Someone came along and reset the gfi outlet in the series that had tripped.
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.
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.
Probably this but…
…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?
It ran for about a second or two and stopped.
Yes, I trimmed all of the backyard hedges today out of the same outlet.
it was probably a little warmer today, but not much different.
I looked everywhere; I never found one on a wall or in the breaker box (or anywhere).
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.
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.