'Cause I sure don't.

Ok, so two of the outlets in my kitchen stopped working (the ones with the fridge and the microwave). Breaker switches were still in place, tried flipping them off and on, which made the outlets work for just a second and then die again.

I don't know what this means, and I can't afford an electrician right now! I've currently got my fridge on an extension cord. . .SO GHETTO . . .while I canvass everybody I know for a fix that doesn't involve calling a professional.

Y'all are part of "everybody I know". . .ideas?

And about how much do you think it's going to cost if I do have to pay somebody to come out here?

Do you rent or own?

If you rent call the landlord IMMEDIATELY

If you own get an electrician IMMEDIATELY

I can't tell you how to fix it, but it sounds like it's something significant that should be looked at by a professional.

Everytime you put the breaker back in and jumps immediately out again, it sounds like one of your appliances is shorting out. Get the power off, unplug the fridge, switch the breaker and see if that was the one, unplug the next (MAKE F*CKING SURE THE POWER IS OFF) etc etc. My guess is the coffee-machine (if you have one, that is) or otherwise any other thing that combines water and electricity (dish-washer, water boiler)

What else in on the extension cord btw ?



extension edit
[Edited 1/4/05 10:30am]

i know i know.....turn on the tv...grab a nice cold beer and watch some soap operas..

after a couple beers you wont care that nothing else works in the house..

1: plug in each one separately 2 see what one is tripping the electric
2: look up and down the cord to see if there is a break in the wire
3: If no break in the wire change the fuse in the plug.
4: it maybe the socket it's self (the one on the wall) turn electric off, unscrew and check the wiring one wire may have came lose, screw the wire back in then screw back up and try all the above again.
5: none of the above works call someone in because u don’t want a house fire.

Be safe tackam

Nothinbutjoy said:

Own.

And I'm poor!

AlfofMelmak said:

It's a heavy-duty extension cord, and there's nothing else on it.

Well, the breaker doesn't jump out. That's the thing. We flipped it off and on to see what would happen, but that's it.

Still do the same thing?

tackam said:

Just unplug ALL your appliances and see it the breaker holds in. If it does then plug in the appliances one at a time and see it it trips. If it holds in for all of them then gradually add them until it does trip. It is probably an appliance in which case you should be able to get away without calling a sparkie.

mdiver said:

Wait, see, I'm not explaining this right.

The breaker didn't move. The two outlets just died (at the same time), but the breaker stayed put.

Sparkie.

But I'll try unplugging everything and flipping the breaker off and on and see if the outlets work until I plug something in. . .I guess. . .?

tackam said:

shortage in socket or lose wire, turn electric of and have a look, its like wiring a plug.

Then it could be the wiring to the outlets. If that's the case, you're screwed (metaphorically) . Then you need someone to change wiring.

Can't you use other outlets?

AlfofMelmak said:

Thanks, people!

I have very limited outlets (it's a small kitchen), so that's tough. But I may have to for a while.

(btw, I did try unplugging everything and flipping the breakers off and on, then plugging something in to test one; nada)

tackam said:

Wiring or a dodgy outlet then sweetie you need a sparkie, sorry!!

I don't know if I could do this online with you.
I have wired many rooms and outlets.

It sounds an awful lot like you have outlets wired in sequence, and something has gone bad at an outlet that still works, but it's connection to the rest of the line is bad.

Here would be my first step, and I am very hesitant to say this because electricity is very easy until something goes wrong, and then it goes wrong quickly.
Find out how many outlets are on the entire string for your kitchen: breaker might even be labled kitche/bedroom1 or something.

Go to Home Depot or some hardware store and buy enough good outlets to replace the entire run (anything up by the sink that is not gfci now is the time to buy it) buy the more expensive outlets, they are only a dollar or so.
Buy a simple power tester, it is cheap and tell for certain if power is off.
Buy a good overview book like Home Depots wiring 1 2 3 book.

Make sure the breaker is off. Test and test again. Take your time and replace one outlet after another. inspect each one look for loose or broken wires. As you take each cover off put your tester on the contacts to test for power as well, in case the outlet was broken and giving you a false reading.

after doing this you will know you have good outlets, and probably fixed the problem. If the problem still exists it is possible to test the wire in the wall, and not that complex to replace it.
Before doing anything read the book so you will know what things look like ahead of time. If you are reading this and scratching your head you probably should not try this. Like I said it is easy, but with a great potential for disaster. An electrician might cost alot, but you are paying for peace of mind.

I would advise you to buy the book anyways, it is much harder to rip off an informed person.

paintsprayer said:

Thank you.

I'll pick up the book and see if I think I can do this without killing myself or burning the building down.

Sometimes the stupidest things can be draining alot of power. We had to have an electrician come into our office and see why our fuses kept blowing, and here it was our electric percolator coffee pot that was sucking up an unusually high amount of power.

Tom said:

Also some older houses were never planned for the kind of power a modern kichen demands. Don't think this is your problem since you said the breaker did not blow.