Today the power went out to the computer and kitchen. Checked the fuse and found nothing.?

Question

I also checked the circuit breakers and they both popped. The one in the bathroom usually pops if something fails in the living room. I tried to reset and it won't stay on. The one in the kitchen popped and won't stay on either. I unplugged everything and reset all the breakers. As soon as I flipped the living room breakers the circuit breaker popped. I used diffrent fuses to see if it was the fuse...nope. No fuse worked. I tried the popped fuse in a different line and it still works. I have tried everything and can't figure it out. Seems whatever is going on is somewhere in the line but I don't know how to check all the lines and make sure something isn't broken. There were no thunderstorms or anything to typically force a popped fuse. Just sitting at home playing on the computer and pop...out goes the lights and computer. What to do what to do?

Answer 1

I am all about do it yourself, but there is a limit..

It seems you have gone past that limit and require the services of an electrician.

You gotta call someone as no one here will be able to accurately diagnose your problem.

Good luck, hope it works out for you.

Answer 2

You tried a 'popped fuse'...???  Do you mean circuit breaker, and that you switched the breaker to another circuit to test it?

Its hard to tell from your description what your layout is, and what exactly is happening.... Do you have ONE circuit that is a problem, or more than one?  (you mention kitchen, living room, and bath.... these are typically on seperate circuits)

Next, what  type of home are you in?  Manufactured homes are wired slightly differently from 'stick built' homes, for example, there are crossover connectors on double wides, and they (the manufacturers) tend to use self-contained switches and outlets.

How is your computer powered?  Do you have an UPS?  Surge protector?  Multi-outlet bar?

Are any of these outages connected with GFCI breakers, or outlets?

There's really too many things we don't know here....

IF your problem is ONE circuit, then the next step is to start checking the outlets on that circuit (with the power off)... pull them out of the wall, and see how they are connected, and if there is any charring or obvious burn spots, which would indicate arcing, or how the wiring is connected to the outlets.  E-Z connect outlets (where the wire is simply pushed into a hole on the back) tend to have problems with loose connections.  

Depending on the age of the home, you may have some aluminum wiring....if this is the case, there could be a problem with an aluminum/copper connection.

There could be a short where the wire comes thru a metal junction box, or even the circuit panel itself, if the appropriate fittings were not used.

If all the outlets check out, you can use a multimeter to check the wiring itself.  It may be necessary to diconnect everything, and reconnect each step in the problem circuit, one at a time.  Keep notes/labels on everything.

When in doubt, call an electrician.

Good Luck

Answer 3

You said the circuit in the bathroom usually pops if something fails in the living room? It sounds like you have a few problems. I'm guessing you have an older home. We didn't have the need for much power years ago, and now we need more in our homes. The way your circuits are lay ed out in your home doesn't sound like it going to work for you any more. If you plan on staying in  your home for a while you might want to hire an electrician to bring your home up to code. This will also help for your resale to. But I have to worn you this will not be very cheap. Get a few estimates.

Answer 4

If you have two circuits popping at the same time for unknown reason you have a problem. The only time I have seen this was in a building built in the early 70's. Can we say aluminum wiring!

Anyway, the problem was that the connections on one circuit had gotten corroded over the years. This caused the circuit to get hot and melt the insulation on the wires. When the insulation on two different circuits had melted enough to allow the bare wires to touch-pop goes the circuit.

This could happen on any circuit, not just an aluminum one. But with aluminum it just happens quicker.

But take heart! It is actually fairly easy to fix most of the time. This kind of a problem tends to happen in the first couple of inches near the connections in a circuit. Pull each and every item on the circuit, plugs, lights, switches-everything. Make sure that all of the connections are tight and secure. If you have aluminum wiring, also use a grease that you can get at an electrical supply house on the circuit to slow corrosion. If this is the problem you will quickly find it and it should not be hard to fix. Also, if this is the problem, do yourself a favor and go through the entire house and check every wire connection there is. It will save you problems in the long run and could even save your life.

Good luck and let us know what you find.

Answer 5

You need an electrician. Everything you said you did you would not have done if you had the tools you need. First a multimeter and the knowledge on how to troubleshoot. The above advice from all A's is true...but I guess they didn't notice that you did not check anything with a meter or even one of those Home depot little testers. Find someone who knows and learn about doing it yourself when you have time.

I ran across the aluminum wire problem once and it sounds kinda like that...hope not though...dangerous since it hasn't been used for over 30 years...60's maybe.