the outside outlets on my house aren't working. Can anyone help me troubleshoot?

[momof3disneyholics]

The outside outlet on the front and back of the house aren't working. They were working at Xmas, but not now. I can't think of what might be wrong so I'm looking for some suggestions. Thanks!

 

[FroggyinArk]

check breakers first, if they are on,, check for ants or other bugs around the outlets, they can damage wires and loosen conections, are they wired from above, or through the walls? maybe under the house? if they are on a ground fault breaker, it may be thrown out, if so make sure every things dry and no bugs then reset it,, if it throws again get an electrician to check em out,please unlees you are qualified, get a pro.. would arther hear ya complain about a 50 buck bill than hear you were hurt.

 

[gymnasticsmom68]

See if you popped a circuit.

 

[Tina]

Are they tied to a GFI outlet? We have a GFI in the garage that is tied to the ones outside the house. I think most codes require them in areas that can get wet (such as bathrooms). A GFI outlet can be identified by the 2 buttons on the plug. If you have one, push in the reset button.

 

[missyc]

I had the same problem at Christmas time. We put lights out which I still say was the problem. They were fine until it rained. The outside outlet, along with a few others, went. Of course my DH seems to think he is an electrician and started fooling around with it.
Long story short......Most of the outlets work now, with some changes. For some reason I now have to flip 1 switch in the foyer on to use the outlets in the bathrooms! And the ceiling fan in our bedroom doesn't work anymore. The light (on the fan) does though.
He SWEARS it wasn't his fault! LOL
I could be mad, but usually I am laughing as I walk down the hall to the foyer to flip the switch so I can use the outlet in my bathroom! I can't leave it on all the time because it also turns on some of the outside lights!
Ohh...................at least he tries!

 

[FroggyinArk]

points one post up Get a pro

 

[KimRaye]

Could it be you have an inside switch to turn the outlets on, like me? And, maybe you just forgot about it?

Like the time I had my car's A/C and freon checked when, all I needed to do was push the 'snowflake' button for A/C.

 

[Nancy]

KimRaye...I forget about that snowflake button all the time!

 

[hyzdufan]

Access a Yellowpages, reference Electricians, choose the one with the prettiest ad, and dial away, my friend. If it's not something simple, it's gonna be way outta reach, and I'd hate for you to rip your wall apart.

 

[Pluto2003]

because of moisture from the sprinklers getting on the outlets.
Builder recaulked all around the outside case and that fixed the problem for us. Ours are also tied to a GFI in the garage. Good luck in finding the problem.

 

[momof3disneyholics]

Originally posted by hyzdufan
Access a Yellowpages, reference Electricians, choose the one with the prettiest ad, and dial away, my friend. If it's not something simple, it's gonna be way outta reach, and I'd hate for you to rip your wall apart.

Aren't the ones with the prettiest ads always the most expensive??
You guys have given me some good advice (as always). I am going to try a few things in the morning and if they don't work, I'll call an electrician on Monday. (don't worry, I promise not to mess with the wiring and electrocute myself). I am having my house pressure washed tommorrow so I was going to need to have power outside. Oh well, if I can't get it back on, I can always run an extension cord.

 

[FroggyinArk]

OHHHH hey wait .. if you are using an electric power washer.... you should always use a gfi cord,, yup a special one with ground fault built in,, and run it from an indoor location that cannot be hit by the water spray... biog no no to ues outsid erecpticle for that anyway

 

[WebmasterAlex]

I would definitely look for a GFI outlet or look inside the circuit breaker box, there are GFI circuit breakers. It's not uncommon for those to pop off. If one outlet is a GFI then the outlet's downstream may not work either depending on how it was wired.
If it's not that and you don't know what you are doing it's definitely not a do it yourself project.

 

[my3kids]

Originally posted by hyzdufan
choose the one with the prettiest ad.

That is just what I do at the wine store. I always select the wine with the prettiest label!