PipeDown wrote:
"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 ~~


Reminds me of that TV commercial where the guy is flipping this
switch in his garage and hollering to his wife "is it that one honey"
while two doors away a garage door slams up and down on some old
lady's car (presumably controlled by his switch).

Ground fault means current is traveling from the hot into the ground
conductor, while this may trip a regular breaker and will trip a GFCI
breaker or receptacle, it generally does not cause intermittant
operation with random occurance and long MTBF. A ground fault could
be found with the power off and an ohmmeter between hot and ground. He is
limiting his test method to the one tester he understands (the
plug in tester I would guess)
Now if he were looking for an open neutral or hot in a wire nut that
occasionally makes contact when enough vibration gets in the wall,
that would be more reasonable.

Is the whole branch circuit blacked out at once or just a portion of
it? It could take a little time to map out the cables in the walls
without seeing them so one could predict the location of an open. Has he
tried the simple, lets replace the $20 breaker and see if that
helps approach.
Seriously, you should only pay his on site estimate fee (usually the
first hour labor or so). If he cannot find and fix a problem, he has
not rendered a service that is billable. If he ultimately fixes it,
he is justified to bill for time spent but if he gives up, the
additional time wasted should be his. Don't pay as you go, he could
give up at any time and you will be at square 1 without a head start.

Find another electrician, not one who works alone or with just 1 or
two partners. Get one of those 1-800-plumber/electrician outfits
from the yellow pages. The pricing is less flexible but in this case
that is to your advantage. Most times they will give you a fixed
price quite and there are several levels of managers to climb if
there is a problem, If the "technician" or Journeyman electrician
can't find it Demand they send the Master out.

If it is working now and you are looking back in time trying to find
the fault, that could be very difficult. Might wait until it blacks
out again to start troubleshooting.

THANK YOU! This is just the advice I was looking for! Which means,
basically, that you've justified my doubts about my electrician, and you've
given me some vocabulary to use with the next one.

My BS radar has been beeping loudly and I've been longing to ask this guy if
my problem will be fixed before his youngest kid is out of college! I'm a
woman who knows enough (after 15 years of renovating a very old house) to
hold my own with most trades, but I have not been able to get a handle on
this problem.

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