OT: Any electricians on this board?

[bdgan]

The outlets along one wall of my house work but they seem to be giving off less power. I noticed that one lamp gave off less light than normal, then I plugged in a vacuum and it struggled to get enough power. The lamp and vacuum were at full power when plugged into another room.

Any thoughts?

 

[fairgambit]

OT: Any electricians on this board?

I would be shocked if there were none.

Let me add that many current posters appear well grounded even though some, on occasion, blow a fuse and have polarized others. You can insulate yourself from their occasional rants by putting them on ignore.

 

[91Joe95]

The outlets along one wall of my house work but they seem to be giving off less power. I noticed that one lamp gave off less light than normal, then I plugged in a vacuum and it struggled to get enough power. The lamp and vacuum were at full power when plugged into another room.

Any thoughts?

You might have a bit of a loose wire somewhere. Check with a volt meter. If everywhere, call electric company as not normal. If only a few places, call electrician.

 

[sluggo72]

The outlets along one wall of my house work but they seem to be giving off less power. I noticed that one lamp gave off less light than normal, then I plugged in a vacuum and it struggled to get enough power. The lamp and vacuum were at full power when plugged into another room.

Any thoughts?

I had a situation where, the outlets were kinda working , but the A/C Refrig etc were off. No breakers thrown. Power to some things, not others, all breakers working, hmmm. Turns out the plugs for my meter into the house were loose, so they had enough connection to run the lights/outlets, but no enough juice to run the A/C Regrig etc. I don't know, but they replaced the meter housing and all was good.

 

[Pennsy_Kraken]

The outlets along one wall of my house work but they seem to be giving off less power. I noticed that one lamp gave off less light than normal, then I plugged in a vacuum and it struggled to get enough power. The lamp and vacuum were at full power when plugged into another room.

Any thoughts?

Another "off topic" thread started by a troll who falsely claimed - in attempting to "factually correct me I might add" - that C/S&S were convicted on The State's "Failure to Report" Charge, which is utterly FACTUALLY-BANKRUPT and incorrect. The actual FACT OF THE MATTER is that the corrupt Corbutt-controlled OAG brought 24 Felony Counts against C/S&S related to allegations of criminal behavior on the part of C/S&S in regards to the reporting of the 2001 Incident and The State LOST ON EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM!!!! 0-for-24 = Guilty according to this pathetic troll.....and now he's adding to the DOUBLE-DIGIT completely "off topic" thread count on the front page of the Board - go figure!

 

[PSU87]

The outlets along one wall of my house work but they seem to be giving off less power. I noticed that one lamp gave off less light than normal, then I plugged in a vacuum and it struggled to get enough power. The lamp and vacuum were at full power when plugged into another room.

Any thoughts?

You might have a bad return at the power pole. Potentially very dangerous as power seeking ground can use your plumbing to find ground.
If you run the microwave do the lights dim?
Call power company

 

[bdgan]

You might have a bad return at the power pole. Potentially very dangerous as power seeking ground can use your plumbing to find ground.
If you run the microwave do the lights dim?
Call power company

It's only in one room of my house. I assume that it must be an internal problem. If it was at the power pole I'd think that the whole house would be affected. No?

 

[green2623]

Sounds like a lug is loose somewhere. Isolate problems, use an amp meter, on circuits. Best to call an electrician and go through entrance panel. Or call power company to check main feeds.

 

[boddyebsen]

It's only in one room of my house. I assume that it must be an internal problem. If it was at the power pole I'd think that the whole house would be affected. No?

Could be a loose neutral/ground at the outlets. Hi usage things (vacuums, etc.) have the problem. Do you remove plugs by hand? Or do you yank the cord from the outlet? For shame if you yank cord.

 

[PSU87]

It's only in one room of my house. I assume that it must be an internal problem. If it was at the power pole I'd think that the whole house would be affected. No?

Not necessarily the whole house, but more than one room certainly. Do the lights dim if you run the microwave?

 

[bdgan]

Not necessarily the whole house, but more than one room certainly. Do the lights dim if you run the microwave?

No but the microwave is in the kitchen which is probably a different circuit than this room.

 

[T J]

Could be a loose neutral/ground at the outlets. Hi usage things (vacuums, etc.) have the problem. Do you remove plugs by hand? Or do you yank the cord from the outlet? For shame if you yank cord.

