# Fuse OK! No power to outlets...



## henry199 (Dec 25, 2008)

Hello,

I woke up today (Christmas Day) and worked in the kitchen for about 1 hour preparing lunch - no problems.

Minutes before I leave for the day I grab a drink from the fridge and I notice the fridge light is out. I then notice that everything (excluding stove/oven) in the kitchen and everything on the same circuit - living room are completely dead.

I assume it's just the circuit breaker as it flips quite often - but when I checked it, it was still in the "on" position.

I moved around all fuses/circuit breakers (all the same amp) and it seems to be the slot that doesn't work as all the fuses work in all the other slots (lights/other power circuit).

How can this be? How can it just stop working.. Christmas Day of all days!!

Any suggestions, or will I have to wait 4 days until I can call an emergency electrician?

Thanks for any help!

Cheers,
Henry


----------



## rjordan392 (Apr 28, 2005)

This may be your problem:

1. When circuit breakers trip, they appear to be still on. Did you turn it off manually and then turn it back on? This may solve it.

2. Check any ground fault circuit interupters (gfci) that are in the kitchen. If you only have one of these in the kitchen, then the other recepticles might be feeding off of it. Not likely but possible. I have a gfci in my cabinet that runs to a range hood and it feeds the range below it.

After you locate the problem, You should think about getting a electrician to find out why this circuit is tripping.


----------



## ACB Electric (Nov 29, 2008)

is it fuses or breakers?
I am going to assume fuses.
do you have a voltage tester?
test the termanal at the fuse first, as you say that it does goo occassionaly the holder might be fried. if it is live than the problem is elswhere. go to a dead receptical and test each terminal to ground, the hot terminal should give a full voltage reading and the nuetral should give a continueity reading (if your in north america). if you have a voltage reading on the neutral or no reading at all to ground and voltage reading on the hot to ground then you have lost a nuetral. if you have no voltage reading on the hot but a continueity reading on the neutral you have lost the hot. from that you will need to trace the wiring back to the panel to find the failure. not an easy job for someone in experienced at it.

JUST BE CAREFULL today is not the day to get electricuted


----------



## Yoyizit (Jul 11, 2008)

I found a breaker with no continuity, and the counterguy confirmed it. As my customer was writing a check for $38 the counterguy flipped the switch on and off as hard as he could several times. Lo and behold, continuity! And it still works, years later.


----------



## AllanJ (Nov 24, 2007)

You might have a loose connection somewhere. Maybe in the main panel under the breaker where it clips on to the live strip (bus bar).

Should the bus bar be deformed or burned where the breaker clips on, you won't be able to use that slot in your panel. The breaker that used to be there must also be replaced as its underside will be burned and will cause loose connection heat damage in a different slot if clipped on there.

Hopefully you plugged the 'fridge into an extension cord to connect elsewhere, and/or connected the kitchen circuit to a different breaker (see preceding paragraph) and maybe it is no longer an emergency.

>>> ... electrician to find out why ...

Most common reason for continual tripping of a circuit that serves entire kitchen and living room is ... (drum roll)... ordinary usage overload.


----------



## henry199 (Dec 25, 2008)

Thanks for all the replies. I should of added a couple of things to my original post - I'm in Australia and we don't have any GFCI, And I'm in an apartment.

Do you think it's possible I have two circuits coming into my flat from the main meter room, and maybe something has tripped in there?

I'm going to borrow a voltage tester today, so at least I can check the fuse box connections. Then I can start to eliminate things.

I know all the fuses and circuit breakers work.

I did plug the fridge in elsewhere....

Thanks again... I'll let you know how I go.


----------



## joed (Mar 13, 2005)

Being an apartment I would be calling the landlord. Around here you are not permitted to work on electrical in a rental unit.


----------



## biggles (Jan 1, 2008)

with that voltage tester catch a good ground and with all the breakers in the on position hit all the circucit breakers catch each wire tied in going out to the house circuits....they should all read 115V......120V.....125V......:thumbsup: if you catch the kitchen one having now power to that ground,shut it off and flip it out off the power bar clip it into another blank spot if you can.


----------



## rjordan392 (Apr 28, 2005)

I agree with joed.
You will be held liable if something happens and cause damage to the building or worse; someone gets injured. I think its possible that you have only two circuits but only if the building is very old and no improvements to the electric were performed. Call the landlord. The electric is his problem.


----------



## henry199 (Dec 25, 2008)

joed said:


> Being an apartment I would be calling the landlord. Around here you are not permitted to work on electrical in a rental unit.


I own the flat so I am the landlord! ha ha.

I went out to my local hardware shop to pick up a meter - but they're shut on boxing day! So I'll have to go tomorrow!

Thanks again.


----------

