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colorado_plantswoman

Outlets suddenly stopped working

8 years ago

Hello. Two of my outlets suddenly stopped working. One is in the garage and the other is on the back patio, which is situated across the house from the garage. I recently had a new furnace and AC installed. Could there be any connection between the install and the outlets not working? What can I do to get the outlets working again? I checked the breaker box, and all breakers are on.

Comments (16)

  • 8 years ago

    Do you know which receptacles are on which breaker? Maybe you could start by tracing them out; you may find the hidden GFI one.

    Deb thanked mtvhike
  • 8 years ago

    I checked the breaker box, and all breakers are on.

    Some breakers can look 'on' even if they've tripped. Try cycling the breaker fully off and back on.

    (But as said above, it's most likely a GFCI somewhere that tripped.)

    Deb thanked greg_2015
  • 8 years ago

    Nope, Mike, the listing by the breakers don't tell me anything about the receptacles. I'll try flipping breakers, as Greg suggested. Thanks, guys.

  • 8 years ago

    A tripped GFCI is your best bet.

    Deb thanked randy427
  • 8 years ago

    What I meant is, while you're flipping breakers, have someone else check which lights/receptacles go off (for future reference!). And, correct the labels!

    Deb thanked mtvhike
  • 8 years ago

    OK, Mike. That must be what you mean by tracing them out.

  • 8 years ago

    Because these are both outdoor receptacles, they are on a GFCI somewhere that has tripped. It might be in the kitchen, bathroom, or somewhere you don't suspect.

  • 8 years ago

    Oooooh, So if I try resetting my GFCI outlets in the bathroom and kitchen, that might solve the problem?

  • 8 years ago

    "if I try resetting my GFCI outlets in the bathroom and kitchen, that might solve the problem?"

    Unless your house is old with the original wiring, probably not. By code that goes back several years, bath and kitchen receptacle circuits aren't allowed to serve other rooms.

    Your receptacles are probably fed from a GFI type receptacle (test and reset buttons on it) somewhere else in the garage. It may be behind something, such as a cabinet or freezer. They're like shy cats; they like to hide. :)

    Deb thanked DavidR
  • 8 years ago

    " So if I try resetting my GFCI outlets in the bathroom and kitchen ..."

    If one of them isn't working, that's your culprit.

    Deb thanked weedmeister
  • 8 years ago

    A year ago before I had a new dishwasher delivered, I had an electrician come over and make sure all the wiring looked OK for the installation. I also asked if I should switch my remaining kitchen outlets to GFI. Some were GFI; some weren't. The electrician told me that I didn't need to switch my remaining outlets because the way my wiring was set up, all of the outlets were grounded or some such. At any rate, he said everything looked good for the installation and when I go to sell my house, my wiring is up to code for the time my house was built 25 years ago. The buyers could ask me to upgrade the wiring, but I would be under no obligation to do so. i hope this makes sense.

  • 8 years ago
    Another possible location for the GFCI outlet box is the basement. They installed one next to my breaker panel, and all my outdoor outlets are slaved to it. Also, FWIW, my garage is on a 20 amp breaker, so yours might be, too.
    Deb thanked sofaspud
  • 8 years ago

    I hit the red button on the GFCI outlets in the kitchen and bathrooms this morning. The outside outlets still didn't work. I'll try hitting the black button first and then hitting the red button to see if that helps. If not, I'll keep looking for more GFCI outlets and perhaps mess with the breakers, as well.

  • 8 years ago
    The actuate button on a gfci is usually spring loaded, so press it hard enough for it to lock in.
  • 8 years ago

    Will do.

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