Any knowledgable house wiring folks? Need help

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Alan

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I posted this a couple of years ago and still can't figure it out, I thought I'd ask again, thanks.


Alan":kp9a4k2j said:
A couple of days ago I was running a 13 amp carpet cleaner, the outlets are 15 amp. I had it plugged into an outlet that is wired through a switch (meaning I plug a lamp into it and can use the wall switch to turn the lamp on and off). Something blew, not the breaker. Using a test light I have power going into and out of the switch, but not into the outlet. So I have power going out of the switch into the wire, but not out the wire at the outlet. I have replaced both the outlet and the switch just to be sure, still no change. Also, just so I give the whole picture, on the outlet only the top plug in is on the switch and the bottom is always hot, the band between the hot side of the outlet is cut. This is the only outlet in the house that runs through a switch and all other outlets are good.... I just can't believe the wiring would be the first to go, before a breaker or outlet. The house is 10 years old, some of the outlets have the safety buttons with the reset when they blow, they are all good.

What am I missing? Any help?

Thanks,
Alan
 
first i would disconect all wires and start testing from there. test the individul wire for conductivity. if the tester doesn't give you a postive sound then that wire is your problem. I find it hard to belive that the wiring is bad. cound there be a junction box that the wire feeds into and the wire nut has loosened?
 
We had a similar problem and it turned out most of the connections (both screw and slip clip) types weren;t properly tightened originally. All of the wires had little arc looking marks where they connected. Replaced the outlets (most were damaged when installed) and cut back a little wire to get back to shiny copper and the problems disappeared. Also found out that the 89 cent switches and receptacles aren;t worth much. Not even if they were free
 
Yea I had something similar and just didn't want to believe the wire could be "wore out". In Texas we call it Squirrel Damage. :).
 
It's very possible a nail nicked the wire in the wall somewhere between the switch and wall outlet. And the wire might have been chewed on by mice or rats and it grounded out. I have had both happen, and the nail one almost burned the house down.
 
Tom in TN":2cqxa01q said:
Alan,

If you plug something into the bottom half of the outlet (the part that is always hot), does it work?

Tom in TN

Thanks Tom, yes the lower half works.

Thanks for all the replies so far, I'll post more questions and details after hoping reading what Tom has to say. Such as a way to avoid climbing in the attic and digging through 16 inches of blown in insulation to get to the wire or check for a junctions box.

Thanks again,
Alan
 
Alan,

Okay, so that verifies that the neutral side of the circuit is functional.

Please don't be insulted by this. I don't mean in any way to insult your skills or knowledge - I'm just asking.

You stated that the circuit tester light indicates that you have power coming to the switch and when you turn the switch on, you have power on the output side of the switch. Did you verify that by placing one of the wires from the circuit tester to the "hot" wire and the other wire from the circuit tester to the bare wire ground that is attached to the switch?

You should not have a neutral wire in the box where the switch is located. You should just have a "hot" wire coming into the box and the switched "hot" wire going back out of the box, so I am just curious as to what two wires you attached your circuit testing light to.

Thanks for your patience with my questions.

Tom in TN
 
highgrit":3me4dyjk said:
It's very possible a nail nicked the wire in the wall somewhere between the switch and wall outlet. And the wire might have been chewed on by mice or rats and it grounded out. I have had both happen, and the nail one almost burned the house down.

Arc Fault breakers will remedy that problem... new construction calls for arc fault breakers to control every bedroom.
 
JMO But arc fault breakers are a giant pain in the posterior. I know they are a safety factor, but in our area we get lots of power surges and everytime we do, at least one of the 35 arc fault breakers pops off in the main. I will switch them as soon as I can afford to.
 
skyhightree1":17x1vhvs said:
highgrit":17x1vhvs said:
It's very possible a nail nicked the wire in the wall somewhere between the switch and wall outlet. And the wire might have been chewed on by mice or rats and it grounded out. I have had both happen, and the nail one almost burned the house down.

Arc Fault breakers will remedy that problem... new construction calls for arc fault breakers to control every bedroom.
Unless that's a federal law I doubt if it's that way here. In the county we don;t have ANY building codes.
 

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