Since you have no ground fault circuit interrupters, a ground fault isn't
your problem. If the circuit breaker is tripped and won't reset, it's a
short circuit. If the circuit breaker is on and current is going through it,
you have an open circuit. This problem makes sense in an old house. When
this house was first electrified, they probably had one circuit that went to
a few locations all over the house. Over time people kept tapping that
circuit whenever they wanted to add new outlets and lights, so now you find
90% of the house is on that one circuit. What you really need to have done
is an additional line brought from your panel and feed that part of the
circuit.



"nj_dilettante" wrote in message
...
RBM wrote:
I would try a different electrician. The cable going to this dead
outlet has to come from somewhere, and depending upon the location of
the dead outlet, such as outside or in a bathroom, it should give a
clue to where to look for the problem. It sounds like a loose
connection, but the devil is finding where



"nj_dilettante" wrote in message
...
I have a circuit which has no power even though the breaker is on. The
power stays off for several months, then suddenly goes back on. Several
months later, it suddenly goes off. I haven't noticed any
triggering events.

The electrician I've been using tells me its a ground fault and can
only be checked when the power is on. He goes from outlet to
outlet, fixture to fixture, testing but never seems to find
anything. I'm not even sure what he's testing! I've forked over a
ton of money to this guy and still have a problem.

Does this sound reasonable, or should I be looking for another
electrician? I wish I could re-wire, but it just isn't in the budget
right now!

--
nj_dilettante
in the words of the immortal Sgt Schultz:
~~ I know NOTH-THING ~~

It's not one outlet, it's an entire circuit which (unfortunately) services
PARTS of 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, the den, the upstairs hall, a couple of
basement lights and all of the finished attic. No GFCI on the circuit.
My house is a 200-year old monster which was re-wired - not by us - in the
1970's. I have 28 circuit breakers in the box, but almost half the house
is on this one damn line!

I really would like to know if "ground fault" is a reasonable diagnosis,
and if so, how one would go about finding the problem. I've found it
difficult to get an electrician in for this - all of them here in central
NJ are too busy with new construction to want to be bothered with a nasty
problem in a old house.