Last night, the reading light and clock on my headboard both went out
at the same time. I jiggled the extension cord plug and they
momentarily came back on but would not stay on. I figured there might
be a lose wire in the socket and since I didn't want to deal with it
at the moment, I moved the extension cord to another outlet on the
other side of the bed. Once again, the connection was intermittent
and would not stay on.

Right about then, my laptop started complaining that the battery was
about to die so I plugged its power supply into the wall socket where
I had moved the extension cord to. No power. So I started to plug it
into a third outlet and before I could even insert the plug half way,
the reading lamp and clock came back on.

What's going on here? Can someone give me some tips to troubleshoot
this situation?

On 9/8/2008 1:39 PM Bob Simon spake thus:

Last night, the reading light and clock on my headboard both went out
at the same time. I jiggled the extension cord plug and they
momentarily came back on but would not stay on. I figured there might
be a lose wire in the socket and since I didn't want to deal with it
at the moment, I moved the extension cord to another outlet on the
other side of the bed. Once again, the connection was intermittent
and would not stay on.

Right about then, my laptop started complaining that the battery was
about to die so I plugged its power supply into the wall socket where
I had moved the extension cord to. No power. So I started to plug it
into a third outlet and before I could even insert the plug half way,
the reading lamp and clock came back on.

What's going on here? Can someone give me some tips to troubleshoot
this situation?

Hard to tell from your description what's going on exactly: are all the
things that are having problems running through the extension cord?
Maybe it's time to throw it out and get a new one. I'd start there
before you start suspecting "loose wires" in sockets, an unlikely
(though possible) problem.


--
Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the
powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral.

- Paulo Freire

On Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:51:43 -0700, David Nebenzahl
wrote:

On 9/8/2008 1:39 PM Bob Simon spake thus:

Last night, the reading light and clock on my headboard both went out
at the same time. I jiggled the extension cord plug and they
momentarily came back on but would not stay on. I figured there might
be a lose wire in the socket and since I didn't want to deal with it
at the moment, I moved the extension cord to another outlet on the
other side of the bed. Once again, the connection was intermittent
and would not stay on.

Right about then, my laptop started complaining that the battery was
about to die so I plugged its power supply into the wall socket where
I had moved the extension cord to. No power. So I started to plug it
into a third outlet and before I could even insert the plug half way,
the reading lamp and clock came back on.

What's going on here? Can someone give me some tips to troubleshoot
this situation?

Hard to tell from your description what's going on exactly: are all the
things that are having problems running through the extension cord?
Maybe it's time to throw it out and get a new one. I'd start there
before you start suspecting "loose wires" in sockets, an unlikely
(though possible) problem.

No, the LED on the computer power supply did not light up when I
plugged it into the second outlet.

What do you think is going on
change bloody cord or by new light
Tony


"Bob Simon" wrote in message
...
Last night, the reading light and clock on my headboard both went out
at the same time. I jiggled the extension cord plug and they
momentarily came back on but would not stay on. I figured there might
be a lose wire in the socket and since I didn't want to deal with it
at the moment, I moved the extension cord to another outlet on the
other side of the bed. Once again, the connection was intermittent
and would not stay on.

Right about then, my laptop started complaining that the battery was
about to die so I plugged its power supply into the wall socket where
I had moved the extension cord to. No power. So I started to plug it
into a third outlet and before I could even insert the plug half way,
the reading lamp and clock came back on.

What's going on here? Can someone give me some tips to troubleshoot
this situation?

You might be facing the dreaded "stab-in" receptacle problem.

Most receptacles have two ways to attach the wire--bend around screws
or strip insulation and "stab" it into a spring loaded clip. Many
electricians use the stab in method because it's faster. But over time
the heat reduces spring tension on the clip and you get an
intermittent connection. If one receptacle is feeding another, you'll
get intermittents all the way down the "daisy chain".

Turn off the power and remove a receptacle. If the wires aren't
wrapped around the screw, insert a small nail into the groove on the
backside of the receptacle and the pull on the wire. Then make a half
circle bend in it and bind it under the screw instead. That will be a
permanent fix for the problem.

