# No electricity in garage **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 15, 2009, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-electricity-in-garage/496563 "2009-05-15T20:15:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-electricity-in-garage/496563/21 "2009-05-21T22:21:47Z")
> [@Fantome](#): > > Have you ever had a broken item stored away somewhere, e.g., a radio, electric drill, etc. and when you come upon it you plug it in to see if it will somehow have been miraculously fixed? Well, today I plan on going in the garage to get the hedge clippers and extension cord and run the cord out of the bedroom window and trim the bushes. I open the garage door and test for my miracle: I flick the light switch and “Shazam”, the light goes on! Electric problem mysteriously fixed! Any idea how that could have happened? Someone came along and reset the gfi outlet in the series that had tripped. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-electricity-in-garage/496563/22 "2009-05-21T22:26:26Z")
Yikes. There are no miracle repairs with electricity. Something, somewhere, is loose. Could be anywhere from a breaker needing an extra moment to re-connect, to a loose wire nut, a loose screw, a poor “back-stab” connection on a switch or receptacle… The problem is that loose connections can quickly become hot and start fires, and I’ll repeat that advice to have a professional electrician check things out. [QUOTE=boytyperanma] Someone came along and reset the gfi outlet in the series that had tripped. [/QUOTE] Yeah, another possibility, assuming there is a GFI in the house. As I read things, it sounded like there isn’t a GFI in the house, which is not unheard of in older homes that haven’t seen any updating. ---
**Author:** ![HongKongFooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c4cdca/32.png) [@HongKongFooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HongKongFooey)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-electricity-in-garage/496563/23 "2009-05-21T22:45:16Z")
> [@boytyperanma](#): > > Someone came along and reset the gfi outlet in the series that had tripped. Probably this but… > [@gotpasswords](#): > > Something, somewhere, is loose. \ I’ll repeat that advice to have a professional electrician check things out. …maybe this. When the problem arose in the first place did the hedge trimmer start to operate and then stop or did it never seem to work at all? Also, have you run the hedge trimmer on the same outlet where the problem first appeared to see if it works as well? Was the weather much different from the first time to the second? When you said you didn’t find a GFCI the first time did you mean a GFCI receptacle (on the wall) or did you check the panel for a GFCI breaker as well? ---
**Author:** ![Fantome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Fantome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fantome)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-electricity-in-garage/496563/24 "2009-05-21T22:52:57Z")
> [@HongKongFooey](#): > > When the problem arose in the first place did the hedge trimmer start to operate and then stop or did it never seem to work at all? It ran for about a second or two and stopped. > [@](#): > > Also, have you run the hedge trimmer on the same outlet where the problem first appeared to see if it works as well? Yes, I trimmed all of the backyard hedges today out of the same outlet. > [@](#): > > Was the weather much different from the first time to the second? it was probably a little warmer today, but not much different. > [@](#): > > When you said you didn’t find a GFCI the first time did you mean a GFCI receptacle (on the wall) or did you check the panel for a GFCI breaker as well? I looked everywhere; I never found one on a wall or in the breaker box (or anywhere). ---
**Author:** ![HongKongFooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c4cdca/32.png) [@HongKongFooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HongKongFooey)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-electricity-in-garage/496563/25 "2009-05-21T23:05:00Z")
> [@Fantome](#): > > It ran for about a second or two and stopped. Single-phase electric motors typically draw around 6 times the running current at start-up. It varies depending on the motor but if there were a loose connection a motor is the type of load that will make it show up. If it were my house I’d spring for a professional to check things out. It could be a loose wire at the panel or in a wall or nothing at all but anyone who’s done this job for a while has amassed a large collection of whowouldathunkit type problems. I don’t know what residential guys in your area charge but I doubt it would cost very much for the peace of mind. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-electricity-in-garage/496563/26 "2009-05-22T00:43:57Z")
This needs to be checked out. A loose wire is a very bad thing. I would figure out which circuit breaker controls your garage and then check the wiring at every outlet/light that is on that breaker. To do this, plug a radio in and turn the volume up so you can hear it at the breaker box. Then turn each breaker off until the radio is silenced. then turn every breaker off except that breaker and check every outlet that is still on. That will determine your garage circuit. Now turn that breaker off and inspect each outlet/light for faulty connections or a GFCI. If you find GFCI outlet in the bathroom then test it to see if it shuts off the garage. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-electricity-in-garage/496563.md?page=1)