electrical problem. The whole middle of my house went out during a downed wire outside?

Question

electrical problem. The whole middle of my house went out during a downed wire outside. Now it keeps going out
Question Details: A wire went down outside the other day, then a power surge went thru the house, and burned out my power surge protecter. DTE fixed the wire, and then the furnace, fridge and upstairs outlet were not working, but everything else was. A dte guy said that it might be our main circuit which is a 60 amp but he said it might need to be a 100 amp. Well he flicked it on and off a few times and it went on. That was 3 days ago, now it has went on and off 3 times today and flicking it on and off wont get it to come back on. Anyone know what the problem is? Is it the main breaker? Is this something I can fix? Is a new main breaker expensive to buy? If I cant do it, how much would a contractor usually charge? We have a newborn and our furnace is off :( Aany help would be appreciated!

Answer 1

I suspect the power surge damaged you main breaker apparantly, one pole was affected initially, since not all your power was lost in the initial incidents, but now it's busted completely. The trouble with replacing main breakers is that the feed wires are hot on the supply side and you can't shut them off unless you pull your electric meter, which usually can't be done without breaking the seals). Normally, I am a fan of doing it yourself but in this case, I would suggest you get an electrician and see if you can get the power company to reimburse you for at least part of the cost, since the damage was caused by them. Also if you have a home owner's insurance, sometimes it covers these kind of problems.

Answer 2

Here is what happened to your house. The bare wire coming into your house is the ground. Each of the other lines carry 110 into the panel. Each side has 110 and when used together produces 220v. You lost one leg of this service and was repaired by DTE. Half of your house lost 110 which fed your furnace,fridge and upstairs. If all you have is a 60 amp service you should upgrade to fill the needs of todays appliances. When that panel was put in years ago we didn't have as many appliances to need any more amps. Today we have more lights, microwave ovens, hair dryers, television, radios computers and more than I can think. BY upgrading to 100 amps will safely allow you to use these appliances without blowing fuses. The lights flickering a few times could be that they were working at another location. I don't understand what you mean about flicking it on and off. is this the 60 amp breaker? Is there electricity coming into the house or did they lose power again? If this is the problem and you can't get it to go back on I would suggest call ing an electrician as something might have happened to it You need heat for the newborn and insure that nothing happens to cause an electrical fire. The electrician can determine what the cause was and if it was related to the surge and could BTE be liable for any part of the problem

Answer 3

It sounds like your main breaker may have been ruined. Do not attempt to change that breaker yourself. Call an electrician. The main breaker cannot be turned off. The meter will need to be pulled to cut the power. An electrician will know how to do that. You cannot put a 100 amp breaker on a 60 amp service. Get a price on upgrading the service while the electrician is there. The breaker prices vary depending on the brand. Any where from $25 to $100. And a 1 hour charge by the contractor. Cheaper than a fire or the unreliable service you have now.

The guy above me is full of it. In what trade for 25 years? Not the electrical trade, that's for sure. Don't take electrical advise from untrained and unqualified people.

Answer 4

It sounds like one of the secondary circuits was damaged because only part of the house was effected and you mentioned seeing a red make so that means it's a GFCI of Arc fault breaker. A circuit breaker will only trip at its rated amperage once, after that it will trip at a lower and lower amperage until it won't hold anymore. Try replacing those first. The main for your house should be in the top center of the circuit breaker panel or to the top left. It will usually be the physically largest one in the panel and it will have the largest amp rating stamped on it. A 60amp main seems kind of small and it might be a good time to upgrade to a 100 or what ever the codes compliance office says in your area. Main breakers aren't expensive but if you are not an electrician do NOT change it yourself, you could leave that baby without a parent. Hire an Electrician, it should cost no more then $200 plus the cost of parts.

Answer 5

Could be a bad connection on the service entrance conductor , or damage to one pole (one side) of the main breaker. 60 amps is too small for most residential electrical services, and it is the minimum main breaker size allowable by code (NEC). Call an experienced electrician or electrical contractor because this will not magically repair itself, and if you need to ask, you are not qualified to repair it yourself. Sorry, but that is the truth. PS. The utility company should be willing to verify the incoming voltage at your electrical service (for free) and tell you if you have the proper incoming voltage available to both poles on the main breaker. Good luck!

Answer 6

Call an electrician. He will need to replace your circuit breaker

Answer 7

circuit breakes were surged also, replace them

Answer 8

What you need to do is replace the bracker that services that portion of your house. Make sure it is the same ampreage, the number on the old bracker is the ampreage you will need. You will find them avalable at any hardware or home improvment store