# Power turned off for 12 hours then turned back on



## Socalsparky92 (Jul 15, 2017)

My parents house had an issue yesterday. The lights were on and everything was working fine. Then two bedroom lighting power and bathroom light went out, they are all on the same circuit but there are also other lights on that circuit that didn't go out. Then this morning they turned back on. Can anyone shed some light on what mightve happened. Thanks


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

Socalsparky92 said:


> My parents house had an issue yesterday. The lights were on and everything was working fine. Then two bedroom lighting power and bathroom light went out, they are all on the same circuit but there are also other lights on that circuit that didn't go out. Then this morning they turned back on. Can anyone shed some light on what mightve happened. Thanks


Somewhere in that circuit there is a bad connection. I consider this to be dangerous because while that connection is currently working, it may be glowing hot like the elements inside of a toaster.

Look on Google for a local electrician with good reviews and give him a call, tell him what you just told us and he will know exactly what to do.


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## electricalwiz (Mar 12, 2011)

HackWork said:


> Somewhere in that circuit there is a bad connection. I consider this to be dangerous because while that connection is currently working, it may be glowing hot like the elements inside of a toaster.
> 
> Look on Google for a local electrician with good reviews and give him a call, tell him what you just told us and he will know exactly what to do.


I think the OP is an electrician, look at his screen name and location of Local 11


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## Signal1 (Feb 10, 2016)

electricalwiz said:


> I think the OP is an electrician, look at his screen name and location of Local 11


Agreed, maybe he doesn't do much (or any) residential.

As noted probably a loose connection. Pull a receptacle in one of those rooms and see if it's backstabbed.


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## Bird dog (Oct 27, 2015)

Why doesn't he ask his buddys at work instead of an online forum??? I mean I know we're _good_ but....:biggrin:


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

Nevermind, carry on.


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

Local 11:

Electricians, Communications and Systems Installers, Transportation Systems Journeyman, Civil Service Electricians, Apprentices, Construction Wireman and Construction Electricians.


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

After Hurricane Andrew in 1992 I think.
We hired a traveler out of some local in NY.
He was totally unfamiliar with any kind of commercial work.
Turns out, as an electrician, his job was to plug boats into shore power.
Thats it.
That could only be it due to his classification. He wasn't allowed to do anything else.


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## Bird dog (Oct 27, 2015)

Southeast Power said:


> After Hurricane Andrew in 1992 I think.
> We hired a traveler out of some local in NY.
> He was totally unfamiliar with any kind of commercial work.
> Turns out, as an electrician, his job was to plug boats into shore power.
> ...


That's messed up.


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

Bird dog said:


> That's messed up.


Our local has some sound and communication guys that would be in that same situation.

Maybe his classification was boatpluggerinner


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## Bird dog (Oct 27, 2015)

Southeast Power said:


> Our local has some sound and communication guys that would be in that same situation.
> 
> Maybe his classification was boatpluggerinner


:vs_laugh: 
So, if he is an Inside Wireman would he be an electrician? Honest question.


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## gnuuser (Jan 13, 2013)

2 places to start looking
last light on the chain thats working and the first one thats not, also look into any junction box between them.
you either have a loose hot or a loose neutral! 

both need to be found and corrected asap.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

Bird dog said:


> :vs_laugh:
> So, if he is an Inside Wireman would he be an electrician? Honest question.


Yes, the majority of the IBEW is made up of Inside Wiremen also called Journeyman Wiremen.


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## Bird dog (Oct 27, 2015)

I looked at the OPs posts. He's an apprentice.


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## eddy current (Feb 28, 2009)

Figuring out the order of how it was wired can be tricky. Easy way to fix it is to turn the circuit off and open up every receptacle on that circuit. Test each one first before you open them up in case power is still on for that receptacle. You will find the one with burnt connections, replace it.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

eddy current said:


> Figuring out the order of how it was wired can be tricky. Easy way to fix it is to turn the circuit off and open up every receptacle on that circuit. Test each one first before you open them up in case power is still on for that receptacle. You will find the one with burnt connections, replace it.


This is where I am going to have to go old-school and disagree.

Most situations like this end up being a bad connection that is not noticeable. A back-stab, a wirenut, or even a screw terminal.

The best way to find it is to see the lights (or something plugged in) flicker when removing the outlet, or even pounding on the wall (which is always my first method). Doing this with the power on makes it much easier. 

Also, opening up every receptacle on that circuit would be a crazy amount of extra work, especially when they are older painted over outlets with crappy old (and short) wiring.

I always try to figure out the logical way that it would be wired and open up the outlets before and after the issue, as gnuuser explained. Then work my way out from there.


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## lighterup (Jun 14, 2013)

I'd also consider setting mouse traps


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## Helmut (May 7, 2014)

Damn, my answer would only work if power was out for 10 hours.

12 hours?

Might be something else then.


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## Signal1 (Feb 10, 2016)

HackWork said:


> This is where I am going to have to go old-school and disagree.
> 
> Most situations like this end up being a bad connection that is not noticeable. A back-stab, a wirenut, or even a screw terminal.
> 
> ...


