# lost one phase in main panel now fuse subpanel not working



## McClary’s Electrical (Feb 21, 2009)

doogie said:


> I live in a rental .Last night we lost one phase of the main new panel.There is an old fuse sudpanel in the kitchen .The breaker to the subpanel works but nothing in sub panel work .Does the subpanel need both phases to work ? I was going to just move the breaker to the working phase .But the breaker works .So am lost in the dark . subpanel works most of the stuff.


 
You could run your 120 volt loads off the good phase, but no 240 volt stuff until you get the main fixed.


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## doogie (Feb 16, 2011)

That's want trying to do that breaker read hot .but old sub panel not sure if it is hot .But no lights work off subpanel


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## doogie (Feb 16, 2011)

I got it they marked panel wrong .


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## drumnut08 (Sep 23, 2012)

doogie said:


> I got it they marked panel wrong .


Did you lose a phase on the service coming into your main breaker , or is the problem with your main breaker ? This is easy to check with a meter . Most likely you lost a leg due to the storm .


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## doogie (Feb 16, 2011)

Yes lost leg from pole or beyond .power company said than is weird .this is my 4 th time have see .A few years ago lights would dim so called to get it fixxed guess they never fixxed it right .


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## Hippie (May 12, 2011)

I have a feeling there is a 240 load on your panel that's passing voltage to the other phase bus. The voltage you're reading on the breaker is coming from the working phase


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## doogie (Feb 16, 2011)

Who ever upgrade service miss marked panel.They have 15 amp on the gas furn .THANKS for alps help


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## Electric_Light (Apr 6, 2010)

If you're missing a phase, but try to use loads anyways... motors are forever stucked in LRA until disconnected by overload or breaker.


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## McClary’s Electrical (Feb 21, 2009)

Electric_Light said:


> If you're missing a phase, but try to use loads anyways... motors are forever stucked in LRA until disconnected by overload or breaker.


 
If he's missing a leg, the motor's not gonna run.


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## TOOL_5150 (Aug 27, 2007)

doogie said:


> I live in a rental .Last night we lost one phase of the main new panel.There is an old fuse sudpanel in the kitchen .The breaker to the subpanel works but nothing in sub panel work .Does the subpanel need both phases to work ? I was going to just move the breaker to the working phase .But the breaker works .So am lost in the dark . subpanel works most of the stuff.


If its a 4 fuse panel, it might be a 120v block.. so if you happen to have lost the leg that the fuse panel is on, nothing on the block will work.. move the breaker to the other leg.


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## Electric_Light (Apr 6, 2010)

mcclary's electrical said:


> If he's missing a leg, the motor's not gonna run.


That's what I meant, unless you start it with a pull starter. It will just sit there humming until overload trips. 

Since motors are hooked up to phases without a neutral, if one drops, it will single phase.


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## McClary’s Electrical (Feb 21, 2009)

Electric_Light said:


> That's what I meant, unless you start it with a pull starter. It will just sit there humming until overload trips.
> 
> Since motors are hooked up to phases without a neutral, if one drops, it will single phase.


 

Oh my, somebody's confused. Explain to me how you can single phase a single phase motor. :blink:


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## nolabama (Oct 3, 2007)

mcclary's electrical said:


> Oh my, somebody's confused. Explain to me how you can single phase a single phase motor. :blink:


If its start run windings and it don't go to run .....


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## McClary’s Electrical (Feb 21, 2009)

nolabama said:


> If its start run windings and it don't go to run .....


 

That's not good for it, but it's not "single phasing" as he put it.


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## nolabama (Oct 3, 2007)

mcclary's electrical said:


> That's not good for it, but it's not "single phasing" as he put it.


I know. I only read your last post.


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## Electric_Light (Apr 6, 2010)

mcclary's electrical said:


> Oh my, somebody's confused. Explain to me how you can single phase a single phase motor. :blink:


I read the title and said "one of the phase" which implied a polyphase system.

If someone said "I lost one of the wheels..." you'd automatically assume it was anything but a unicycle...


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