i was using an airless paint sprayer on the living rooms electrical circuit. i guess it over loaded the socket cause it shut off. i thought it was a tripped breaker but it wasnt. now neither bedroom nor the living room have power and all breakers are for sure good (continuity tested) my white wire from said socket had 120v and so did black. i have no idea what to do....
2007-02-06 15:04:30 · 5 answers · asked by drumme 6 1 in Home & Garden ➔ Do It Yourself (DIY)
If you're reading 120V from the white (neutral) side then you're reading the load. It also means that you probably have an open neutral.
My first advice to you is to call a licensed electrician to repair the problem.
If you're qualified to test & repair the system yourself, then check to see what other outlets aren't working using your tester. Plug a lamp into the current outlet not working.
Now with your tester, try jiggling the other receptacles without damaging them or shorting them out.
Look to see if your lamp light flickers.
If and when it does, you've found the loose connection (open neutral). You may have to replace the receptacle and / or just tighten the connections at the receptacle, or at the wirenut.
Keep in mind that it can also be anywhere along the circuit, but try this first.
Use your better judgement before proceeding on your own.
Good luck.
2007-02-10 08:37:54 · answer #1 · answered by TheElectrician 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Assuming you have already traded the circuit breaker and it did not fix the problem
Pull the circuit breaker, remove the outlet you were using, unhook the black and white wire. Re install the circuit breaker, now check your black and white wire. Possible you have solved your problem. If you still have 110 on both wires, pull the next outlet nearest to the original. Continue till you have found the culprit.
In re reading your question, I see you have no power at any of the other outlets. This tell me you are working of number 1. This makes be believe changing out the outlet will fix your problem..
2007-02-06 16:37:46 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
If your electric system has an isolated ground from the neutral, and you use a voltmeter to check the neutral, you will see 110 volts, because the current will be going thru any lights fixtures down the line. I went crazy one time trying to figure out what was going on. Once I unpluged all of the lamps, the problem went away.
One time, I got called to go to a brand new house by the builder because there was no power in some of the rooms and all of the breakers were on. The new owners were threatening to go to a Hotel and bill the builder! After spending most of the day troubleshooting, I sat on the owners living room couch and just happened to look behind it. Lo and behold, there was a burned wall receptacle. Long story short, Her teenage son, turned on the breakers when they moved in. One would not stay on, so he kept resetting it till it did stay on! Burned that receptacle to a crisp and almost burned the house down. Moral of the story, look at all of the devises and make sure one of them didn't burn an open
2007-02-07 01:45:00 · answer #3 · answered by billy brite 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
You shouldn't have 120 volts on the white wire, that is the common, or ground for the circuit (you'll see all of the white wires tied together in your CB panel). The black is the HOT wire. If you have voltage coming from both wires they could be cross-shorted, but usually that causes a breaker to pop--it's a direct short to ground. The beaker could still be bad and show continuity and even the correct voltage using a digital multimeter. As soon as a load is placed on the CB it drops out. Try switching that CB with a known good CB, for test purposes. Please be careful! Getting hit by 120 hurts--it's invigorating, but it still hurts!
2007-02-06 15:24:14 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
You need to remove the cover plates off outlets and do a check for power at each outlet . There are connections in the outlets that form a continuity of line power. There is a problem with either a broken wire in there or a connection popping off a screw or a bad twist-on twistee connection. Start with room closest to main panel.
Check each and every outlet plugin by removing the cover and the two screws holding the outlet in there . You will find the problem I assure you.
2007-02-07 01:43:54 · answer #5 · answered by James M 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