So my house has some kind of electrical problem that I’ve been unable to figure out. It’s a rental, and yes, I could just call my landlord and get the maintenance man over here but 1)I like to be independent and try to do household things myself- it teaches me things and makes me feel like a badass (just don’t ask about the bathtub faucet incident, k?) and 2)the maintenance man is creepy and when my gut tells me to minimize my alone time with someone, I listen. If we can’t figure this out, no big deal- I’ll call the LL and get the MM.
My house is very old- like from the 40s, adobe and brick, very few outlets and none of those red buttons to reset things except for in the kitchen. I recently got a new tv, a huge one, plasma. When we plugged it in, the power in that outlet went out, as well as random outlets around the house. The front porch, my bedroom ceiling light, my son’s tv outlet… just random things in different areas of the house.
I’ve switched all the breakers off and back on. There’s also a box outside with these two very old green large fuses, and I’ve taken them both to the hardware store to get tested and they are both ok. I’ve searched high and low around the house and outside for any other breaker boxes or fuses, and have found nothing. Any ideas of what’s wrong and what I can do to fix it, independent of a creepy maintenance man? Both my male friend and my across-the-street neighbor haven’t been able to figure it out, either. Bah.
My first step would be to confirm that all of those things that went out are on the same circuit, and which one it is. Leave the TV unplugged, since that seems to be causing problems. Make a list of all the things that turned off, and flip the breakers one at a time until those things go off. Then go around and confirm that all the other things the TV caused to fail are also off.
Oh, and just to confirm: When you unplug the TV and reset all the breakers, do the other things come back on again?
I unplugged the tv, and went and turned all the breakers off and back on. Then I noticed that my computer didn’t shut off. Does that mean there’s another breaker box somewhere?
Sure there is not one in the bathroom or close by? Also look outside if there is a back patio.
I’m with you on doing things myself, but electric circuits can be puzzling, especially on an old house that has obviously been rewired.
I’m puzzled by the two old screw-in fuses. What size are they? Also, what size is the breaker for the circuit where the TV was plugged in? If it was only 15 amps and a lot of other thing are on that circuit, that would be a problem. If you can find a 30 amp circuit (if there is one), that would be a better place for the TV.
I’d hold off on trying the TV on that circuit again, but it is also surpising, as TVs don’t really pull that much power.
All-in-all, I think this is a job for Superman, as they used to say. Call the manager, and go somewhere else when the creep shows up to check it, and let the manager tell you later what the probem is.
I know you want to be a badass and I applaud your efforts, but in my opinion (as an electrical engineer) you really need to let a qualified electrician handle this one.
I have seen this problem a number of times and I would bet a moderate sum of money that I know what is the cause of the problem.
If I am correct, you have electrical outlets with stab-in connections. Rather than being secured under a screw, the wires are simply stripped back and stabbed into a hole on the back of the receptacle where they push down between two thin pieces of metal which then prevent them from being pulled back out - kind of like a chinese finger-trap, but not as elaborate.
What happens is that the connections tend to get loose or corrode a bit with time and eventually, they no longer make sufficient contact. This becomes especially apparent with an appliance that pulls a significant current. The extra current causes heating and things stop making good contact.
The other part of the puzzle is that the wiring in homes is daisy-chained - that is it goes from one receptacle to the next in a single circuit. If this circuit is broken anywhere, everything after the break loses power. It is not at all unusual for receptacles and lights to be on the same circuit, especially in an older home when codes looser.
The solution is to shut off the power to the affected circuits and start removing the receptacles one at a time and either placing the wires under the screw terminals or (preferrably) replacing the plugs with new ones. If you not particularly electrically talented, it would be wise to get a licensed electrician involved, especially as this is a rental property and you need to protect the landlord’s property as well as your own.
Last thing, yes, a problem like this can cause an electrical fire (if it’s the problem I believe it is) so it should be attended to right away.
Plasmas can pull 500 watts or more, depending on the size and model (older and larger draw more power). The OP didn’t say what size or model, but she did say it’s “huge” and “plasma,” so the power consumption could be non-trivial.
Houses are wired by proximity. What appears random is actually a line strung in the most direct line. You could have a light in the basement connected to an outlet in the first floor and a socket in the 2nd floor following a common wall.
If it is truly all over the house and it appears that half your house is off then you may have lost one of the (2) 110 lines. I would start by switching your master switches off and on again. One of the 2 main breakers could be defective although if one trips it should be slaved to the other. The other possibility is that you lost a line at the transformer.
The easiest way to test if you have both 110 volt lines is to test the voltage from a stove or electric dryer socket. Normally you’ll either get a 110 volt reading, a 220 volt reading between and 2 of the 3 receptacle connections. If you get zero then one of your 110 volt circuits is down.
I didn’t proof read this. You should get either a 110 volt reading or 220 reading between any 2 of the 3 receptacle connections. If you get a zero voltage reading then one of your 110 volt lines are down which would account for half of your house not getting electricity.
Which is fine if you know what your doing. Alice needs to call the landlord and not risk electrocution. As a landlord I would not allow tenants to dismantle outlets and work on them.
An easier test (though don’t do it for long) is to try to turn on the oven. If it’s on 220 and one of the 110s is down, it will pull some current through the other line, and lights, etc on that line will turn on but be very dim. DO NOT LEAVE THIS ON for longer than it takes to confirm it is the case.
