Hi Gang,

I was hoping someone could comment on a problem we started seeing a few
months ago but has only happened five time or so since it began.

The power in our master bathroom goes out from time to time. The
ventilation fan, all outlets, and all lights stop working. The outage
lasts for anywhere from 10 to 14 hours and restores itself afterwards.
The fuse for that part of the house controls the master bathroom and
the laundry room (they share a wall) appears fine but I'm not sure I
trust it, being the naive homeowner than I am.

The last time it happened was yesterday, right after I turned off the
lights after a shower. Basically I turned off the lights but tried to
turn them back on after changing my mind, and that's when it failed to
come back on. I don't remember if the previous occurences happened
after a shower but I'll keep this in mind the next time it happens.

Anyway that's about all the information I have. I was hoping someone
out there has seen this kind of thing before, and would greatly
appreciate any kind of suggestion or feedback.
Thanks in advance,
Jeff

"skrooby" wrote:

The power in our master bathroom goes out from time to time. The
ventilation fan, all outlets, and all lights stop working. The outage
lasts for anywhere from 10 to 14 hours and restores itself afterwards.
The fuse for that part of the house controls the master bathroom and
the laundry room (they share a wall) appears fine but I'm not sure I
trust it, being the naive homeowner than I am.


Sounds like your GFCI breaker is going nuts. That's a special kind of breaker
designed to prevent Darwin's law from taking effect when you use your hairdryer
in the shower.

GFCI breakers are either in the breaker box, or are wired as special outlets
with reset buttons. You only need one GFCI outlet, as everything else (lights
included) can be wired downstream and be protected.

Find the GFCI and have it replaced. If that doesn't solve the problem, you need
to track down a bad wire/connection and that will likely take an electrician.

Hi Clark,

Thanks for your advice! Do a lot of GFCIs go nuts on their own? How
would I tell if I have one installed in the breaker box, and would
every fuse have one GFCI associated with it?

Thanks again,
Jeff

"skrooby" wrote:

Thanks for your advice! Do a lot of GFCIs go nuts on their own?

I've never seen one, but I'm not an electrician. Have owned and worked on a lot
of electrical systems through.

How would I tell if I have one installed in the breaker box,

If you have a GFCI breaker, it will look different than all the other breakers.
Not in size - in the way you reset it. It should have a "test" button built into
it. The others won't.

and would every fuse have one GFCI associated with it?

Most homes built in the last 50 years have breakers - not fuses. Using the word
"fuse" tends to confuse people.

Homes have circuits. Circuits consist of power outlets, switches and things
wired directly (like light fixtures). Each circuit has a breaker associated with
it.

Certain circuits are considered to need additional protection (like the bath,
kitchen and outdoor outlets). Those circuits have GFCI protection. That
protection can be in the form of a single special breaker, or as a single
special outlet. That breaker or outlet will have a test button on it. GFCI
outlets have reset buttons, GFCI breakers reset the same as other breakers.

On 16 Dec 2004 19:47:26 -0800, someone wrote:


The power in our master bathroom goes out from time to time. The
ventilation fan, all outlets, and all lights stop working. The outage
lasts for anywhere from 10 to 14 hours and restores itself afterwards.
The fuse for that part of the house controls the master bathroom and
the laundry room (they share a wall) appears fine but I'm not sure I
trust it, being the naive homeowner than I am.

All that is on one fuse? It can't be the fuse or the whole circuit
would be out. Fuses do not restore themselves, they burn out from the
overload and then you have to put in a new fuse. It must be an old
house, not upgraded, to still have fuses.

Does the bathroom have a GFCI outlet? Most do nowadays. Likely its a
GFCI (Ground Fault) device problem, effecting that outlet and
everything wired beyond it.

-v.


Reply to NG only - this e.mail address goes to a kill file.

On 16 Dec 2004 19:47:26 -0800, "skrooby" wrote:

Hi Gang,

I was hoping someone could comment on a problem we started seeing a few
months ago but has only happened five time or so since it began.

The power in our master bathroom goes out from time to time. The
ventilation fan, all outlets, and all lights stop working. The outage
lasts for anywhere from 10 to 14 hours and restores itself afterwards.
The fuse for that part of the house controls the master bathroom and
the laundry room (they share a wall) appears fine but I'm not sure I
trust it, being the naive homeowner than I am.

The last time it happened was yesterday, right after I turned off the
lights after a shower. Basically I turned off the lights but tried to
turn them back on after changing my mind, and that's when it failed to
come back on. I don't remember if the previous occurences happened
after a shower but I'll keep this in mind the next time it happens.

Anyway that's about all the information I have. I was hoping someone
out there has seen this kind of thing before, and would greatly


You have a bad connection somewhere, I'd look near the lightswitch to
begin with . If you have no idea what you're looking at, hire an
electrician, a couple hundred bucks maximum may well be worth the
peace of mind.