- Location
- Tennessee NEC:2017
- Occupation
- Semi-Retired Electrician
I went on a service call today to check a reported problem with no power in half of a living room. When I get there they tell me it "magically" came back on the night before. I ask which wall/receptacles were off and they said the whole room. That was different than what I was told over the phone.
I ask if the breaker had ever tripped but they said it hadn't. I decided to check the breaker anyway and didn't find any problems there other than a little rust/corrosion around the screw terminal, the bus bar looked ok. I then decided to check the receptacles in the room first by using my plug-in tester to see if any were loose or had a bad connection.
I came to one wall that both receptacles were dead. I asked if they were switched receptacles and they were. Actually they were switched by a pair of 3-way switches.
I left the plug-in tester in and went to the switches to try them.
The first one made the tester flicker a little when I switched it but never came on solid.
I then went to the other 3-way and flipped it and the tester lit up. But I found you could push it up a little further and it would go off.
I then pulled both switches off and checked them with my meter. One was completely gone and the other was as I said, would loose contact by pushing the switch a little further. I've never found both 3-ways bad at the same time, but great, simple fix done!
I stayed around a while and fixed another problem they had and checked a few other things. Living room was still working, so I collected my bill and left.
I get a call about an hour later saying "it happened again"! I said the two receptacles quit again? They said no, the whole room.
So I (reluctantly) went back. When I get there everything is on.:?
First thing I did was go to the panel and put a clamp around the wire for the breaker and went back to the room to see if anything starts to dim or flicker. Sat there probably 5 minutes and everything was still on. I ask them if they had a hair dryer or vacuum they could plug in. They plugged in the vacuum and about 30 secs to a minute the lights flickered and then all the power went off.
I go to the panel and the breaker is not tripped but no power either. I got another breaker and put it in. I also checked the neutrals and found about 1/3 of them were loose. Some were not even a little tight (the screw). Not sure if the breaker or neutral or both was the problem. Didn't take time to check each separately.
Long story, but it brings me to the question of should I have charged for the second trip?
I probably should have checked the neutrals the first time but since I found 2 bad switches, I didn't look any further.
I only charged about half of my service call price, including the breaker, for the second trip. The lady that paid me the first time wasn't there and I just told her son to have her mail me the check. He didn't complain and thanked me for coming back so soon, but I have mixed feelings about charging for the return trip.
How would you guys have handled this?
I ask if the breaker had ever tripped but they said it hadn't. I decided to check the breaker anyway and didn't find any problems there other than a little rust/corrosion around the screw terminal, the bus bar looked ok. I then decided to check the receptacles in the room first by using my plug-in tester to see if any were loose or had a bad connection.
I came to one wall that both receptacles were dead. I asked if they were switched receptacles and they were. Actually they were switched by a pair of 3-way switches.
I left the plug-in tester in and went to the switches to try them.
The first one made the tester flicker a little when I switched it but never came on solid.
I then went to the other 3-way and flipped it and the tester lit up. But I found you could push it up a little further and it would go off.
I then pulled both switches off and checked them with my meter. One was completely gone and the other was as I said, would loose contact by pushing the switch a little further. I've never found both 3-ways bad at the same time, but great, simple fix done!
I stayed around a while and fixed another problem they had and checked a few other things. Living room was still working, so I collected my bill and left.
I get a call about an hour later saying "it happened again"! I said the two receptacles quit again? They said no, the whole room.
So I (reluctantly) went back. When I get there everything is on.:?
First thing I did was go to the panel and put a clamp around the wire for the breaker and went back to the room to see if anything starts to dim or flicker. Sat there probably 5 minutes and everything was still on. I ask them if they had a hair dryer or vacuum they could plug in. They plugged in the vacuum and about 30 secs to a minute the lights flickered and then all the power went off.
I go to the panel and the breaker is not tripped but no power either. I got another breaker and put it in. I also checked the neutrals and found about 1/3 of them were loose. Some were not even a little tight (the screw). Not sure if the breaker or neutral or both was the problem. Didn't take time to check each separately.
Long story, but it brings me to the question of should I have charged for the second trip?
I probably should have checked the neutrals the first time but since I found 2 bad switches, I didn't look any further.
I only charged about half of my service call price, including the breaker, for the second trip. The lady that paid me the first time wasn't there and I just told her son to have her mail me the check. He didn't complain and thanked me for coming back so soon, but I have mixed feelings about charging for the return trip.
How would you guys have handled this?