On 9/8/2008 2:10 PM Bob Simon spake thus:

On Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:51:43 -0700, David Nebenzahl
wrote:

On 9/8/2008 1:39 PM Bob Simon spake thus:

Last night, the reading light and clock on my headboard both went out
at the same time. I jiggled the extension cord plug and they
momentarily came back on but would not stay on. I figured there might
be a lose wire in the socket and since I didn't want to deal with it
at the moment, I moved the extension cord to another outlet on the
other side of the bed. Once again, the connection was intermittent
and would not stay on.

Right about then, my laptop started complaining that the battery was
about to die so I plugged its power supply into the wall socket where
I had moved the extension cord to. No power. So I started to plug it
into a third outlet and before I could even insert the plug half way,
the reading lamp and clock came back on.

What's going on here? Can someone give me some tips to troubleshoot
this situation?

Hard to tell from your description what's going on exactly: are all the
things that are having problems running through the extension cord?
Maybe it's time to throw it out and get a new one. I'd start there
before you start suspecting "loose wires" in sockets, an unlikely
(though possible) problem.

No, the LED on the computer power supply did not light up when I
plugged it into the second outlet.

So you may have bad outlets. If so, the solution's pretty simple:
replace them.

Now, if you're handy and knowledgeable about simple electrical repairs,
you'll know how to do that safely and correctly. That way, we don't have
to go through that whole business of "make sure the power for that
circuit is turned off; get the right outlets to replace the old ones",
etc., etc. If not, you can guess what I'm about to suggest:

Call an electrician.


--
Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the
powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral.

- Paulo Freire

"Bob Simon" wrote in message
...
Last night, the reading light and clock on my headboard both went out
at the same time. I jiggled the extension cord plug and they
momentarily came back on but would not stay on. I figured there might
be a lose wire in the socket and since I didn't want to deal with it
at the moment, I moved the extension cord to another outlet on the
other side of the bed. Once again, the connection was intermittent
and would not stay on.

Right about then, my laptop started complaining that the battery was
about to die so I plugged its power supply into the wall socket where
I had moved the extension cord to. No power. So I started to plug it
into a third outlet and before I could even insert the plug half way,
the reading lamp and clock came back on.

What's going on here? Can someone give me some tips to troubleshoot
this situation?

The outlets in the room are daisy-chained together and you have a loose
connection, causing the outlets downstream of that connection to lose power
.. I would guess the problem to be in the outlet that you plugged the
computer into, when the power came back on. This situation is frequently
caused by poorly back stabbed connections on the receptacles

On Mon, 08 Sep 2008 17:52:25 -0400, Blattus Slafaly
wrote:

Bob Simon wrote:
Last night, the reading light and clock on my headboard both went out
at the same time. I jiggled the extension cord plug and they
momentarily came back on but would not stay on. I figured there might
be a lose wire in the socket and since I didn't want to deal with it
at the moment, I moved the extension cord to another outlet on the
other side of the bed. Once again, the connection was intermittent
and would not stay on.

Right about then, my laptop started complaining that the battery was
about to die so I plugged its power supply into the wall socket where
I had moved the extension cord to. No power. So I started to plug it
into a third outlet and before I could even insert the plug half way,
the reading lamp and clock came back on.

What's going on here? Can someone give me some tips to troubleshoot
this situation?

I have seen outlets so worn out that plugs don't stay in or make good
contact. Try bending the prongs slightly so there is some resistance
when you plug it in.

I've used one outlet (in an old building) that wouldn't accept a plug
unless the prongs were squeezed together while inserting it.

Possibly the first time I felt 120V.
--
108 days until the winter solstice celebration

Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"The government of the United States is not, in
any sense, founded on the Christian religion."

Last night, the reading light and clock on my headboard both went out
at the same time. I jiggled the extension cord plug and they
momentarily came back on but would not stay on. I figured there might
be a lose wire in the socket and since I didn't want to deal with it
at the moment, I moved the extension cord to another outlet on the
other side of the bed. Once again, the connection was intermittent
and would not stay on.

