An outlet has suddenly gone dead
#1
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An outlet has suddenly gone dead
One of my kitchen outlets has suddenly stopped working. We keep an undercounter light plugged in here. Everything was fine earlier today, but when I tried to turn on the light this afternoon, there was no power. Here's what I have done:
1. Checked circuit breaker. It is on.
2. Tried plugging another electrical item into this outlet. No power.
3. Checked other outlets on the circuit. They are functioning.
4. Plugged the undercounter light into an extension cord, and it operated normally.
5. This circuit has no GFCI (GCFI?) receptacles.
>> I have NOT yet pulled the outlet from the box, because I don't know what I should be looking for.
>> Is it "normal" for an outlet to just fail like this?
1. Checked circuit breaker. It is on.
2. Tried plugging another electrical item into this outlet. No power.
3. Checked other outlets on the circuit. They are functioning.
4. Plugged the undercounter light into an extension cord, and it operated normally.
5. This circuit has no GFCI (GCFI?) receptacles.
>> I have NOT yet pulled the outlet from the box, because I don't know what I should be looking for.
>> Is it "normal" for an outlet to just fail like this?
#2
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Sounds like a bad receptacle or a bad connection. Check for loose connections first. Bad connection could be at the receptacle in question or at the receptacle immediately upstream,
#5
When you open the receptacle any back stabbed wires need to be moved to the screws. Do you have a multimeter or test light? (No, a non contact tester won't work for testing.)
#6
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I would first go with the concept that there is a GFCI receptacle somewhere on this circuit.
Can't tell you how many times I have found a GFCI receptacle for a home owner that they did not even know they had; buried behind a stack of boxes in the basement, behind a shelving in the garage that was left by the previous home owner, a GFCI either right at the circuit breaker panel, one up in the floor joists in a dark area of the basement, outside behind a bush and even inside an upper kitchen cabinet - husband had no idea it was there, wife mentioned it to me as she uses the cabinet quite often and noticed it, she had tripped it in error putting something into the cabinet; must have touched the "test" button.
Can't tell you how many times I have found a GFCI receptacle for a home owner that they did not even know they had; buried behind a stack of boxes in the basement, behind a shelving in the garage that was left by the previous home owner, a GFCI either right at the circuit breaker panel, one up in the floor joists in a dark area of the basement, outside behind a bush and even inside an upper kitchen cabinet - husband had no idea it was there, wife mentioned it to me as she uses the cabinet quite often and noticed it, she had tripped it in error putting something into the cabinet; must have touched the "test" button.
#7
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Confused regarding GFCI
I'm confused regarding the talk of a CFGI somewhere on the circuit. If this were true, wouldn't the outlets further along the circuit also have power to them, cut off? They are not... this single outlet presents the only problem. Tomorrow I will pull the outlet from the box and test the wires themselves for power. I will report back!
#8
If the outlets further down line were on the load side of GFCI They would be affected. Look at outlet that doesn't work is a good start Be sure to check all wire nut connections also.