Why would electrical outlet still not be working?

1. 93

   peeplesposted 11 years ago

   Why would electrical outlet still not be working?
   
   We moved into a home not long ago. There was an outlet that was not working. We bought a new one, shut the power off, and replaced. The new one is not working either. It is an old home that only has 2 wires. The hot wire was hooked to the gold screw and the other was hooked to the silver screw. All other nearby outlets work fine and are on the same breaker. What could be wrong?

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2. 0

   JThomp42posted 11 years ago

   Hi peeples, This may be of some help. I hope.
   
   http://www.doityourself.com/forum/elect … ork.html#b

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   1. 93

      peeplesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks JT!

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      JThomp42posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Your're welcome peeples. I was thinking, it could be a bad connection due to an old wire, something nibbling it into, etc. Tracking it down is the hard part.

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      peeplesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      That is my fear. Bad feeling that to fix it would require tearing half the wall apart. Thanks

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3. 61

   fpherj48posted 11 years ago

   Hi peeples.......Is there a switch on the wall in the same room as the outlet?   If so, it may be connected to work only when that wall switch is in the "on" position.  2nd possibility......wires deeper into the wall may be worn or even chewed by mice....as you say it's an older home......so many things could be possible.   Recheck the switches on the breaker......make certain they are all the way over into the "on" position firmly. Also....recheck to make certain that you screwed the wires onto the new outlet firmly.......Those are my only suggestions.  Hope you solve this!!

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   1. 93

      peeplesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      We checked it all with no luck! So annoyed this is the outlet me wanted to plug our Christmas Tree lights in! Thanks!

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      fpherj48posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      So sorry I was no help......I hope you discover the problem and that it's a simple, inexpensive FIX.....!!

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      MichaelDuffyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Some times circuit breakers are in the on position, however, the mechanism inside of the breaker housing is not. Always turn the breaker to the fully off position and then fully to the on position. You can feel if it has been properly reset.

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   ShootersCenterposted 11 years ago

   Make sure the old wires aren't stabbed into the back of the outlets, after several years they will loosen up and cause you to loose power, I like to wrap all wires around the screws. Do you know if there is any old knob and tube wiring in the house? Also that outlet may have been added at a different time and may not be on the same circuit as other outlets in the room. Get me as much info as possible and I can probably get you thru it online, it's probably something very common and simple but it's hard to trouble shoot something without seeing it.

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   1. 93

      peeplesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      The two wires in the wall are both black. They are old. I do not know what knob and tube wiring is but I know that the box was coverted from the fuse kind to the modern kind, but it appears the wiring was not. It appears to be te same age as house.

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      ShootersCenterposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Sounds like knob and tube, the house should really be rewired. Sounds like you've dropped the neutral coming in but with that style wiring it could be almost any where. You're probably going to need to get a local electrician to take a look.

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   nightwork4posted 11 years ago

   most likely it is a bad wire or the breaker is bad, is there anything else on the same breaker?

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      peeplesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      yes there are other outlets on the breaker. I tested the two wires this morning. Only one is getting a beep from the voltage tester.

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6. 57

   MichaelDuffyposted 11 years ago

   There is a very good chance that you have an "open neutral". To determine this, measure the voltage at the outlet between the hot and the ground wire. Then measure between the hot and the neutral wire. If you have voltage between the former and not the latter, you have an open neutral. Then begin to back track to the previous receptacles in the circuit and check spices in the outlet boxes.

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