Right about then, my laptop started complaining that the battery was
about to die so I plugged its power supply into the wall socket where
I had moved the extension cord to. No power. So I started to plug it
into a third outlet and before I could even insert the plug half way,
the reading lamp and clock came back on.

What's going on here? Can someone give me some tips to troubleshoot
this situation?

Wow ... if you have to ask that, you'd better save it for an
electrician.

Sounds like you have aluminum wiring and they loose their tension under
compression . They have to be tightened periodically . There is an spring
loaded pigtail of copper wire that can be installed to eliminate this
problem if indeed that is the case.

Sal

"Bob Simon" wrote in message
...
Last night, the reading light and clock on my headboard both went out
at the same time. I jiggled the extension cord plug and they
momentarily came back on but would not stay on. I figured there might
be a lose wire in the socket and since I didn't want to deal with it
at the moment, I moved the extension cord to another outlet on the
other side of the bed. Once again, the connection was intermittent
and would not stay on.

Right about then, my laptop started complaining that the battery was
about to die so I plugged its power supply into the wall socket where
I had moved the extension cord to. No power. So I started to plug it
into a third outlet and before I could even insert the plug half way,
the reading lamp and clock came back on.

What's going on here? Can someone give me some tips to troubleshoot
this situation?

On Sep 8, 5:37*pm, Rick-Meister wrote:
You might be facing the dreaded "stab-in" receptacle problem.

Most receptacles have two ways to attach the wire--bend around screws
or strip insulation and "stab" it into a spring loaded clip. Many
electricians use the stab in method because it's faster. But over time
the heat reduces spring tension on the clip and you get an
intermittent connection. If one receptacle is feeding another, you'll
get intermittents all the way down the "daisy chain".

Turn off the power and remove a receptacle. If the wires aren't
wrapped around the screw, insert a small nail into the groove on the
backside of the receptacle and the pull on the wire. Then make a half
circle bend in it and bind it under the screw instead. That will be a
permanent fix for the problem.

Highly likely to be the problem. The even better fix is to get rid of
all the 69 cent back stabbers and get some real receptacles from the
$2.98 bin at your box store. The better ones have back contacts
tightened by the side screws, saving time in rewiring. HTH

Joe

Sounds like a bad back stabbed outlet somewhere in the chain. Start taking
them apart and putting the wires on the screws.

s


"Bob Simon" wrote in message
...
Last night, the reading light and clock on my headboard both went out
at the same time. I jiggled the extension cord plug and they
momentarily came back on but would not stay on. I figured there might
be a lose wire in the socket and since I didn't want to deal with it
at the moment, I moved the extension cord to another outlet on the
other side of the bed. Once again, the connection was intermittent
and would not stay on.

Right about then, my laptop started complaining that the battery was
about to die so I plugged its power supply into the wall socket where
I had moved the extension cord to. No power. So I started to plug it
into a third outlet and before I could even insert the plug half way,
the reading lamp and clock came back on.

What's going on here? Can someone give me some tips to troubleshoot
this situation?

On Mon, 08 Sep 2008 15:39:18 -0500, Bob Simon
wrote:

Last night, the reading light and clock on my headboard both went out
at the same time. I jiggled the extension cord plug and they
momentarily came back on but would not stay on. I figured there might
be a lose wire in the socket and since I didn't want to deal with it
at the moment, I moved the extension cord to another outlet on the
other side of the bed. Once again, the connection was intermittent
and would not stay on.

Right about then, my laptop started complaining that the battery was
about to die so I plugged its power supply into the wall socket where
I had moved the extension cord to. No power. So I started to plug it
into a third outlet and before I could even insert the plug half way,
the reading lamp and clock came back on.

What's going on here? Can someone give me some tips to troubleshoot
this situation?

Those of you who suggested that I had daisy-chained, back-stab outlets
were exactly correct. Thank you very much. The repair was quick and
easy so even though fixing the upstream outlet may have solved the
immediate problem, I did all three anyway.

The only tool that I wish I had for this job is a flashlight that
mounts on a headband. Can anyone recommend a lightweight one,
preferable one that uses LEDs?

