Power issues.

[Fee]

In my house that I've recently moved into, there is an accumulating issue. First it started in the bathroom, the fan, light switch and the outlet stopped working. What was also on the same breaker still worked, and the bathroom itself still showed as the wires being hot and getting power. Shortly after that, the bedroom aside of it, and nearby outlets stopped working. I've searched for a electrical box of some sort in the line from the breaker box to all the outlets, but as far as I can see, the line comes from outside, runs under the house to outside outlets, and then goes further under the house. The outside outlet is the closest outlet to the power source that I can find, and it has power, but nothing works from it either.

What could be the problem with all of this? Where could i find it at and how can i fix it cost efficiently, or easily if possible? Thank you.

[HayZee518]

look for a tripped ground fault receptacle somewhere on the line. look for a gfci on the outside outlet. they have a red button and a black button. one trips the circuit one resets the circuit.

[Fee]

No GFCIs in the house or outside the house either. Where could I look for a Tripped Ground Fault Receptacle? The previous owner has had issues with the outside meter/box, could that be an issue?

[HayZee518]

ok, then you are going to have to play detective. Since you know the general routing of the cable, start at outlet #1 and work forward. first shut off the breaker feeding that outlet and physically remove it from the box. then check the wires under the screws. if its that quick wire type where you stick a stripped wire in the back holes, see that the wire isn't coming out and its tight when you pull on the wire [don't come out] its held in place with a bronze spring clip inside. if everything is ok there fold the wires back inside the box and re-fasten the outlet and go to the next one. hopefully eventually you'll find an outlet with a loose or broken wire.

[Fee]

Alright, thanks, i geuss ill start getting to work and post as soon as i get any results or lack of.

[dha]

measuring voltage on elec outlet

When measuring ac voltage with a high impedence meter (most any digital meter avialable today) you will get a substantial reading of voltage even if there is not enough power to light lamps, fans, etc.. A small amount of leakage to a defective circuit will often cause a normal voltage reading under these circumstances. This could explain the voltage on the circuit with no available power.

[HayZee518]

using a digital meter will give you the results you state but we're looking for a dead circuit somewhere in the house. his problem is lack of voltage not leakage current. I'd rather use a "wiggy" other than a digital ohm-meter.