Prob w, kitchen receptacle


  #1  
Old 10-10-06, 12:02 PM
R
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 18
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Question Prob w, kitchen receptacle

Hi -
I have a rental where the tenant has been having probs. off and on with the receptacle where the fridge and microwave plugs in. Sometimes it works, sometimes not.
I have checked the circuit breaker, not tripped, but sometimes after I flip it back and forth,it seems to do the trick. Since it happened again, I decided to just replace the receptacle.

After turning the juice back on, there is power to the receptacle, but it won't run anything when you plug it in. That is: when I check the receptacle with the two lead tester, it shows power, the light comes on, but if you plug the coffee maker or microwave or other stuff into it, they don't come on or show any power at all.

btw, I have one of those three-prong,multi-light testers, too, and it shows green steady and flashing yellow, which I think means open neutral.

This receptacle is the end of the run (only one wire coming into the box) and the wires all look good and fairly new. (one black, one white, one ground.)

How can there be juice showing on the tester, but nothing happens when I plug something in??

Do I need to call in an electrician to run down the problem?
 
  #2  
Old 10-10-06, 12:07 PM
J
Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: New Bern, NC
Posts: 1,530
Upvotes: 0
Received 1 Upvote on 1 Post
By law where I live, and in most places in the US, a property that is for rent must have the electrical work done by a licenced contractor.

The only time one can do his/her own work is if they own the house and live in the house, and do not plan to rent the house or any part of it in the future.

My advice is: Call an electrician.
 
  #3  
Old 10-10-06, 12:09 PM
R
Member
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Central New York State
Posts: 13,245
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Since this is a rental, I don;t recommend you do anhything but the bare minimum.

However, to diagnose and fix a problem like this you need to check EVERY receptacle on the circuit. The last receptacle may very well be fine. The receptacle feeding the last receptacle (or any one before the last receptacle) may be where the problem is located.
 
  #4  
Old 10-10-06, 12:14 PM
R
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 18
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Electrical probs in a rental

Well, it's not the law where I live, but it's not bad advice.

I'll call an electrician.

It seems like a simple thing that I just can't figure out - but I'll let the electrician tell me what it was, I guess.
 
  #5  
Old 10-10-06, 01:34 PM
ray2047's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: USA
Posts: 29,711
Upvotes: 0
Received 15 Upvotes on 13 Posts
The OP wrote: 'I have checked the circuit breaker, not tripped, but sometimes after I flip it back and forth,it seems to do the trick."

Experts, could it be a bad breaker or even a loose neutral in the panel that is jarred when the breaker is reset?

Reifarmer, you need to use an analog voltage tester with a load on the line to get a real idea if there is power. The type your using can give false positives.

Of course as stated the OP really needs an electrician for reasons of liability even if he can do the work in his area
 
 

Thread Tools
Search this Thread
 
Ask a Question
Question Title:
Description:
Your question will be posted in: