no power in outlet and lights

[userTV]

I don't have power in all the outlets and lights in one room. I've reset all the GFCI and breaker in my electric panel, but I still have no power.

Reading some of the other articles in the forum, I should check if there is a loose wire in the outlets. Should I also check that the receptacle is not bad and how would I do that? Thanks.

[Troy]

Before I did anything I would check gfci outlets in other rooms to make sure they aren't tripped. Sometimes houses are wired in strange ways, I wouldn't be surprised if an unsuspected gfci is the culprit.

[userTV]

I have alread checked all the GFCI I can find in my house, and can't find any GFCI being tripped.

[dev 65]

you should check the wires to make sure that the connections are tight and around the screws and not the back holes of the outlets. one way to check the recepticle is to replace it with a known good one or take the suspect recepticle and change it with a working one.

[Hube]

If you have a simple circuit tester ($-2.) test the hot and the neutral wires at this receptacle's terminals, and if hot, then you know its a faulty receptacle. Buy a new one, shut OFF power to this circuit and install the new one. Good luck..Hube

[userTV]

My receptacle doesn't have screws on the side, but is the type with only holes on the back. I've checked all my outlet, and it seems plugged into the holes. I tried taking out the wire and then putting it back again into the holes, but had a hard time pulling the wires out. Any suggestion on techninques to easily take out the wire? I still have no power to my outlets.

Should I replace all my old receptable with the screw type? Thanks.

[kactuskid]

You first need to buy a voltage tester. A simple neon bulb type would work, like this one http://www.cornerhardware.com/item_2...it-Tester.html

If you don't feel comforable working with electricity then call an electrician instead, but if you feel up to this then this is what I would do. Remove the cover from your main panel, using the voltage tester, put one probe on the hot wire (black) attached to the breaker and the other probe on the ground bar. If you get a light that means you have 120 volts at your breaker, which means you have power to the circuit. If no power here at the breaker then the breaker could be bad and needs replacing.

If power at the breaker, then open the breaker and begin troubleshooting. You have either a loose or broken wire at one of either the receptacles or light fixtures, or switch box's or any other junction box that's in the circuit. You should replace all those receptacles that have the wires pushed into the little holes in the back with side screw types. Here's a link to show you how to attach the wires to your new recepts. Make sure you ground them also. http://www.danswiringpage.com/recepts_gfi.htm

To remove the wires from the little holes, look at the back of the receptacle, above or below the little hole that the wire is stuck into you will see another little hole, this is a release hole, you push in an awl or very small screwdriver into this little hole and at the same time pull on the wire, it should release.

The power is normally daisy chained from one receptacle to the next, so chances are the connection that is faulty is in the device closest to your breaker panel, or first in line on this circuit. Again, check all connections, even under wire nuts in lighting fixtures, it's time consuming, but the only way. Good Luck and let us know what you find. And again, be careful.

[userTV]

How do I figure which receptacle might be the first in line on the circuit? If I use the voltage tester to check all the outlet hot (black wires) will that help me find which outlet may be bad? If one of the outlet incoming black wire has power but the one outgoing black wire doesn't have power, does that mean the outlet outgoing black wire may not be connected well to the receptacle?

I'm not sure on how to change one of my light switch wires from being in the hole to using the screw. My light switch has three white wires capped, two black wires into holes on one side, and one black wire in the hole on the other side. The light switch has only three white screws (one side has two screw with one screw next to the word Top and the other side has only one screw).

[kactuskid]

quote: If one of the outlet incoming black wire has power but the one outgoing black wire doesn't have power, does that mean the outlet outgoing black wire may not be connected well to the receptacle?

Yes, check those wires for a bad connection at the receptacle then.

Now for the light switch. Does this switch and another switch control the same set of lights, meaning is it a 3 way switch? If it's a 3 way switch then one of the switch screws will be a darker color and 2 of the screws will be silver in color.

[userTV]

This one light switch control only the one light in the room. All the screws on the side of the light switch looks the same.

[kactuskid]

If this is not a 3way switch then it doesn't sound like any convenetional switch either as most single pole switches have 2 screws on the side and then a ground screw. Do you have copper wireing? Lable the wires on this switch. Open the breaker and remove all 3 wires. The 2 wires on the one side of the switch are the power in (presumily at the bottom) and the other wire feeds the light. I don't know what the 3rd wire on the other side of the switch is for sure, but I'm guessing it's a tap for power to feed something else or is the power wire.

So, verify with your voltage meter that one of the bottom wires on your switch is power comming into the box. If it is, then you need to combine under a wire nut the following: The lower wire on the 2 screw side, the wire on the opposite side of the switch, and a 7 inch piece of same size wire as a pigtail. Buy a new single pole switch. Now attach the pigtail to the lower screw on the switch and the upper wire that was on the 2 screw side to the upper screw on the new switch.

Leave all 3 white wires together as they are under the nut, just make sure they are all tight and secure under the nut.

If you don't understand the above please write back so I can clarify better.

[userTV]

I checked all my outlets and light switched with the voltage meter in the one room, but there's no power from the incoming or outgoing black wire. I noticed there's power going to the garage opener which I think may be the first receptacle on this circuit. I checked both the incoming and outgoing black wire on the garage opener receptacle and there's power on both black wire.

To summarize the first receptacle on the circuit works (I don't know which outlet is the second one on the circuit), but nothing else on the ciruit seems to works. There's no power in either the incoming or outgoing black wire of the remaining outlets on the circuit. What am I missing or doing wrong? Thanks.

[kactuskid]

Are you sure this garage circuit is the same circuit that feeds your living room, this would be odd but possible. Did you check for power comming from the breaker in the main panel for this circuit that is dead and is there power there?

[userTV]

I've double check, and there's power coming from all the breaker in the main power. I think the garage outlet is on the same circuit as as the room, but I'm not 100% sure. There's only a few breaker which I'm not sure about.

[kactuskid]

I'm not sure what else to tell you, if you've checked every single device on this circuit and every junction box and still find no power then it may be time for you to call an electrician to help you find it, it's very difficult to troubleshoot over the net and sounds like you need the aid of a trained eye. Somewhere on this circuit you have power that has stopped, have you driven any nails into the walls lately to hang pictures. What was going on at the time this circuit went dead, was there a heavy load of some sorts being used.