Self-Help Tips from our Electricians
Straightforward advice for common household electric dilemmas
Sometimes you need an electrician, sometimes you don't. Harte Electric will help you save money and know when to call in a licensed electrician. If you are ever unsure, or if you see sparks or smell smoke, contact a licensed electrician right away.
In this episode: Have the receptacles in your garage or on the outside walls of your home stopped working? Before calling an electrician you may want to try a few things first.
Synopsis: Locate the circuit breaker for these receptacles. It should be labeled.
Reset the breaker by moving the breaker handle to the off position and then back to the on position.
If this does not restore power to the receptacles, the problem may be a GFCI type receptacle has tripped and needs to be reset. It can be identified by test and reset buttons on it's face. It can usually be found in the garage, basement, outside wall of the house and in older homes sometimes it will be located in a bathroom. Sometimes it can be tricky to find as things may be placed in front of it hiding it from plain sight.
Note the GFCI receptacles in the kitchen are not in your search as these protect receptacles on the dedicated small appliance circuits.
Once you locate the GFCI receptacle press the reset button you should hear it click. If the receptacles are now working great. If not unplug all electrical items from any receptacles from the search locations. Once this is done now press the reset button again if it holds great. Note a common cause of GFCI tripping is the presence of water. Allow electrical cords time to dry and one at a time plug the electrical items until the GFCI trips. Remove this last item from the circuit as it is a safety hazard. If you still have no power to the receptacles it's time to call a licensed electrician.
Feedback on Harte Electric Self Help Tips:
We recently heard from a visitor to our web site who sent us an email saying:
Thank you so much for your self-help tips. I was seriously bumming out today when my bathroom receptacles stopped working. I looked in my circuit panel but missed (overlooked) the GFI. After reading your article, I looked again and YEA! I found it. If I can ever help you with a clock problem (I solve some of those over the phone with customers, too!) please call. D. Dennis,Owner Anthony's Clocks, Inc. Durham
