Residential wiring question...


  #1  
Old 09-17-13, 08:56 AM
E
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: usa
Posts: 2
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Residential wiring question...

30 year old home. Not had any issues with wiring in the 10 years we have lived there until a month ago. Hope I explain correctly. On one circuit there are 2 outlets and a ceiling fan/light. The outlets and the ceiling fan quit working. The wiring to the outlet and switch all showed there was power using a meter. I replaced switch and outlets. Seemed to fix the problem until yesterday. Quit working again. Still have power behind the outlets and switch. It works again this morning. Loose connections? The breaker never tripped in any part of this....
Any and all help is appreciated.
 
  #2  
Old 09-17-13, 09:39 AM
ray2047's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: USA
Posts: 29,711
Upvotes: 0
Received 15 Upvotes on 13 Posts
If you are inserting the wires into the back of the receptacles (back stabs) they need to be move to the screws. All wires nuts need to be removed and replaced with new ones or at least checked for corrosion and broken springs. The problem may be in a receptacle that has no problem but feeds the first receptacle that has a problem. All outlets (switches, lights, receptacles) on the circuit must be checked for problems.
 
  #3  
Old 09-17-13, 10:59 AM
E
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: usa
Posts: 2
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
All help appreciated

The wires are on the screws. New outlets and new switch for ceiling fan/light. I will check for more wire nuts and check them. The only one I know of is behind the switch for the ceiling fan.

Thanks
 
  #4  
Old 09-17-13, 03:48 PM
CasualJoe's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: United States
Posts: 9,871
Received 185 Upvotes on 166 Posts
The wiring to the outlet and switch all showed there was power using a meter.
You stated you used a meter, did you check hot to ground or hot to neutral when determining you had power? If you have 120 volts hot to ground and 0 volts hot to neutral, you have a bad neutral connection on the circuit.
 
  #5  
Old 09-17-13, 04:02 PM
M
Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: usa
Posts: 52
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
For what it might be worth, I have had one GE breaker that was bad or going bad where power would go off to everything in that circuit, but the breaker would not trip.
and have seen it happen in many more than "one" stabloc or Federal Pacific breakers where there would be a brief power outage on the circuit without the breaker itself tripping to reveal the true source of the outage.
I ain't saying that's your problem, just that I have seen it happen.
 
 

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