outlet not working?

Question

ok heres the deal in my kitchen i have 4 plugs that are on the same breaker 2 of them are working and 2 of them are not i took off the plate and plulled out the outlet i used a circit tester to test the wires when i put the tester on the black and white wire nothing happens white to ground nothing black to ground i get a light. any idea what is wrong? ps: this is a 25 year old house it dosent have the outlets with the little test and reset buttons please help thanks

ok i tried somnting to figure out if one of the wires was bad i rigged up an extintion cord with two male ends turned off the breaker pluged one end into a "live" outlet and the other to the one giving me problems it sent power to all of the outlets on the circut i am realy confused now any help

Answer 1

HEARING ALL THE SYMPTOMS MAKE ME THINK YOU HAVE ALUMINUM WIRE (BUT NOT IN A HOUSE THAT AGE?). ANYWAYS, TIGHTEN ALL THE SCREW TERMINALS ON THE OUTLETS IN THE AREA AND THAT SHOULD FIX YOUR PROBLEMS. IF YOU DO HAVE ALUMINUM WIRE-MAKE SURE YOU HAVE "CU/AL" MARKED ON THE OUTLETS THAT ARE INSTALLED.

Answer 2

Sounds like you have a break in the white wire (Neutral). Check for loose or broken connectiions in all device boxes in the circuit in question. The loose connection will likely be in the box containing the working outlet closest to the dead outlet or vice versa. When operating properly, you should get a light on your tester between the black (hot) and white (neutral) wires. Often times in residential installations the wires are "stabbed" into the back of the receptacle instead of being terminated under the screws on the sides of the receptacle. I don't like this practice because these kinds of connections can fail over time. If the connections to your outlets are made by "stabbing" you should inspect those connections very closely as this is a common point of failure.


Additional Response:
Steve,
A connection on the white wire is broken somewhere between the working and non-working outlets. Most times this will be in the receptacle box. The broken connection could even be inside the actual recaptacle itself depending on how it has been wired. Though I have seen it once or twice, it is very uncommon to find a cable that was previously functioning, suddenly broken inside the wall unless you have been cutting into your walls for any reason. For the most part the same materials are used to wire a home today as were used 25 years ago (in USA anyway) and they should be holding up fine for you. Check your connections and please be careful with your double male end extension cord.

P.S. If you feel like you need to call an electrician, you can describe your problem as an "Open Neutral" on two coutertop receptacles. Good Luck.

P.S.S. I second Zorchs remarks about the double male end extension cord. I would call an electrician before resorting to using that as a testing method. And he's exactly right about not leaving that laying around. Destroy it. That's a potentially fatal accident waiting to happen.

Answer 3

Mac has got it right, except that the extension cord with two male ends is a short cut to the funeral parlor. That would just scare the heck out of me just having one around.

BTW, as long as you have the outlet out and it is in your kitchen, why not come up to code by replacing it with a GFI outlet. Sure, its an old house, but living a little longer is the idea here.

Answer 4

You may have a bad neutral going to your outlet. Check the white wire for continuity (with the power off of course). Or you could also have a tripped GFCI switch if your outlets are that type.

Answer 5

F.Y.I Mac is correct, you have a break or a loose neutral wire connection.

Answer 6

Mac has this down. You really should upgrade and get a qualified person to do it.