Another electrical question

[dodger]

Hello to all.
A plugin in a bedroom stopped working. It had an electric recliner plugged into it so I guessed that it may have been too much for the socket. I replaced the plugin and it is still dead. The other plugins in the room all work so now I am confused how one plugin could still be dead?

Now I'm concerned if this is a hazard.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Dodger.

[Tungsten,]

Electric chair?Something your not telling us ? j/k.

[Jim Blake]

LOL, I think Electric Chairs take a 400 amp service. Seriously I am sure you will get an answer on here soon.

[dodger]

Originally Posted by Tungsten,

Electric chair?Something your not telling us ? j/k.

HaHa, just an electric recliner. Did the edit.

Dodger

[Douglas N]

Is it possible that outlet is on it’s own circuit? Is your panel marked well to identify circuits? Perhaps the breaker is tripped. Otherwise you will need to meter it out and check for power and neutral connection.

[tri777]

Could simply be a wire nut in one of outlets needs to be re-tightened.

[Dean2]

First question, how do you know the socket is dead, what are you using to test that it has no power.

Second - Have you checked the breakers in the breaker box. Did you turn the breaker off to swap out the plug and perhaps not fully re-engage the breaker.

Third question, when you put a meter on the plug, what do you get. Is the reading different when you read off the wires versus off of the contacts in the actual plug.

Fourth, is the plug switched, as in is there a wall switch to turn it off and on and if so is the switch on.


Once you have answered those questions you will likely have solved your problem.

[macee]

Is it close to a bathroom with a ground fault socket in it I have a bedroom with the lights on the same circuit as the half bath beside it took me a well to figure that one out.

[dodger]

Originally Posted by Dean2

First question, how do you know the socket is dead, what are you using to test that it has no power.

Second - Have you checked the breakers in the breaker box. Did you turn the breaker off to swap out the plug and perhaps not fully re-engage the breaker.

Third question, when you put a meter on the plug, what do you get. Is the reading different when you read off the wires versus off of the contacts in the actual plug.

Fourth, is the plug switched, as in is there a wall switch to turn it off and on and if so is the switch on.


Once you have answered those questions you will likely have solved your problem.

I used a hair dryer on the socket. There are three sockets in the bedroom and the other two work.

I killed the main breaker to the house as our panel labelling sucked and electrical scares me.

I do not have a meter. the socket had one white, one hot, and a ground and seemed simple enough. The socket is even labeled -white, hot, and ground.

Wall switch is for ceiling light and second switch is for ceiling fan. I turned on the light and it made no difference.

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by dodger

I used a hair dryer on the socket. There are three sockets in the bedroom and the other two work.

I killed the main breaker to the house as our panel labelling sucked and electrical scares me.

I do not have a meter. the socket had one white, one hot, and a ground and seemed simple enough. The socket is even labeled -white, hot, and ground.

Wall switch is for ceiling light and second switch is for ceiling fan. I turned on the light and it made no difference.

Go check panel, while u are there take and properly mark each breaker as u turn them off and on. Second, meters are cheap at CT. Without one you can't easily tell if the wires are hot but the plug is defective. If electrical scares u enough to turn off a main breaker I would actually suggest u call an electrician.

[dodger]

Originally Posted by macee

Is it close to a bathroom with a ground fault socket in it I have a bedroom with the lights on the same circuit as the half bath beside it took me a well to figure that one out.

Well there ya go. The socket in the washroom down the hall had tripped. Did the reset and now it works. How in the heck does that work for wiring??Why would the other plugs have power? Is there life on the dark side of the moon?

Dodger.

[pgavey]

Well it's because they are on a different breaker.

[dodger]

Originally Posted by pgavey

Well it's because they are on a different breaker.

Just trying to learn something now. Why would one plug furthest from the bathroom be on that breaker and all the plugins in the two bedrooms be independent of it and the bathroom plug?

Dodger.

[Desert Eagle]

You are limited to 12 devices per circuit (breaker) this was likely done to accommodate that code rule.

Having it away from the main area makes sense as a GFCI will not run a vacuum cleaner.

[dodger]

Originally Posted by Desert Eagle

You are limited to 12 devices per circuit (breaker) this was likely done to accommodate that code rule.

Having it away from the main area makes sense as a GFCI will not run a vacuum cleaner.

Thank you sir. Always good to learn something.

Dodger.

[Dewey Cox]

Why won't a gfci run a vacuum cleaner?
I plug my shop vac into different gfci circuits daily.

[sailor]

Originally Posted by dodger

I used a hair dryer on the socket. There are three sockets in the bedroom and the other two work.

I killed the main breaker to the house as our panel labelling sucked and electrical scares me.

I do not have a meter. the socket had one white, one hot, and a ground and seemed simple enough. The socket is even labeled -white, hot, and ground.

Wall switch is for ceiling light and second switch is for ceiling fan. I turned on the light and it made no difference.

If you don’t have meter, do cheap people trick- touch the hot wire with back of your fingers so it won’t lock into wire and tell us what you feel. Then we direct you to next trick

[Desert Eagle]

Originally Posted by Dewey Cox

Why won't a gfci run a vacuum cleaner?
I plug my shop vac into different gfci circuits daily.

It is dependent on the class of GFCI. Some will run a vacuum, but most will trip with .33 milliamp difference, and normally startup on a motor will trip the protection. This is due to energizing the magnetic field in the motor to get rotation started.