Loss of power to entire room...I'm stumped !!

[hurk27]

here's a good thread kind of long but has allot of good pointer in it for trouble shooting:
http://forums.mikeholt.com/showthread.php/134819-How-much-to-charge-on-failed-service-call

 

[curt swartz]

By the way...how do i detemine which breaker would have controlled the circuit if the outlets are dead. My plug in tester that requires power to trace to the panel obviously won't work, and i tried using my Advance tracer, set it to open, and still didn't read to the panel.

You can use an extension cord to get power from another circuit. Connect one lead of the tester to another power source and the other lead to the neutral of the circuit you are working on. You can then trace the neutral in the panel to figure out which cable you are working with.

 

[gar]

110530-2230 EDT

pridelion:

You have lots of good suggestions. I will suggest another which also uses an extension cord.

Use a 3 wire extension cord connected to a known good circuit near the main panel. This should provide a good EGC, neutral, and hot line. Use three test instruments --- a good DVM like a Fluke 27, a 25 W bulb with leads to allow connection with any pair of the five wires you have, 3 from the extension cord, and the two in your circuit under test, and last a 1500 W heater, may not need it initially.

Disconnect any loads from all non-functioning receptacles, and bulbs from lights on the non-working circuit.

You can first see if the neutrals seem to be OK. Use the 25 W bulb between the extension cord hot wire and the neutral to be tested. See if any appear to be bad.

Next use the voltmeter between the extension cord neutral or EGC and the hot terminal to be tested. Note: all loads from the circuit have been removed so the hot wire should not load the circuit.

If there is some high resistance connection between the good part of the circuit and the bad part then you may see enough voltage on the bad part to then allow you to find the breaker. There could be capacitive coupling from some other circuit. A real substantial break in the circuit may not provide much leakage current. If this leads you to a single breaker that really seems to control the circuit, then find the last good outlet on that circuit.

Open that outlet and see if there is an indicated problem at this point. The voltmeter may be useful here to check the input and output. If this is the point of the problem, then moving the output wire may make a voltage change of the failed part of the circuit.

If nothing bad appears here then the physical location may lead you to the closest non-working outlet.

Once you get the circuit working again. then use the heater to apply a load on various receptacles and check for excessive voltage drop.

.

 

[cpinetree]

sounds like a loose neutral in a backstabber. thats why you are getting 118 v to ground. try it from hot to neutral at each receptacle as well. Best thing to do is pull all receptacles in the run and look at all the backstabs .It will be in the last receptacle you check which is Murphies 4th law of receptacles!@!

The 4th law is true because you always stop looking after you find the problem. Does anyone keep checking just so it won't be the last receptacle you check? :grin:

 

[handy10]

Maybe not a receptacle problem

Maybe not a receptacle problem

The advice about receptacles is certainly sound. However, I had a similar (but different problem) in trying to find a short in a circuit. I checked all of the receptacles on that circuit and could find no problem. It turned out that the problem was with the attic exhaust fan which was shorted. You, of course, could have an open connection in some device other than a receptacle; the older the wiring the more likely there may be such devices.