My wife pluged a Vicks vapor machine into our bedroom outlet. The outlet stopped working. The the vapor machine and my ceiling fan with lights also quit working. I put in a new plug and checked the wiring in the fan. All the wires are connected and there are no burn spots on the wires. How do I fix it?
Beginning with 1999, Arc Fault Circuit Protection was required for bedrooms in dwelling units. Nuisance trips are common with this type of protection and vaporizers. The original protection was at the breaker - the breaker would trip. More recently, the protection could be in the receptacle much like a GFCI receptacle, and daisy chained.
It is possible that if you have AFCI protection at the receptacle (newer home or remodel) , that another receptacle, which provides the protection, has a tripped pushbutton that needs reset.
It would be bad practice to put the light on this circuit, but it could have been done.
The outlet is suddenly dead. The wiring all looks good.The hot wire is hot. I installed a new outlet, it won't work. Any ideas?
By S from southern CA
We recently redecorated our kitchen. In doing this we changed the positions of some of our plug sockets. These all work fine and have no problems. However, since doing this 4 different plug sockets in 2 separate rooms have stopped working.
We have tested the electrics and using the mains tester pushing straight down it shows no power, but when you angle it to the left and right it shows power, but nothing works once plugged in. Does anybody have any advice? Thanks in advance.
By Jon Rose
Two of my electrical outlets quit working. It didn't even throw breaker switch, but I did hear a click in the breaker panel.
By betty
I had a nitelight plugged in. The bulb was loose and I tried to tighten the bulb and it popped; now the outlet doesn't work.
My plug sockets stopped working. There was no bang or odd noises. I checked the circuit breaker, but nothing was tripped.
I have unplugged everything then re-booted it, but nothing! My lights are working though. I need some help please.The most common cause of outlets failing would be a tripped breaker in your power panel. You have correctly troubleshot the situation by unplugging the connected devices and turning the breaker off then on to reset it. Still, no luck.
The second leading cause of receptacles failing would be a tripped GFCI or AFCI receptacle. One receptacle tripping can take out a whole host of receptacles. Look to see if you have any such receptacles (with a test and reset button) . If that receptacle has no power, try resetting it and hopefully power will restore to the others as well.
It is possible the power for these receptacles have a switch. This hidden switch could be turned off (National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation).
After that you are entering an area best left to an electrician. Something has opened the circuit. Wiring could have overheated and burnt open. A rodent could have chewed through the wire. A breaker could have failed. In a multiple occupancy dwelling (duplex, apartment ...) it is possible another tenant could have opened the circuit from their side of the wall. All of these situations require the knowledge and equipment an electrician would supply.
I have one outlet in the bedroom that stopped working. I reset all the GFI switches and replaced the outlet, but still no power. Any suggestions?
By Tyrone from Brandywine, MD
Call an electrician.
I moved into a private rented flat today. When I turned on the shower to wash the shower room down and it blew all my sockets, but it hasn't tripped it out on the main board. I have reset the main board, but still nothing is happening. Any ideas what it could be, please anyone? Thanks.
By Adam
Telephone the landlord NOW and ask them to have a professional come in to check the 'on-demand' water heater to the shower-it sounds as though the wiring is wrong on that feature.
Whilst awaiting the service call engineer, do not use any of your electricals on any circuit you think may share with the shower room, and be alert to any electrical overheating (burning plastic smells or a metallic 'tang' in the air). Feel for 'hot spots' along the walls, outlets, and at the mains box-CAREFULLY to avoid burns or shocks.
I think you got very lucky. When I lived in Guatemala (mid-90s) a co-worker was electrocuted in her shower because of faulty wiring in the on-demand shower feature.
Be sure to write down the date and time of the telephone conversation, and what the landlord promised he/she would do to remedy this extremely dangerous situation. You may need the information to prove that you made contact, and to recoup any out of pocket costs associated-for example, if your landlord does not act quickly to repair this you may have to take a hotel room until it is done, or even move out completely should the landlord prove unwilling to sort this immediately.
I have a single outlet in my living room that is not working. All other outlets and lights are working fine. I changed the outlet to a GFCI, but it is still not working. I checked the wire with a voltage meter, no juice coming in through wire.
This doesn't seem to make sense. I checked the panel, nothing is tripped. This outlet is about 5 feet from another outlet, that one is working fine.My husband the electrician says that your new outlet is wired backward meaning that you have your wires switched. Please switch your breaker off before correcting this.
The outlet just stopped working. I am not sure why, but here is the confusing part. The breaker is not flipping off, but when you turn the breaker off then back on it works for a second and stops again. I have lived here for 3 years and nothing like this has happened before.
So what do I do to fix this? Would a new outlet fix this or is it a more serious issue? I'm kinda worried there may be an exposed wire or something shorting it out. Anyone else have this issue or any ideas?You could have a loose wire. Here is an article from Family Handyman that tells you how to troubleshoot: www.familyhandyman.com/
I plugged my vacuum and straightening iron into my outlets on the exact opposite side of the dressing room table. I have another outlet, a lamp is plugged in that one. I plugged my vacuum and straightening iron same outlet vacuum worked for a few minutes then went out!
The outlet stopped working! The breaker was on on position! I flipped it off and on, but that didn't work. Would it help if I shut off the main breaker? And then flipped it back on again?I was vacuum the house. The extension cord was plug into on of the outlet in the dining room when suddenly the vacuum stopped working. I check the electrical panel and everything was okay. I resent all the outlets and still not working.
We have a plug in our kitchen that is a switch for our undercabinet lighting on one side and on the other side is a plug. The plug has suddenly stopped working, even though the light switch is working fine. The breaker is also working fine. We have changed the plug, but it is still not working. Any ideas as to what else we could try?
Thanks!
An electrician could fix this for you.
You need a meter to detect if voltage is present at the receptacle and if the neutral is connected by measuring resistance to ground. There exists a plug in device with three lights that will give you that information.
Another thing to consider is that kitchen receptacles are GFCI protected. It may be that the standard receptacle you replaced is fed from a GFCI receptacle which is tripped. The lighting would not be on the GFCI receptacle. Check to see if any other receptacles are dead, if so I would lean toward a tripped GFCI somewhere.
Good luck.
I like Bruce's first line of advice-- call an electrician. Bruce is an electrician, and can explain these things, but nothing beats having a trained professional fix things for you.