This would narrow it down pretty quickly.

What I was getting at in my #4 was if one device is backstabbed, all of them could be.
In that case (since it's his parents) I'd re-device the whole place.

If it was a customer, it should be an easy sell.


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## eddy current (Feb 28, 2009)

HackWork said:


> This is where I am going to have to go old-school and disagree.
> 
> Most situations like this end up being a bad connection that is not noticeable. A back-stab, a wirenut, or even a screw terminal.
> 
> ...


I agree. My usual way is to lightly tap the receptacles with my foot and look for the flicker but this guy is a new apprentice. My suggestion was more a way for him to do it safely.


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

If hiring another electrician seems like an unaffordable or objectionable option, you can just wait for the house fire and the insurance company will pay for the repair. :wink:


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## 3DDesign (Oct 25, 2014)

Pull out a receptacle on that circuit to see if it's back wired. If it is, then back wiring is probably the culprit. 
Somewhere along that circuit there is a bad connection. It's usually at the last outlet that works or the first one that doesn't work. 
Don't forget to look at outside receptacles hidden behind shrubs.
How old is the house?


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## SummitElectric1 (Aug 8, 2016)

HackWork said:


> This is where I am going to have to go old-school and disagree.
> 
> Most situations like this end up being a bad connection that is not noticeable. A back-stab, a wirenut, or even a screw terminal.
> 
> ...


I agree with HackWork, it's likely a bad connection and old-school troubleshooting will locate the problem quickly.

With these kinds of problems back-stabbed outlets are the most common culprit. Banging on the wall or not-so-gently tapping on every outlet on the circuit with the power on often reveals the location of the problem.

Another easy old-school way is to use several 3-prong receptacle testers...
Put a tester in every receptacle on the circuit and turn the lights on. Then go around and gently wiggle the tester in (both top and bottom outlet of) every receptacle on the circuit while keeping an eye on the other testers and any lights that are on. Quite often you can move the outlet where the loose connection resides just enough to make the other testers light up or make the lights flicker.

Once you find the problem receptacle simply replace it and wire it correctly. Then replace the rest of the devices in the house to prevent future problems because the builder's _installers_ did the same poor quality installation on every other receptacle and switch in the home.


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## Gnome (Dec 25, 2013)

eddy current said:


> Figuring out the order of how it was wired can be tricky. Easy way to fix it is to turn the circuit off and open up every receptacle on that circuit. Test each one first before you open them up in case power is still on for that receptacle. You will find the one with burnt connections, replace it.


If back stabbed (or even a poor nut splice) they won't always be burnt; especially if this is the first time they've had the symptom. If you are still diagnosing at the remove devices from the wall stage then you should be wiggling every wire where it meets a termination or splice to make sure it is secure.


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## eddy current (Feb 28, 2009)

Gnome said:


> If back stabbed (or even a poor nut splice) they won't always be burnt; especially if this is the first time they've had the symptom. If you are still diagnosing at the remove devices from the wall stage then you should be wiggling every wire where it meets a termination or splice to make sure it is secure.


I don’t know, power actually going out for 12 hours? I’d say it will be obvious when you find it. Think of how many times it arc’d before coming loose.

Another good tip is to replace every backstab you come across. Here in Canada we can not put more than 12 outlets on a circuit so it will not take long to replace them all and repair the problem.


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## gpop (May 14, 2018)

Your home was built by a cheap arse romex runner. That means they started at the breaker panel and worked away from it as its cheaper on wire than zig zaging all over the place. 

find out what didn't work. What is closest to the panel. 

Turn off breaker and see what else turns of on that circuit.

whats furthest from the panel. 

chances are the problem is between these 2 points. Turn of breaker and take a look.


No shame in calling in a friend that happens to be a electrician. Just see it as training on how to locate a fault.


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## mikewillnot (Apr 2, 2013)

I had a troubleshoot recently where the customer stated that it was a circuit with A and B on, but C D and E dead. Turns out it was two different circuits.
Just sayin.
It can be tricky identifying the breaker for a partly dead circuit.


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## wildleg (Apr 12, 2009)

Socalsparky92 said:


> My parents house had an issue yesterday. The lights were on and everything was working fine. Then two bedroom lighting power and bathroom light went out, they are all on the same circuit but there are also other lights on that circuit that didn't go out. Then this morning they turned back on. Can anyone shed some light on what mightve happened. Thanks


your sister was drying her hair and, as usual, tripped the faulty gfi in the bath. the lights are on the ckt but not fed thru the gfi. your sister or your mom found out later when they were using the curling iron or vibrator, and reset the gfi. of course, as usual, they never told anyone.

....or....

call an electrician cause your house is gonna burn down.


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## telsa (May 22, 2015)

OP: Your parents payment finally cleared -- so the Poco turned the power back on -- digitally -- remotely.

This may have well happened behind your back -- that is -- your parents paid by credit card over the Internet without telling you about their troubles.

The, near exactly, twelve-hours is a 'tell.'

Ah... the wonders of Smart Meters.


