Circuit in kitchen loses power, but never trips.?

Question

The circuit in my kitchen the runs the overhead light and a couple of wall outlets is going out but not tripping. What has been happening is, the light has been flickering dim then high, back and forth. Then we came home and noticed the radio/clock was out, but still plugged in and the light wouldn't come on. I naturally went to check the breaker, but it was fine. I flipped it back and forth, but nothing happened. Eventually the power came back. I checked the wiring of the light, both in the attic and behind the fixture, all seems fine. Both switches are wired correctly. I'm not sure what else to check. Could the breaker be going bad? Does it need more power? As far as I can tell, there are 2 outlets and the light on the breaker. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Loose wire in an outlet box is the most likely culprit. A bad breaker is also possible. Less likely would be mice chewing on the wires. turn off breaker, open the outlet boxes and check for loose wires connected to the wiring device (switch or outlet). If you know how it is wired, try to determine if all the devices in the circuit are affected. If not, the one that is physically closest to to breaker box is the best place to start.

Answer 2

Only because you state that both outlets are wired correctly, I'll assume you have some electrical knowledge.

A wire that is common to all the outlets is loose.  

A possible way to prove this, is to hook up a tool, or a motorized appliance to an affected outlet.  As a motor uses more draw (amps), it should cause the circuit to fail.  A flickering light does not draw much, so it might still work.

Now, only if you are capable and experienced enough, you can remove the four cover screws at the circuit breaker sub-panel, and check for a loose wire coming out of that breaker.  There is high voltage here, so it is not a place to be guessing or learning what to do.

If this does not solve the problem, you'll need an electrician who has specialized equipment to diagnose and solve the problem.

Answer 3

i would just call out an electrician.  if you don't wan the high priced folks in the yellow pages talk to somebody at a electrical supply or hardware store for a referral.  I have seen this where it can be simply replacing the switch/outlet, or the original wiring at the box needs to be redone due to overloaded breakers.

Answer 4

I had one circuit that would occasionally flicker.

Chasing the problem showed everything working well.

Eventually, I had an electrician out, and he looked at the circuit box for me.  When he pulled the circuit breaker out of the box, there was a charred and pitted area on the main bus.  The flickering we had seen with the lights was the circuit breaker arcing across a bad connection to the bus.

He plugged the circuit breaker into another spot in the box (hitting a non-pitted area of the bus) and everything has worked well since.

Answer 5

loose wire on the breaker or the common block ,take a s***w driver,remove the outer panel of the fuse box turn off the breaker tighten the screws trace out the white wire make sure it's tight............tom