Electricity Question

[mbroberg]

I was in the middle of pressure washing the outside of my house when the pressure washer stopped. Pressed the reset on the washer's plug, nothing. Plugged the washer into a different outlet, it worked. Went to check circuit breakers, none of them were tripped. Got a working light from the shop, verified it worked, plugged it into the outlet, nothing. Checked circuit breakers again, none tripped. Installed a different outlet, plugged in the working lamp, nothing. Went and checked the circuit breakers again and I turned all of them on and off. Went back outside, plugged in the lamp, nothing. No exposed wires (missing insulation) as far back as I can see (which really isn't that far). Verified that all other light switches and outlets that could be on the same circuit, and some I really didn't think were on the same circuit, worked. They all do.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I should try next short of calling an electrician?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[dogcatcher]

Are you plugged into a GFI plug?

 

[GoatRider]

There's probably a GFCI on the circuit. One of those outlets with a "test/reset" buttons on them. They're to keep you from getting electrocuted when working with water, seems likely to happen if you're pressure washing.

 

[Don Wade]

GFI for sure. Very much a pain for tradesmen but are safetly feature

 

[The Penguin]

get a gas-powered pressure washer.

:tongue:

 

[mbroberg]

There is only one GFI outlet in my house and it is not tripped. Plugged my light into it just to make sure and it works.

I did find 2 more dead outlets one is also an outside outlet on the other side of the house and one used to be an outside outlet before we turned our patio into a Florida room. Checked the circuit breakers again, none tripped. I'm stumped.

 

[mbroberg]

Oh, FWIW, there are inside outlets sharing the same wall as the outside outlets, almost directly opposite each other and they all work.

 

[SteveJ]

Are you sure you don't have two GFI outlets in the house? They are often in a bathroom, garage or an outside outlet.

 

[mbroberg]

:redface::redface::redface::biggrin::biggrin:

Well, color me both embarrassed and relieved. Contrary to what I THOUGHT I knew about my house, my wife showed me the SECOND GFI. That was the problem. Thank you all for your help.

 

[maxwell_smart007]

You generally can't run a GFCI off a GFCI, or you will get nuisance trips...

If your pressure washer has a built-in GFCI in the plug, then that's likely the reason...

 

[JMCU]

If you replaced the GFI back with a GFI it is imperative to have the wire into and out of it correct or it and those below it (down stream) will not work.

 

[maxwell_smart007]

Oh, and all outlets 'downstream' of the GFCI should always have a sticker put on them that says GFCI protected, so that you would know, for a case like this...the GFCI outlets come with them in the package.

 

[monophoto]

We moved into our newly constructed home between Christmas and New Years, and we had a major snow storm on New Year's day. When I plugged the electric starter on my snowblower into the receptacle I had asked for next to the garage door, nothing happened. So I called the builder who had the electrician stop by - it turned out that there was a GFI (a garage receptacle is considered 'outdoors' and therefore requires a GFI) - but it was in the basement - hidden behind some insulation. I would have had no clue at all where to look if the electrician had not known that he always put the GFI for the garage receptacles on the same outside wall as the breaker panel.


So the point is - there's probably a GFI somewhere, and you just need to find out where the builder hid it.

 

[76winger]

You'll probably have to trace the wiring back to the next outlet or junction box before it in the electrical circuit. Somewhere you've lost the connection and it will need to be trace from the non-working outlet backwards to the circuit breaker till you find the problem. If everything else works, it shouldn't be too far away. Find out how the wiring from the outlet backwards might be the harder problem.

 

[Smitty37]

We moved into our newly constructed home between Christmas and New Years, and we had a major snow storm on New Year's day. When I plugged the electric starter on my snowblower into the receptacle I had asked for next to the garage door, nothing happened. So I called the builder who had the electrician stop by - it turned out that there was a GFI (a garage receptacle is considered 'outdoors' and therefore requires a GFI) - but it was in the basement - hidden behind some insulation. I would have had no clue at all where to look if the electrician had not known that he always put the GFI for the garage receptacles on the same outside wall as the breaker panel.


So the point is - there's probably a GFI somewhere, and you just need to find out where the builder hid it.

That's interesting - I didn't know that - I have an outlet in my garage but I've neverr bothered to check if it's hooked to the ground fault with the other outdoor outlets....good piece of information.

My previous home was an older house where the wiring was done many years ago and the only GFI recepticles were ones that I put in the half-bath that we added.