker box and make sure the feed is coming in from that first then go to each outlet/switch?

[donf]

Hold on a second, the inside of a main panel is basically a killing zone if you do not know what you are doing.

You have to remove the panel cover to get to the breaker connections.

Can you do this, I don't want you getting burned or electrocuted.

[solipsistgrl]

WELL... I do know the dangers and turned off the main breaker. Although I do know that only kills the circuits and main power is coming in still from outside. This is what I did when I replaced the circuit I thought was bad and didn't kill myself beyond that...

That being said I am a new homeowner in a house of doom!! Nowhere near a professional and don't have the money to hire one so I am trying to troubleshoot as I won't be calling an electrician anytime soon... So I can attempt to fix or it will be a dead circuit for the time being!!

Thanks!
Teri

[rick1040]

I had the same problem 5 years ago, and did the same thing you did. To fix the problem, I had room at the bottom of my breaker panel to move the switch down.

[donf]

Okay Teri,

Before you dive back into the main service panel, make sure that there are no GFCI receptacles in the general area. It is possible that someone wired a GFCI receptacle in a bathroom to control downstream receptacles.

That done, Wear Safety Glasses to protect your eyes. New, clean leather gloves will also protect you and rubber soled shoes.

When you remove panel cover, I want you to stand either to the right or left of the panel. Do not stand directly in front of the panel. There is always a chance that a flash will occur and if you are off to the side, it may just shoot by you.

For this test, the power has to be on. With your meter set to 200 VAC, connect the black probe to the case of the panel box. Next, using the red probe, touch the screw where the black conductor is inserted into the base of the Circuit breaker.

At that point, your meter should read 120 VAC +/-.

If you do not see the voltage, either skip one breaker up or one breaker down and make the same test.

I want to make sure that both the breaker and the buss are functioning properly. If you do not see the voltage, then at the bottom of the panelboard you may see blanks. One by one, test each panel slot to make sure that there is 120 VAC on each bus.

If everything checks out, then you need to button up the panel and move to the failing circuit. Start at the first receptacle that is failing.

[ballengerb1]

FYI Solipsistgrl, GFCI are almost never in a bedroom but ARC faults are. Follow Don's advice to see if power is coming out of the breaker, start there