Electrical help Phase 2

[alfredo]

Earlier I talked about a light socket that was blowing out bulbs immediately when the light was turned on.

Now the whole circuit is off. The circuit breaker didn't trip. I changed the breaker just to see if it was a bad breaker. That didn't work.

Next step please?

[Don_G]

1. Have You Checked For A Dead Short?

Get a VOM and check to see if the circuit has any power getting to it then for any electrical resistance on that branch. No resistance would indicate a dead short which can heat up the wiring and start a fire.

[Old and In the Way]

2. Test the circuit breaker.

Do you have a multimeter?

Set to 220V scale. touch the screw terminal (careful not to touch with your hands!) with one probe. touch the cabinet or the nuetral bar (where all the white leads are connected). If the breaker is on, the scale should read 120V. If the breaker is off, the scale should read "0".

If you don't get a read either on or off, the breaker is bad.

[camero]

3. Start at the switch and trace the circuit

It could be something as simple as a loose wire. Get a voltage tester to see if there is power throughout the circuit. If it's a lamp that you plug in then check the outlet that it's plugged into. Or it also could be too much exposed wire in the switch or plug. You only need a 1/2 inch of wire for it to work.

[alfredo]

4. There is no power to one section of the house. I have replaced

the circuit breaker for that circuit.

I am going to check the offending ceiling lamp. I am going to cut it off, and cap it.

[Old and In the Way]

5. One thing about wiring styles.

Items can be hooked up in series or in parallel configuration or a combo of the 2. If your circuit wiring is all series, a bad connection (switch for instance) will kill any power downstream. Left diagram is series, right is parallel.

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[camero]

6. Most house wiring is in series

The exception would be 3-way switches which have travelers that run parallel. I would check the switchleg myself.

[Old and In the Way]

9. Not really.

Most circuits are parallel. For instance, say you have 6 recepticles on a single circuit. They should be tied in parallel. If they weren't, a single open would render the entire circuit inoperative.

[camero]

10. self-deleted

You're correct in that. :)

[camero]

7. That's a little more detail.

:) Just make sure you cap the white and black wires seperately. There should be one white and one black going into the light.

Edit: After re-reading your post I would guess that you might have a bad ground. That's why the breaker didn't trip. Check the ground (completely bare) wires to see if they are wired correctly or are loose.

[radwriter0555]

8. No Home Buyer's Warranty?

That thing is GOLD.

[alfredo]

11. Been there for 9 years, and the house is paid for.

I have decided to get an electrician.

[Old and In the Way]

12. Not a bad idea!

When in doubt, call a pro.

[alfredo]

13. I think there is something well beyond my screwdriver mechanic

training.

[TrogL]

14. Call the fire department, then an electrician

You have a short to ground somewhere in your wiring. You've continued to send power to that circuit. You may very well have started a fire someplace behind your wallboards that's sitting there smoldering.

[ornotna]

15. It's not a short

A short would trip the breaker. Sounds like a loose connection somewhere in the circuit.When the circuit is turned off are there more outlets and /or lights out than when it is turned on? If so check those for the loose connection. If not, go to the outlet/switch/light closest to the circuit panel(probably the home run box). Look there for the problem.

[alfredo]

17. Closest to the circuit box is two switches. one for the light that kept

blowing bulbs. That fixture is dead. I presume it is on the same circuit as all the other dead sockets and fixtures. The other switch for the porch light works well. I think Pull the plate on that and check it for loose connections.


Could it be that this house is wired in series to save money?

[ornotna]

18. Nah

all the receptacles in the house are in parallel. However switches are wired in series with the lights, that's normal

[ParanoidPat]

16. The ground has probably been broken somewhere.....

.....and the socket is getting 220 fed to it! Get a voltmeter and check the voltage across the terminals! :)

Your house is usually fed by 2 phases, if the ground is lost somewhere, one phase can 'bleed' across something plugged in somewhere and feed the neutral side with 110 volts from the second phase. That will cause anything plugged in to 'see' 220 volts.