On Sun, 29 May 2011 12:53:47 GMT, Doug White
wrote:

Somewhere in my house, I have a broken electrical connection. This is
the second time a circuit has developed a fault in the middle in the last
6 months. The first time, a neutral connection let go where some idiot
had used a "back stab" (great name, considering how they fail) connection
in an outlet. Years of wiggling the outlet did it in. I was flat out at
work & had to pay several hundred bucks to get an electrician to chase it
down.

This time, I can probably fix it myself, but I'd prefer not to ruin the
entire weekend looking for it. Part of the circuit is live, and then
someplace, it ain't. The house is a 1952 vintage ranch, and the wiring
may run in the attic, or through the basement ceiling, when it isn't
going short distances in walls.

I have a cheapo Greenlee circuit tracer, but it's designed to plug into a
live outlet for mapping out breakers. I know they sell ones that put a
strong enough signal on the wires that you can track them in walls,
presumably battery powered for dead circuits. One catch is that the
basement ceiling is expanded metal lath. I don't expect to trace things
there, although a really good on might work up through the wood floors.

The electrician who fixed the first break had some kind of tracer, but
didn't have much luck with it. Apparently even a small load (a night
light in an outlet we didn't know was on the circuit) was enough to kill
the signal. I'd prefer something that was a bit more reliable.

Any recommendations? Something I can pick up at Lowes or Home Despot
would be good.

The first thing to come to mind is a beeping circuit tracer. I bought
a Greenlee GT-16 Adjustable Non-Contact Voltage Detector from an
Amazon vendor. You hold it next to the wiring and it beeps until you
find the break. This won't work inside walls. If you get one, make
sure it's adjustable. Non-adjustable beepers aren't reliable, being
either too sensitive or not sensitive enough. This is a power detector
type, so you'll find the break quickly -if- you have access to the
wiring.

If you know exactly what the circuit is for and what outlets/lamps it
serves, it might be quicker and cheaper to just run an entire new run
than to troubleshoot it. Romex is a lot cheaper than an electrician's
time, even at copper's current expanded price.

One last thought: Have you gone throughout the house and replaced
every single instance of backstabbing with real outlets and switches
with real screw terminals? If not, do so now. It may solve the problem
for you. Some circuits are run in series, so a badly stabbed switch
up the line may be the problem, not the copper wiring.

--
Education should provide the tools for a widening and deepening
of life, for increased appreciation of all one sees or experiences.
It should equip a person to live life well, to understand what is
happening around him, for to live life well one must live life with
awareness. -- Louis L'Amour