Old rule of thumb was,
yanking your cord too often
could be electrifying,
but could create a hairy situation.​

 

[lionville]

OT: Any electricians on this board?

I would be shocked if there were none.

Let me add that many current posters appear well grounded even though some, on occasion, blow a fuse and have polarized others. You can insulate yourself from their occasional rants by putting them on ignore.

Watch out for the three-pronged attacks though.

 

[Obliviax]

One thought, unplug everything associated with that line of plugs. Take a trusted electrical device and plug it in. Perhaps a device on that string is the short, and not the in-wall wiring.

Other than that, as people have said above, you've got a short. Basically, a loose wire that is connecting to some other power draw that is bleeding power off of that line of outlets. Don't mess with it, call an electrician. The problem is these shorts can get bad enough to start a fire so don't mess.

 

[Agoodnap]

I'm not an electrician but I did take the residential wiring and the two electrical codes courses at the local vo-tech.

I assume that the room in question is controlled by one circuit breaker. Further, I assume that the circuit breaker in question controls ONLY the room the room in question. (If either is no call an electrician to come and debug)

Identify the breaker and mark with tape. Remove front panel from the breaker box and set aside. Identify breaker and un-mate breaker by rotating it (usually away from center but yours could be odd so study it for a minute or two).

WARNING...the metal bar that the breaker contacts were mated to is HOT.. DO NOT TOUCH that bar. Warning again...there are TWO bars in your breaker box. Each one runs 120V and added together that's how you get 240V when needed. Don't touch either bar.

There should be 1 black wire attached to the breaker and 1 white and 1 bare wire coming from the same wire cover (romex). The white and bare wires should be attached to a metal bar that has many other white and bare wires attached to it as well. I would loosen, remove, and reattach each of the 3 wires and make sure to tighten each of the connections.

Re-plug your breaker onto the "hot" bar and go check to see if the problem has been solved.

Let us know how it turns out

 

[boddyebsen]

I'm not an electrician but I did take the residential wiring and the two electrical codes courses at the local vo-tech.

I assume that the room in question is controlled by one circuit breaker. Further, I assume that the circuit breaker in question controls ONLY the room the room in question. (If either is no call an electrician to come and debug)

Identify the breaker and mark with tape. Remove front panel from the breaker box and set aside. Identify breaker and un-mate breaker by rotating it (usually away from center but yours could be odd so study it for a minute or two).

WARNING...the metal bar that the breaker contacts were mated to is HOT.. DOES NOT TOUCH that bar. Warning again...there are TWO bars in your breaker box. Each one runs 120V and added together that's how you get 240V when needed. Don't touch either bar.

There should be 1 black wire attached to the breaker and 1 white and 1 bare wire in coming from the same wire cover (romex). The white and bare wires should be attached to a metal bar that has many other white and bare wires attached to it as well. I would loosen, remove, and reattach each of the 3 wires and make sure to tighten each of the connections.

Re-plug your breaker onto the "hot" bar and go check to see if the problem has been solved.

Let us know how it turns out

 

[massimoManca II]

My bet is that particular circuit is also saddled with other outlets in another room(s) w/other draws...

Or, your house has an outdated 60amp service panel... just had mine done (went from 60A to 200A) last year

 

[PSU87]

No but the microwave is in the kitchen which is probably a different circuit than this room.

Wouldn't matter if it was a bad return. It's not that if the lights don't dim when you run the microwave

 

[bdgan]

Thanks for all the replies. I found the problem but I don't understand it. About a week ago I installed a dimmer switch to control the dining room fixture. It's a completely different room and on a different circuit than the room where I have/had the problem. When the dining room switch is set dim all of the power in my other room (sun room) is reduced. It doesn't matter if the dining room switch is turned on or off, just that the dimmer is on low.

I'll go back and take a look at how I installed the switch this weekend. Obviously my sunroom is downstream of my dining room even though it's a different circuit breaker.

 

[STPGopherfan]

One thought, unplug everything associated with that line of plugs. Take a trusted electrical device and plug it in. Perhaps a device on that string is the short, and not the in-wall wiring.

