home electrical problem
 

I have a 50 year old house. I am remodeling the bath. Today, I go to
plug in a small compressor into a standard outlet and then I lose
power in this bath, part of the accompanying bedroom (3 walls of it)
and another bedroom. The circuit breaker did not flip and to be sure,
I flipped them all off and on once but power was not restored. I go
out into the hall, where there is a three way switch operating an
overhead light, and when I turn this switch on, the light dims then
gets really really bright, and it also seems to turn on items in the
2nd bedroom that lost power. I have opened all of the outlets and made
sure they are wired correctly. Did the same thing with the light
switches and replaced the three way switch with a new one. Did not
work. Also, looked under house to make sure no water dripping on
wires, crawled in attic, nothing unusual and the walls are cool to
touch as are the outlets and switches.

Any ideas of what I can do first before calling an electrician?
Thank you.


--
sboyd4
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sboyd4 wrote:

I have a 50 year old house. I am remodeling the bath. Today, I go to
plug in a small compressor into a standard outlet and then I lose
power in this bath, part of the accompanying bedroom (3 walls of it)
and another bedroom. The circuit breaker did not flip and to be sure,
I flipped them all off and on once but power was not restored. I go
out into the hall, where there is a three way switch operating an
overhead light, and when I turn this switch on, the light dims then
gets really really bright, and it also seems to turn on items in the
2nd bedroom that lost power. I have opened all of the outlets and made
sure they are wired correctly. Did the same thing with the light
switches and replaced the three way switch with a new one. Did not
work. Also, looked under house to make sure no water dripping on
wires, crawled in attic, nothing unusual and the walls are cool to
touch as are the outlets and switches.

Any ideas of what I can do first before calling an electrician?
Thank you.



That "really quite bright" light bulb make me pretty sure you've got a
"loose disconnection" on a neutral line somewhere.

I think you are going to need a professional.

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia

(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"Truth exists; only falsehood has to be invented."

Jeff is absolutely correct. I'm not an alarmist but you've lost a neutral
and you're getting a hi voltage backfeed. Call an electrician immediately
"Jeff Wisnia" wrote in message
...
sboyd4 wrote:

I have a 50 year old house. I am remodeling the bath. Today, I go to
plug in a small compressor into a standard outlet and then I lose
power in this bath, part of the accompanying bedroom (3 walls of it)
and another bedroom. The circuit breaker did not flip and to be sure,
I flipped them all off and on once but power was not restored. I go
out into the hall, where there is a three way switch operating an
overhead light, and when I turn this switch on, the light dims then
gets really really bright, and it also seems to turn on items in the
2nd bedroom that lost power. I have opened all of the outlets and made
sure they are wired correctly. Did the same thing with the light
switches and replaced the three way switch with a new one. Did not
work. Also, looked under house to make sure no water dripping on
wires, crawled in attic, nothing unusual and the walls are cool to
touch as are the outlets and switches.

Any ideas of what I can do first before calling an electrician?
Thank you.



That "really quite bright" light bulb make me pretty sure you've got a
"loose disconnection" on a neutral line somewhere.

I think you are going to need a professional.

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia

(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"Truth exists; only falsehood has to be invented."

So do I need to call now - as in an emergency - or can I call in the
morning?
Thank you.


--
sboyd4
------------------------------------------------------------------------
sboyd4's Profile: http://www.homeplot.com/member.php?userid=20
View this thread: http://www.homeplot.com/showthread.php?t=56046

sboyd4 wrote:

So do I need to call now - as in an emergency - or can I call in the
morning?
Thank you.



If it was me, I'd open the main breaker on the house's panel and feel
pretty confidant that nothing horrible would happen while I was
arranging for an electrician's visit.

But YMMV, so there's no guarantee from me on that. G

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia

(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"Truth exists; only falsehood has to be invented."

Check to see if a GFI outlet tripped, which would kill the rest of your
outlets if they are downstream.Press the reset button.

sboyd4 wrote:
So do I need to call now - as in an emergency - or can I call in the
morning?
Thank you.



Are there any children in the house? If so I would call NOW. Your
ground line and neutral are connected. If the neutral lifted and the
ground is still connected to it (which is probably the case) your safety
ground has not become your neutral. This poses a serious risk of shock
when touching the _outside_ of grounded appliances. Plus other creative
stuff.

Usually people don't even bother to explain. I think its because the
issue is serious and they want you to not be reading the forums but on
the phone calling an electrician.


--
Respectfully,


CL Gilbert