Why are half of my lights out and large appliances not working?
Check for tripped breakers and reset your main breaker. If the main breaker is warm to the touch, call a qualified, licensed electrician immediately. If resetting the breaker doesn’t fix the problem, it is possible you have lost one phase (leg) of your main power supply. Contact your utility company and have them inspect their service line for problems.
Christmas light problems
How to check it out: First, unplug the outdoor lighting. Second, go to the electrical panel, check the circuit breaker and reset it if needed. Now, test the outlet for power. If it’s working, allow time for the wiring to dry out and reconnect your lights. If the breaker trips again, call an electrician to fix the problem.
GFI outlets are outlets with the little test and reset buttons in them. Many times, the GFI outlet in a bathroom or garage that feeds power to the outdoor outlet has tripped because of a wet plug on the holiday lights. Now, what to do: First, unplug the outdoor lighting. Second check all the GFI outlets by pushing the test and then the reset buttons. Check for GFI outlets in the bathrooms, basement, garage and the outdoor outlets themselves. Now test the outlet for power. If it’s working, allow time for the wiring to dry out and reconnect your lights. If the GFI outlet trips again, call an electrician to fix the problem.
What is a GFCI?
A ground fault circuit interrupter or GFCI, is an electronic device for protecting people from serious injury due to electric shock.
Are Federal Pacific panels really that unsafe?
The big problem with these panels is the breakers can fail to trip in response to over current, leading to electrical fires. The breakers may also fail to shut off internally even if the toggle is switched to “off”.
My clothes dryer stopped producing heat?
This is usually caused by a defective 240-volt circuit breaker. Probably, one side of the breaker has gone bad. Replacing the breaker will fix this problem, provided that no damage has occurred on the breaker panel contact, also known as the buss bar, due to a loose connection on the circuit breaker.
When is it time to call an electrician?
Any time you need indoor or outdoor electrical work done, that’s the time to call on a professional, licensed electrician. What might seem like a simple situation to you might actually be a potential danger. Most electrical fires occur because a homeowner didn’t think there was a serious problem.
Here are some situations where it would be wise to call an electrician:
- You need to upgrade your service.
- Your lights are dimming and flickering.
- You need to add some additional outlets.
- You have power surges when the refrigerator kicks in.
- You keep tripping a circuit breaker or blowing a fuse.
- Any time something unusual is happening with your electrical system.
I plug my hair dryer in the bathroom and when the air conditioner is on in the bedroom the breaker trips. Why?
This type of problem, common in older homes, is due to overloaded circuits. The best solution is to run new circuits to the appliances that require more current. In this example a new 20-amp circuit for the bathroom and new circuit for the air conditioner would be a good solution.
Why do I need so many receptacles on my kitchen counter back splash?
In a kitchen, the code requires that no point along the counter top be more than 24” from an outlet. Also, any counter of 12” or more requires a receptacle. These receptacles must all be GFI protected.