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## Kawicrash (Aug 21, 2018)

Does the house have aluminum wiring?..Usually in the 70's. 
If so, then I would strongly advise getting a pro in. I've seen some really terrifying situations with aluminum wire.


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## lighterup (Jun 14, 2013)

Signal1 said:


> Agreed, *maybe he doesn't do much (or any) residential.*
> 
> As noted probably a loose connection. Pull a receptacle in one of those rooms and see if it's backstabbed.


Signal

Why do people say this? 
Residential...commercial...even much of Industrial...it's all the same just different wiring methods , different voltages but an electrician is an electrician.


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## joebanana (Dec 21, 2010)

lighterup said:


> Signal
> 
> Why do people say this?
> Residential...commercial...even much of Industrial...it's all the same just different wiring methods , different voltages* but an electrician is an electrician.*



And, an apprentice, is an apprentice. :vs_cool:


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## eddy current (Feb 28, 2009)

lighterup said:


> Signal1 said:
> 
> 
> > Agreed, *maybe he doesn't do much (or any) residential.*
> ...


On bigger jobs the average electrician does not do any troubleshooting, that’s why. For instance, An electrician who has done mainly bigger commercial jobs his whole career can easily become an assembly line type installer and loose the ability to troubleshoot effectively.


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## B-Nabs (Jun 4, 2014)

telsa said:


> OP: Your parents payment finally cleared -- so the Poco turned the power back on -- digitally -- remotely.
> 
> This may have well happened behind your back -- that is -- your parents paid by credit card over the Internet without telling you about their troubles.
> 
> ...


Smart meters can turn off some lights but not others? What a neat trick. 

Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk


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## lighterup (Jun 14, 2013)

eddy current said:


> On bigger jobs the average electrician does not do any troubleshooting, that’s why. For instance, An electrician who has done mainly bigger commercial jobs his whole career can easily become an assembly line type installer and loose the ability to troubleshoot effectively.


I have contracted and done the work in all 3 categories. I will say
Industrial was the most effed up environment I've seen. 
It didn't appear that following NEC codes was very important to 
previous installations so I shy away from that now adays.

Most commercial I've done is in the strip malls and was not complicated.
I've never been awarded a build involving restraunts...bid them...dodnt get em.

The one category I have not been in is hospitals , dental buildings.
The unions seem to get all of this work around here and I'm not 
even sure I'd want it anyway. I would need more people and I don't reall want the burden of that.


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## jelhill (Nov 11, 2018)

Signal1 said:


> Agreed, maybe he doesn't do much (or any) residential.
> 
> As noted probably a loose connection. Pull a receptacle in one of those rooms and see if it's backstabbed.



My guess too.... the dreaded quick-wire terminals. Read the POST entitled “Loose neutrals”... all kinds of good posts/replies on how to fix this problem.


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## sbrn33 (Mar 15, 2007)

telsa said:


> OP: Your parents payment finally cleared -- so the Poco turned the power back on -- digitally -- remotely.
> 
> This may have well happened behind your back -- that is -- your parents paid by credit card over the Internet without telling you about their troubles.
> 
> ...


This is a stupid post.


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## eddy current (Feb 28, 2009)

telsa said:


> OP: Your parents payment finally cleared -- so the Poco turned the power back on -- digitally -- remotely.
> 
> This may have well happened behind your back -- that is -- your parents paid by credit card over the Internet without telling you about their troubles.
> 
> ...


Yes smart meters can be disconnected remotely but it’s all or nothing. The OP said it was just one or two circuits, not total power loss.


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## eddy current (Feb 28, 2009)

lighterup said:


> I have contracted and done the work in all 3 categories. I will say
> Industrial was the most effed up environment I've seen.
> It didn't appear that following NEC codes was very important to
> previous installations so I shy away from that now adays.
> ...



Most of my experience was on a service truck but I have also been on a few bigger jobs with over 200 electricians. Met many guys who carry the same license as me but could not do any troubleshooting whatsoever and have not seen a code book for many many years. Some do not even carry testers as they never need them. Just assembly line installers.


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## Bird dog (Oct 27, 2015)

eddy current said:


> Most of my experience was on a service truck but I have also been on a few bigger jobs with over 200 electricians. Met many guys who carry the same license as me but could not do any troubleshooting whatsoever and have not seen a code book for many many years. Some do not even carry testers as they never need them. Just assembly line installers.


Sounds like they're pipe & wire electricians.


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## eddy current (Feb 28, 2009)

Bird dog said:


> Sounds like they're pipe & wire electricians.


Lay-in ceiling fixture technicians. :wink:


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## sbrn33 (Mar 15, 2007)

But,but the union has the best trained electricians in the world....


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

Nothing wrong with a pipe and wire guy. Most could pipe circles around a service electrician and tell everyone how you don't know which end of a bender to use while you're making fun of his lack of troubleshooting skills. Just different niches. Most guys didn't necessarily even pick their niche. They just sorta fell into it as a natural progression of how the jobs they were put on went or who they worked for. Granted, there are some construction electricians that are plainly too dumb to be a service guy the same as there are some service guys too frail or effeminate to do construction.


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