Bathroom outlets and one garage outlet not working

[drew]

Got a electrical trouble shooting question for ya!
My upstair bathrooms and a garage (refrigerator) outlet (I'm assuming they are all on the same
circut.) Will not work. I have checked the breaker/fuse box outside and nothing
was tripped. I unplugged everything fron the outlets. Re-tripped the circut
breakers including the main one and still the outlets are not working. Your
thoughts?
I hope the circut isn't burned out!
Thanks
Drew

[Jimmer]

Drew,

Do you have a GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupters) outlet in the series of plugs? If so, is it tripped? Check also for any plugs around the outside of your house. Did you look closely at the plugs that don't work? Any signs of black or grey powder on them?

Here is a good article about GFCI with some info most people probably don't know. http://www.ecmweb.com/ar/electric_gfci_basics/

Hope this helps, if not please post what you find.

Jim



'Just a handyman trying to help'

[3star]

Hey Drew
I had the same problem this morning. Lights and outlets on one circuit did not work. Circuit breaker had not tripped. I gave the breaker a few taps and the lights were back on.
Not sure how long it will last. I may have to eventually replace the breaker.

3star

[Snuff]

I have exactly the same problem with the garage and bathroom outlets not working. There's a GFCI outlet in the garage, and usually after a heavy rain, the GFCI outlet will be tripped. Most of the time, If I press the "reset" button, it immediately trips again. After a day or two, it will be able to be reset.

I have had to put night lights in a couple of the outlets so that I can see when the outlet has been tripped since my refrigerator is plugged in the garage and normally I wouldn't notice until everything had thawed.

Anyone have any ideas?

[Jimmer]

Snuff,

If I understand your setup... You have one GFCI outlet in your bathroom and the protected circuit continues on into the garage.

If rain causes a problem then you need to check to see where the cable is coming into contact with the rain water. The GFCI ciruit trips because it has sensed that some voltage was going to ground and not returning as it should through the neutral wire. You have a voltage leak somewhere. A bare or nicked wire in close proximity to a grounded item and the water closes the connection.

Hope this helps, Jim

'Just a handyman trying to help'

[pix1651]

ohhh man! i had the same problem all day till i got here and poof! bathrooms and one garage outlet are on the same circut, the bathroom was tripped and i can have cold beer again and save the fuel on my generator
thanks for the tips

[Jimmer]

Some info about GFCI outlets. If they are tripped regularly they will become easier to trip in the future. You will notice that you are resetting them more often. If this is happening you should check the items you are plugging into them / stop overloading the outlet / and replace the outlet with a new GFCI protected plug. For the $10 they cost, they are great protection to have.

Jim

'Just a handyman trying to help'