Other than that, as people have said above, you've got a short. Basically, a loose wire that is connecting to some other power draw that is bleeding power off of that line of outlets. Don't mess with it, call an electrician. The problem is these shorts can get bad enough to start a fire so don't mess.[/QUOTE]

+1
I am no electrician, but this makes sense to me.

Before you do any checking, is the wall in question hot(referencing the bold type)? If so kill the circuit and call an electrician.

If you need to turn of the circuit use one of these to check. This voltage detector flashes to let you know it is on and reading. IMHO the best.

https://www.fluke-direct.com/produc...fC3YkgLTGkuHLRDDmH7DXsJ0aXI8Kqn4aArjpEALw_wcB

If you want to check the wiring of an outlet this can help to check if it's wired correctly:

http://www.all-spec.com/Catalog/Tes...uEa7w2XCEIcJCegmq78IRR0DjYaGjqtYaAha8EALw_wcB

If the structure was built after 1999/ 2002, you might need an arc fault receptical checker.

https://www.toolexperts.com/afci-tr...rnm4Av9yPX4yGYaIDfA6cOL79VIkQ-3saAiWEEALw_wcB

I wouldn't recommend going any further then this, but if you do, do not check amps with a multimeter even if it is a CAT III or above.

Even this meter should only be used for a short check of 15 to 20 amp circuits. If you are considering investigating this on your own. Read resistance, and voltage, and calculate amps using ohm's law.

http://www.rapidtables.com/electric/ohms-law.htm

 

[ILLINOISLION]

Thanks for all the replies. I found the problem but I don't understand it. About a week ago I installed a dimmer switch to control the dining room fixture. It's a completely different room and on a different circuit than the room where I have/had the problem. When the dining room switch is set dim all of the power in my other room (sun room) is reduced. It doesn't matter if the dining room switch is turned on or off, just that the dimmer is on low.

I'll go back and take a look at how I installed the switch this weekend. Obviously my sunroom is downstream of my dining room even though it's a different circuit breaker.

Apparently not one of your BRIGHTER efforts!

 

[STPGopherfan]

Thanks for all the replies. I found the problem but I don't understand it. About a week ago I installed a dimmer switch to control the dining room fixture. It's a completely different room and on a different circuit than the room where I have/had the problem. When the dining room switch is set dim all of the power in my other room (sun room) is reduced. It doesn't matter if the dining room switch is turned on or off, just that the dimmer is on low.

I'll go back and take a look at how I installed the switch this weekend. Obviously my sunroom is downstream of my dining room even though it's a different circuit breaker.

Good luck with this. I'd check the switch because it could just be a bad switch. Do you have the old non dimmer switch? If you reinstall it and everything works the way it should you have an answer? Either the way it was wired, or again, the switch is bad.

Could be that the way it is wired screwed up the commons/ travelers? If it is not a bad switch, and yes new switches can be bad, id be guessing. Another thought (guess) is maybe you wired a 3/ 4 way switch like a single pole or vice versa.

Another thought is you didn't get the hot wire/ source right. Example, the hot is from the switch, but you wired it as the hot being from the light? You'll need a multi-meter or a voltage detector to figure that out. A quick way is to turn off the circuit, pull/ disconnect one of the black wires and cap the pulled wire, then turn back on the power. Now check all of the "hots" and the one that gets voltage is your source wire (to that circuit).

https://www.google.com/search?q=wir...bm=isch&q=wiring+a+dimmer+switch+with+3+wires

https://www.google.com/search?q=wir...fskInVAhUV0IMKHRlhD7YQsAQIbA&biw=1024&bih=715

 

[PSU1282]

The outlets along one wall of my house work but they seem to be giving off less power. I noticed that one lamp gave off less light than normal, then I plugged in a vacuum and it struggled to get enough power. The lamp and vacuum were at full power when plugged into another room.

Any thoughts?

Unless the whole house has a problem,it is not the main ground. Change the circuit breaker as it it is beginning to arc..Easy fix. just disconnect the black wire and replace breaker

 

[Fayette_LION]

The outlets along one wall of my house work but they seem to be giving off less power. I noticed that one lamp gave off less light than normal, then I plugged in a vacuum and it struggled to get enough power. The lamp and vacuum were at full power when plugged into another room.

Any thoughts?

