Entire circuit gone out but breaker is still good.


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Old 01-29-19, 11:18 PM
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Entire circuit gone out but breaker is still good.

Okay so my problem started when my wife was using her hair dryer in the living room and nothing went wrong but she turned the hair dryer off and realized her hair wasn't dry yet so she attempted to turn it back on and now the entire circuit does not work I have replaced the breaker I have reposition the breaker within the breaker box and I have no idea what this could be please help
 
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Old 01-29-19, 11:40 PM
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Welcome to the forums.

When circuits are wired..... the power goes from one device to the next. Receptacle to receptacle. You'd need to identify everything on that circuit to see what is and what isn't working. The problem will be at the last working device or the first dead one.

One problem we see here everyday is the receptacles are wired using the push-in connections on the back of the devices. From age and use..... the push-ins get weak and no longer hold the wires tightly. If you find them on your dead circuit..... you need to move the wiring to the screw terminals.
 
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Old 01-30-19, 12:07 AM
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From my breaker box the first light receptacle in the circuit doesn't have any power and the outlet in which she was using the hair dryer is the last Outlet in the circuit there is power going to all lines coming from my breaker box but I've checked the light receptacle which is first in the circuit and there's no power
 
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Old 01-30-19, 12:48 AM
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the first light receptacle in the circuit doesn't have any power
What is a light receptacle? Do you mean light? If so redo any wire nuts at the switch and light.

Outlet = Anyplace power is tapped.
Receptacle = Where a plug is inserted.
 
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Old 01-30-19, 05:48 AM
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Is there current coming out of the panel?
If not, breaker issue.

If you do have current coming out of the box, test how far it goes/where the current ends with your new best friend:

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MOD NOTE: The device pictured is a non contact tester.It will work just fine for what you are attempting to do. It will show you if there is voltage in the area for which you are testing
.
 

Last edited by mazmaz; 01-30-19 at 08:11 AM. Reason: CROP Image
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Old 01-30-19, 05:48 AM
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Did you check the circuit neutral wire in the panel when you were changing the breakers?
 
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Old 01-30-19, 06:01 AM
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The non-contact detector shown is of very limited use when looking for issues. It is prone to false positives and also does not detect the loss of a neutral.

You are also not looking for current. You are looking for voltage. Current is the flow of electricity.
 
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Old 01-30-19, 09:23 AM
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My bad, I said current when I meant voltage, thank you PCBOSS.
 
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Old 01-30-19, 10:47 AM
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Mazmaz Did you also note PCBoss wrote:
The non-contact detector shown is of very limited use when looking for issues. It is prone to false positives and also does not detect the loss of a neutral.
 
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Old 01-30-19, 04:08 PM
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Ive checked and i have power in all wires coming from breaker box. All neutrals and grounds are also visibly in working order. The whole problem started when my wife was using her hairdryer... she used it for about 3-5 mins. And when she went to continue using it. It wouldn't turn on. Unfortunately beings how i live in a 1985 model mobile home. Whatever went wrong within the circuit. Along with that specific outlet, two lights and 3 other outlets in a totally different room (master bedroom). Erghhh
 
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Old 01-30-19, 04:45 PM
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You said you knew the first receptacle in the line. Is that for sure..... or a guess ?
If you are sure it's leaving the panel..... then it must arrive at a device.... be it switch or receptacle.
If not..... the wire is damaged which is highly unlikely.

You're in a mobile home. They have a completely different set of problems. They use devices where the wires push into clips. That is another place for intermittent problems.

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