Dead receptacles


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Old 01-04-13, 11:32 AM
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Unhappy Dead receptacles

It has been two years without power to 10 outlets that are found on my second and third floor. I've had four electricians who can't find the problem. One night at 1:30 in the morning, the power suddenly went out to these ten outlets. I know the exact time as my backup battery surge bars started beeping at the same time. Electricians checked every outlet, including the working ones and couldn't find the problem. The breaker box is only a year old and all breakers have checked out fine. The only thing the electricians wouldn't look at, is a GFI plug on my roof deck. They tell me it's way to far from the electrical panel to be the culprit. But the GFI switch is broken and jammed, it can't be reset. Could that be the problem, or are the electricians right when they say it's too far to be the problem. Though my house was built upside down (the water heater is on the third floor) and there is also a roof top AC/Heating unit that draws power. Please help! I'm getting tired of having no electricity in my house.
 
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Old 01-04-13, 11:37 AM
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You might want to create a new thread for your particular problem. This one's from 2003.

Mods will lock it up for sure.
 
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Old 01-04-13, 11:40 AM
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Of course thats may be the issue..... Need to get someone to look at it. Cant understand why it was just ignored. You really answered your own question.

Leave no stone unturned....

 
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Old 01-04-13, 11:54 AM
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Do you have a multi-meter ? Do you know how to use it ?

Here is a test you can try. Verify that your outlets are still dead.
Set your meter to Rx1 scale. Check from ground pin on a dead outlet to the neutral pin. If you see continuity then the GFI is not at fault.
The GFI opens the neutral and hot on a fault.....therefore if continuity is there it's not the GFI.
 
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Old 01-04-13, 11:54 AM
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Nope, not locking it up but creating a new thread instead - much better visibility to the issue this way.

Are these receptacles all on the same circuit or multiple circuits? My thought is to map the circuit(s) and look at the last good one and first bad on, that's usually where the problem is.

Edit: Just noticed you did post again so I merged the threads and deleted the duplicate question.
 
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Old 01-04-13, 12:51 PM
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are the electricians right when they say it's too far to be the problem.
I've seen exterior receptacles in the back of a house run off the GFCI of a second floor bathroom at the front of the house. I would replace that GFCI first just to eliminate it as a possible cause. Nothing is not fixable. Last resort you run new cable. I have to wonder at the electricians you hired. Have you looked at this tutorial: http://www.doityourself.com/forum/el...ther-info.html?
 
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Old 01-07-13, 12:36 PM
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This is interesting:
It has been two years without power to 10 outlets that are found on my second and third floor.
The breaker box is only a year old and all breakers have checked out fine.
Are you saying that your main distribution panel has been replaced since the power to these outlets failed, and that even that did not fix this problem?

and, welcome to the forums!
 
 

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