On Tue, 09 Sep 2008 10:50:21 -0500, Bob Simon
wrote:

The only tool that I wish I had for this job is a flashlight that
mounts on a headband. Can anyone recommend a lightweight one,
preferable one that uses LEDs?

I like this one
http://www.meritline.com/led-flashlight-206-flesh.html.
It's physically compact so the light assembly doesn't hit things in
close quarters, and the wide light beam illuminates the work well.

On Tue, 09 Sep 2008 22:11:01 -0700, Andy wrote:

On Tue, 09 Sep 2008 10:50:21 -0500, Bob Simon
wrote:

The only tool that I wish I had for this job is a flashlight that
mounts on a headband. Can anyone recommend a lightweight one,
preferable one that uses LEDs?

I like this one
http://www.meritline.com/led-flashlight-206-flesh.html.
It's physically compact so the light assembly doesn't hit things in
close quarters, and the wide light beam illuminates the work well.

Andy,
Thanks for the recomendation. That's good enough for me. The web
site stated that it has a "flash function". What does that mean?

Bob Simon wrote:
On Mon, 08 Sep 2008 15:39:18 -0500, Bob Simon
wrote:

Last night, the reading light and clock on my headboard both went out
at the same time. I jiggled the extension cord plug and they
momentarily came back on but would not stay on. I figured there
might be a lose wire in the socket and since I didn't want to deal
with it at the moment, I moved the extension cord to another outlet
on the other side of the bed. Once again, the connection was
intermittent and would not stay on.

Right about then, my laptop started complaining that the battery was
about to die so I plugged its power supply into the wall socket where
I had moved the extension cord to. No power. So I started to plug
it into a third outlet and before I could even insert the plug half
way, the reading lamp and clock came back on.

What's going on here? Can someone give me some tips to troubleshoot
this situation?

Those of you who suggested that I had daisy-chained, back-stab outlets
were exactly correct. Thank you very much. The repair was quick and
easy so even though fixing the upstream outlet may have solved the
immediate problem, I did all three anyway.

The only tool that I wish I had for this job is a flashlight that
mounts on a headband. Can anyone recommend a lightweight one,
preferable one that uses LEDs?

B&D "Snake Light" is a bit more versatile. While you can't wrap it around
your head, it works quite well around the neck.

On 9/10/2008 6:47 AM Bob Simon spake thus:

On Tue, 09 Sep 2008 22:11:01 -0700, Andy wrote:

On Tue, 09 Sep 2008 10:50:21 -0500, Bob Simon
wrote:

The only tool that I wish I had for this job is a flashlight that
mounts on a headband. Can anyone recommend a lightweight one,
preferable one that uses LEDs?

I like this one
http://www.meritline.com/led-flashlight-206-flesh.html.
It's physically compact so the light assembly doesn't hit things in
close quarters, and the wide light beam illuminates the work well.

Andy,
Thanks for the recomendation. That's good enough for me. The web
site stated that it has a "flash function". What does that mean?

It flashes (dunno why anyone would want that, except maybe for a
distress signal). The switch cycles through dim, medium, bright and
flashing.

I got one like that, and the little chip that controls it got fried, so
I ended up replacing it with a toggle switch and a resistor. No
flashing, no brightness levels, just off and on.


--
Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the
powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral.

- Paulo Freire

On Mon, 08 Sep 2008 17:37:04 -0500, Rick-Meister
wrote:

You might be facing the dreaded "stab-in" receptacle problem.

Sounds to me like this is 100% right.

If the OP is messing with one outlet, and effects another one, this
almost always the cause.

I would start by replacing the receptacle that causes the other one to
come back on.

[snip]

I've used one outlet (in an old building) that wouldn't accept a plug
unless the prongs were squeezed together while inserting it.

Possibly the first time I felt 120V.

Why would anyone touch prongs going into the plug? Did you put your
tongue on it too?

Did you read what I wrote? This outlet WOULDN'T accept a plug
otherwise. Anyway, details are hard to remember after 30 years.
--
104 days until the winter solstice celebration

Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"The government of the United States is not, in
any sense, founded on the Christian religion."