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bank5 · 03-18-2010, 08:57 PM

I think I blew a fuse but am not sure if it's something worse. I had two things plugged into an outlet in my bathroom and they both lost power at the same time. This has happened to me before and flipping the circuit breaker did the trick. However this time it didn't work. What else should I try?

calmloki · 03-18-2010, 09:00 PM

push the breaker to the full off position before snapping it back on. and/or find Ground Fault Interrupter receptacle and push in the button that popped out.

bank5 · 03-18-2010, 09:25 PM

Thanks for the reply. I just made sure to push the breaker to the full off position but still no luck. The receptacle doesn't have a Ground Fault Interrupter. The lights in the bathroom still work, just not the receptacles.

Any other ideas what it might be?

Ronnieboy · 03-18-2010, 10:04 PM

It might be a GFI receptacle elsewhere on the circuit. I had the receptacles in my garage trip and the GFI that was on the same circuit was in a basement bedroom!

samclem · 03-18-2010, 10:18 PM

Ronnieboy probably has it right. If it's a receptacle in a bathroom and it is up to modern standards, then there's a GFCI protecting it. But, sometimes it is on another receptacle "upstream" of the bathroom. Check nearby outlets (is there another bathroom back-to-back with the affected one?) In one house we lived in, the GCFI receptacle in the garage protected an upstairs bathroom. Dumb, but cheap.

**Walt34** · 03-19-2010, 04:05 AM

Like samclem, I had one in the garage protected by a GFCI in the basement. Even worse, resetting it didn't work either. Taking the cover plate off I found the terminals to the outlet were hot so I figured the GFCI in the outlet was bad. When I went to replace it I found that the hot wire had simply fallen out of the push-in connector. So I used the screw connectors to keep it from happening again.

Look for other dead outlets and you'll likely find the culprit. It is possible the breaker went bad but that's rare. If you're comfortable taking the cover off your circuit panel that's easy enough to check. If you're not comfortable doing that - sticking your fingers in the wrong place will be painful at best - it's time to call an electrician.

bank5 · 03-19-2010, 06:55 AM

Thanks everyone for the help! That's exactly what it was. The GFI was on a receptacle in my garage. I'm glad I didn't need to call an electrician to push a button!

samclem · 03-19-2010, 07:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bank5

Thanks everyone for the help! That's exactly what it was. The GFI was on a receptacle in my garage. I'm glad I didn't need to call an electrician to push a button!

Now, if you want to be a nice guy and help everyone else in the house or who lives there after you, you can put a small label on the GFCI in the garage indicating it protects circuits in your bthroonm, and put another label on the recpts in the bathroom telling people to reset the GFCI in the garage if they go out.

FinanceDude · 03-19-2010, 08:23 AM

Dang, I thought this was a thread about one of our colorful members ranting on and on......

Nords · 03-19-2010, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bank5

I'm glad I didn't need to call an electrician to push a button!

Pushing a button: free.
Knowing where to push a button: minimum $85 service call...

ls99 · 03-19-2010, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by samclem

Now, if you want to be a nice guy and help everyone else in the house or who lives there after you, you can put a small label on the GFCI in the garage indicating it protects circuits in your bthroonm, and put another label on the recpts in the bathroom telling people to reset the GFCI in the garage if they go out.

And if you really want to be nice, label the outlet(s) with the CB #