What's new

Help! No electricity in one room only. (1 Viewer)

ChrisHeflen

Supporting Actor
Joined
Sep 9, 2002
Messages
912
It was just the standard dinner fork, but it had some dried food on it that I thought would act as an insulator.

I have no idea why it would start working, but I'll probably do as Steve B suggested and replace most of the outlets.

You guys do know I'm kidding about the fork...

It was an actual voltage tester that I used.

My next project? Installing a new celling fan while wearing my kids retainer and no shirt.
 

Seth Paxton

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Nov 5, 1998
Messages
7,585
No offense, but no, I didn't know you were kidding. I was wondering how you were lucky enough to still be able to post however. ;)
I was once in the burn ward after a work accident. About a week into my stay they brought in a guy who lived in southern rural Indiana. He wanted to make some money and he thought selling copper would be a good idea. So he took a chainsaw, climbed a ladder and starting cutting down the powerlines.
Nope, not kidding.
Makes the dinner fork thing seem reasonable.
 

awaken

Auditioning
Joined
Sep 1, 2012
Messages
1
Real Name
April R Turner
I am having the same problem with the power going off in my 35 year old 2 story 3 bedroom townhouse except, the power comes back on from anywhere from an hour to a day... I know this because I am there when it happens... it affects my bedroom, all outlets in my bedroom as well as my ceiling fan, but not my bathroom... it also affects my smallest bedroom and hall hard wire smoke decor, but not my son's room, hall bathroom and hall ceiling light. I checked the down stairs GFCI, but didn't trip, never the less I reset it any way. Circuit breakers never tripped, but I also reset them too... Some times I wake up to find my clock blinking and my computer off. According to the clock blink this has been going on for about 3 months or longer and it is progressively getting worst... let me know what you think. Thanks
 

Chanelrs

Auditioning
Joined
Jan 23, 2013
Messages
1
Real Name
Chanel
My mom's plugs are out in her room but the lights work. It's only in her room. She hit the reset button in the kitchen and the bedroom worked for a few seconds. What could it be?
 

Jay H

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Mar 22, 1999
Messages
5,654
Location
Pittsfield, MA
Real Name
Jay
The outlets in your moms bedroom could be downstream from the GFI outlet in the kitchen. So they are also part of the same circuitry protected by the GFI in the kitchen. It sounds like there is some short from Hot to Neutral in the kitchen or downstream (bedroom) that is triggering the protection circuitry. That could be one issue anyway... Jay
 

Adam Gregorich

What to watch tonight?
Moderator
Reviewer
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Nov 20, 1999
Messages
16,530
Location
The Other Washington
Real Name
Adam
Go to the nearest hardware store. Invest $5 in a good outlet tester and $3 in a new outlet. Replace the outlet you found in your fork test. Turn off the breaker first! If there is a short or loose connection in your outlet it could start a fire in the wall or damage your system that is plugged in downstream.
 

RichFree

Auditioning
Joined
Feb 14, 2013
Messages
2
Real Name
Richard Fremantelle
Strange problems: Some background: Lights flickering badly in two rooms and home entertainment system flickering/re-setting like mad. Some outlets also showing variation between 70 and 117 volts. Rest of house is stable at 120.5 volts (as observed with a digital multimeter- DMM). ALL outlets indicate proper install. I tested both 120V legs of my 240V feed into the house; one tested at 120V, the other at 116V +4V / -20V fluctuating in tandem with the lights. So.... WTH is that all about.....? When I turned off all breakers except the mains, the faulty leg tested 120V, rock solid.... so the problem is definitely INSIDE the house. To make a long story short, of the 14 circuits tested in isolation, only three circuits tested weird. Of those, two circuits were returned to normal by unplugging old appliances. In the garage, I unplugged an old POS radio and some flickering fluorescent lights and the circuit tested 120V from 116V. In the entertainment room, I unplugged an old cheap amplifier that often clicked off when overheating. In the kitchen, unplugging the 12 year old fridge fixed the problem. All of this old stuff was common to one leg of the home circuit. Who knows when all of these things started to degrade, but at some point, enough of them started crapping out that they affected the rest of the circuits on that one leg. LED lights and low-voltage halogens won't turn on when the voltage drops below 115V. Watch out for lower voltages in outlets that service sophisticated electronics! Those plug testers won't indicate a low voltage condition....
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Forum statistics

Threads
356,814
Messages
5,123,646
Members
144,184
Latest member
H-508
Recent bookmarks
0
Top