Calling electricians out there......

[DisneyJules]

Hey guys! I have a strange problem on my hands. My parents have gone out of town and my sister and I are watching the house. I woke up this morning to find the t.v. not working (won't even turn on) neither will the sound system, dvd player, the lamps (in the family room and the living room) the microwave, dishwasher and the fridge but the stove is fine. I find it to be rather bizarre. The upstairs is fine as well. Has anyone experienced anything like this before and might know what's causing the problem.

 

[Lorix2]

I'm not an electrician, but do you have fuses? You could have blown one connecting all those appliances you mentioned.

Happens here all the time

 

[Wish Upon A Star]

Check the circuit breaker . . .you might just need to flip a switch.

 

[Cinders]

If its a circuit breaker it will possibly look like its between off and on. Simply flip off then back on. If that is the problem they have way too much stuff on one breaker. The microwave, dishwasher and fridge shouldnt all be on one breaker.....but they can be on breakers with other small stuff like lights and outlets other than the toaster one.

 

[JohnTBap]

You had a big party and were blasting the stero and drying your hair, weren't you?

 

[DisneyJules]

JohnTBap> Speaking from experience are you,

I was wrong, the stove isn't fine, it's not working either. Haven't tested the toaster oven yet, if it's gone too, we're screwed!

 

[Cricket2]

Electric stove?

 

[DisneyJules]

Yes electric stove, what's strange though is that the clock on the stove is still working.
And the toaster oven isn't working

 

[believe]

Sounds like a breaker or fuse. Find the box in your garage or basement and see if their is a breaker that is 1/2 way, the others will be pushed to their left or right. I haven't had fuses in a long time, but I believe the glass would look brown or black.

 

[DisneyJules]

Another thing I forgot to mention was that our microwave actually went the other day. It just stopped all of a sudden, it's a really old microwave so I thought it finally died. But now I'm starting to think that it's connected to everything else having gone wrong. You'd think they'd all stop working at the same time.

 

[Cricket2]

I doubt it is as simple as a circuit breaker being tripped.

Electric stoves run on 220 volts. They require 2 poles in the box. They are 99.99% of the time joined poles in the box (you can't throw just one of them). If the clock works (unless it's on a battery) it would have to have only one of the poles working (it only uses 1 of the 2 lines coming in to the stove where the heating elements use both).


Call the electric company NOW and have them go over it with you. You could have a serious situation outside the house and it's better to play it safe.

JC

 

[Cricket2]

Also, I would NOT go into the breaker box (or fuse box) and mess with anything until you call the electric company.

One of your incoming lines may be grounding out or have come disconnected from the main and that could be VERY serious.

JC

 

[DisneyJules]

Another strange twist, everything suddenly went back on. I phoned my dad who hasn't left the city yet and he said it didn't make any sense at all. JC, is that possible?

 

[pumba]

an incoming line can be split into two areas......so only part of the house can have a problem.......if we have a power fault into the house sometimes it is one side of the line......and only one part of the house is without power....does that make sense to you...my husband was a master electrician in his earlier days

 

[Cricket2]

Yes, if it was on the pole or loose. If it goes off again, call the company and see if they are doing work in your area. It should be obvious (as a guy on a pole usualy is ), but you might not have poles on the street if you live in a housing complex or wherever they have underground lines.

If it was me, I would call them anyway and describe what happened and see what they say. It can't hurt.

JC

 

[Cricket2]

Yes, what pumba said is what I was trying to explain. She talk better din me

JC

 

[pumba]

JC you are crazy........ROFL

 

[DisneyJules]

$239 later and 5 hours later without power, the problem is fixed. Luckily I caught my dad before he was leaving the city (I'm at my mom's) he came over, called his electrician and the problem seems to be solved. He replaced the entire unit. Please bare with me since I have no knowledge in electronics but the breaker was sparking pretty badly, there was a screw that wasn't quite bolted in and had actually melted the plastic, serious fire hazard! I'm just thankful nothing happened.
Thanks guys for your help, I really appreciated it.
Jules

 

[pumba]

when a breaker goes off continuously and some one keeps flipping the switch in the on position ....only to have it go off again....is a fire waiting to happen.......your dad must of had a few power outages....a breaker burns in the inside............and that can cause a fire .....yikes to you and good thing that you called all the right people......electricity is nothing to be fooled around wiht.....that is my husband talking again......people think they can do all the wiring by themselves and then wonder when they have sparks or get a good shock.....good luck

 

[DisneyJules]

The home owners before us most likely tried "repairing" one of the smaller breakers but didn't put the screw in right. You're right people do try doing themselves, I just finished having that conversation with the electrician.