Another Electrical Question

[SNylund]

This is weird, I have an old barn that has basic wiring right in a row, with 4 outlets. The first outlet in the row seems to work fine, no trouble. The last 3 each act the same way, when I plug in say a light, it will work fine for about 30 seconds then go out.

I figured, oh, just old outlets, so I replaced one, but same problem, the light powered on for about 30 seconds then went out. To me this is weird how the power comes and goes with no rime or reason, never popped a breaker or anything. The wiring itself all looks good, nothing broken or anything. Someone suggested that I replace all the outlets and that should fix the problem, does that sound right? Thanks

 

[kbsparky]

How old is the wiring? Also to consider, is there any sort of fuse or breaker box out there? You might have a loose connection in there....

Did you replace the first outlet? Sometimes, the problems are in the outlet =before= the one(s) acting up.

Finally, are any of these outlets, "GFCI" type? If not, they should be.

 

[GeorgeG]

Does this happen if you use a different light or appliance? Does the same light trip anything when you plug it in somewhere besides the barn?

It's a process of elimination. Eliminate that particular light first. If this still happens, check the wiring and outlets piece by piece. Something as simple as a loose connection anywhere up to and including the problem outlet and light could heat up over the coarse of 30 minutes enough to trip it out. Since no breakers or fuses are tripping, I tend to believe the problem is in the light.

 

[SNylund]

Does this happen if you use a different light or appliance? Does the same light trip anything when you plug it in somewhere besides the barn?

It's a process of elimination. Eliminate that particular light first. If this still happens, check the wiring and outlets piece by piece. Something as simple as a loose connection anywhere up to and including the problem outlet and light could heat up over the coarse of 30 minutes enough to trip it out. Since no breakers or fuses are tripping, I tend to believe the problem is in the light.

First off, thanks. I've checked it with multiple lights, and it is more than one outlet working like this (intermitantly) I will replace the remaining outlets in the line today and see what happens. They are not tripping any breakers or anything, just work for about 30 seconds (not minutes) not enough to heat up, and then just stop working. (The voltage levels drop and act weird. I put a voltage meter into the sockets.)