Lots of non-answers here, well, not smart anyway. Can you read a multimeter? If so, put in on AC volts and put one probe in each of the two holes in that outlet. read the voltage before you do much of anything else. It should be between 118 and 126 volts. If you get a low reading, read a couple other outlets in the house, hopefully other circuits. If they all read low, call your power distribution company. If other circuits are OK, you've narrowed it to one circuit. If you know which outlets are on that circuit, you can look at each outlet by removing the cover plate and look for obvious problems like corrosion or a loose wire. Find nothing obvious, call someone who can actually do electrical work and tell them what you've found.

 

[boddyebsen]

 

[bdgan]

Lots of non-answers here, well, not smart anyway. Can you read a multimeter? If so, put in on AC volts and put one probe in each of the two holes in that outlet. read the voltage before you do much of anything else. It should be between 118 and 126 volts. If you get a low reading, read a couple other outlets in the house, hopefully other circuits. If they all read low, call your power distribution company. If other circuits are OK, you've narrowed it to one circuit. If you know which outlets are on that circuit, you can look at each outlet by removing the cover plate and look for obvious problems like corrosion or a loose wire. Find nothing obvious, call someone who can actually do electrical work and tell them what you've found.

Thanks. I think I found the problem. I used a multimeter to determine which wire went to the dining room light only and which wire(s) continued to the sun room. This seemed to fix the problem.

 

[Cabinpenn]

I always get a "charge" from reading responses on this board!

 

[FightOnState]

Make sure it's all 220, or 221. Whatever it takes.

 

[Chickenman Testa]

There are certain things I don't do on my own without professional help:

Fiddle with electricity
Feed Lions
Swim with sharks

 

[SmithtonLion]

Thanks for all the replies. I found the problem but I don't understand it. About a week ago I installed a dimmer switch to control the dining room fixture. It's a completely different room and on a different circuit than the room where I have/had the problem. When the dining room switch is set dim all of the power in my other room (sun room) is reduced. It doesn't matter if the dining room switch is turned on or off, just that the dimmer is on low.

I'll go back and take a look at how I installed the switch this weekend. Obviously my sunroom is downstream of my dining room even though it's a different circuit breaker.

The dimmer switch has to be PARALLEL to the rest of the circuit.

If the dimmer switch is wired in series, the entire circuit will see reduced power that's controlled by the dimmer switch.

I would be surprised if this isn't your problem.

 

[Nittany Ziggy]

 

[tboyer]

The dimmer switch has to be PARALLEL to the rest of the circuit.

If the dimmer switch is wired in series, the entire circuit will see reduced power that's controlled by the dimmer switch.

I would be surprised if this isn't your problem.

worth reading this thread just for that post, thanks.

 

[Fox Chapel Lion II]

This is a common problem. The outlets get dirty and the electricity gets stuck because it is clogged up with dirt.

They need to be washed out. Salty water works best. Splash a generous amount of water on each outlet. Then get a rag and jam it into the outlet holes to remove the crud. You can use a fork to get the rag up in there real deep.

Should only have to do this once and your problems will go away.

 

[interrobang]

I don't know much about wiring electricity, but I do know that the people who built this house were drunk when they were running wiring. I was swapping out a regular kitchen outlet to put a USB outlet in, had to turn off the appliance breaker. When I was swapping out a kitchen pantry light switch for a wifi switch, I had to turn off the living room breaker. Oh and the sun room and outside deck light (on the opposite side of the house as the living room) are on that same circuit.

 

[Nittany Ziggy]

This is a common problem. The outlets get dirty and the electricity gets stuck because it is clogged up with dirt.

They need to be washed out. Salty water works best. Splash a generous amount of water on each outlet. Then get a rag and jam it into the outlet holes to remove the crud. You can use a fork to get the rag up in there real deep.

Should only have to do this once and your problems will go away.

You seem like you're exceptionally handy around the house. Correct?

 

[91Joe95]

You seem like you're exceptionally handy around the house. Correct?

He sounds like he's bonded if you're looking to hire someone.

 

[SmithtonLion]

worth reading this thread just for that post, thanks.

No problem. I'm glad you got something out of it.

 

[tobakkorudy]

He sounds like he's bonded if you're looking to hire someone.

He's "bonded", LOL!