Why is the electricity on half the main floor not working, but fuses are good??

Question

I woke up this morning to the two bedroom's, bathroom, and hallway(that joins the two bedrooms) having no electricity. I checked the fuses and they are fine. Everything else works fine. I'm not an electrician(of course) but if someone can steer me in the right direction I can fix it myself. I have absolutely no funds to call in an electrician.

Thankyou

Jamie

Answer 1

Do you have a old house to have fuses in it, or do you have a breaker box??? If it's a breaker box just reset all the breakers even if they look like they haven't been tripped. But if it is fuses, I don't know...............

Answer 2

This answer is for USA. You checked the fuses and they are good, but do the cheap, easy thing first - double check the fuses. Make sure they are good, and they are screwed in or pushed in place all the way. Assuming they are good, check for a ground fault receptacle - it will have two buttons in the middle, one stamped "test" and one stamped "reset". These receptacles trip and shut off the power when there is a problem. You should have one in the bathroom. Push the reset button. If this solves the problem, great. If not, read on.

If the fuses are good, and it is not a tripped GFI, you have a loose or broken connection somewhere.

Check the wire connections inside the fuse panel. Pull the main fuses before working in the fuse panel. In the panel, at the side of or below each fuse, a wire (usually black, but might be red) is connected under a screw. Make sure the wire is fully under the screw, and the screw is tight. Also, in the fuse box there is a bar where all the white wires are attached. These are the neutral wires, and a loose neutral can cause the problem. Make sure all the wires are fully under the screws, and all connections are tight. BE CAREFUL. DO NOT LET THE SCREWDRIVER OR YOUR HANDS OR ARMS TOUCH ANYTHING OTHER THAN THE SCREW YOU ARE WORKING ON. If you touch anything else, you will probably get electrocuted. DO NOT hold on to the panel box with one hand and turn the screwdriver with the other. DO NOT touch anything except the screwdriver, and DO NOT let the screwdriver touch anything but the one screw you are tightening. If you have never done this before, do not attempt it. Call a licensed electrician.

If the wires at the fuse panel are not the problem, you
probably have a loose wire somewhere at a receptacle or switch or light fixture.. Check all lights and receptacles, and locate all that are not energized. Remove the fuse for that circuit, or pull the main fuse. Start at the receptacle or light that is closest to the fuse box. Remove the device, and check for a wire that has come loose. At switches and receptacles, if no wires are visibly loose, use a screwdriver to make sure the screws at each wire connection are tight. If there are twist-on wire connections inside the box, check the connections to make sure no wires have pulled out from the connectors. At light fixtures, check the twist-on wire connectors, making sure no wires have pulled out from the connectors. Sometimes, wires will break at the wire connector. If it is easy to do, remove the wire connector by twisting it counter clockwise, check and make sure the wires are not broken, then twist the connector back on tight. If it is not easy to get at the connector, hold the connector with one hand, and tug on the wires. Do not tug hard, because you don't want to pull them out; you only want to check for a broken wire. Keep going until you find the loose wire. If the wiring for the rooms goes through an attic or basement space, check there for junction boxes - there might be a loose wire in a junction box. As long as you are there, check to make sure rodents have not chewed the wiring. This is unlikely, but not unheard of.

Answer 3

This is a dodgy job to do yourself but .......
... turn off your mains that supplies your fuse box.

Now remove the cover to the fuse box and check that all the terminals are tight and your wiring ends aren't burnt. The circuit breakers or fuses are fitted to a live copper bus bar at one end and two cables are fitted to the breaker/fuse for your ring mains, one for each half of the house.

Remember not to touch anything other than the insulated screwdriver you are using!

If in doubt leave the job alone.

Answer 4

Things I would check. First buy a non-contact voltage checker, runs about $13.00 Turn off the power, using the non-contact voltage checker check the outlets for electrical power, if you get a indication on the non-contact voltage tester there is still electrical power, find the correct circuit breaker to turn it off. Once you are positive there is no electrical power to the outlets. Unscrew the outlets and check for loose wires or damaged housing at the back of the outlet. If you do find something damaged get a handyman or electrician to replace the outlet.

Answer 5

Check your bathrooms and any place where water may be next to an outlet. I had this problem at my house and it turned out to be a "GFI" (Ground Fault Interupter) type outlet in the bathroom. If this is the case, just push in the reset button.