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please discuss my problem outlets in house go off

4K views 21 replies 8 participants last post by  drtbk4ever 
#1 ·
when i turn something on-or by them selves i can t really afford a pro right now i am praying for advice
 
#5 ·
You need to be patient. Alot of folks are at work, and so you won't get alot of attention til everyone gets home. Please don't double post.

It sounds like your problem is a loose service neutral. The first people to call is the power company, because they don't charge for checking the line. If the problem is on their end, they will fix it. If it turns out to be in your house, you will need to call an electrician or tell us what your electrical experience is. Some DIYs with good mechanical skills could solve this problem with proper direction. Others are better off calling a pro.
 
#3 ·
i am praying for advice

Well, THAT aint gonna help.


"outlets in house go off when i turn something on-or by them selves" is not enough info to help.

You need to be specific with your "prayers". Avoid the 20 questions game and be more specific. It is very likely that you WILL need to call someone to fix your problems.

About the only things you can do are:

1. Call the power company. They will come out for free and there is a chance that it is their problem.

2. Turn all breakers off and on again. This probably won't help your issues.
 
#4 ·
sorry Pag,

But I don't really understand your question. Are you saying that when you turn something on, everything plugged into your outlets turns off?

What are you turning on? Is this in one room or the whole house?
 
#10 ·
OOps!

Sorry, I guess I didn't read the details deeply enough. Yes, you have a leg out not the neutral. This is not something to fix yourself, because you sound like you don't have the necessary experience. Not a dig, just the cold hard facts. DO NOT go poking around trying to find the problem! You could get killed, or even worse badly, burned (yes, you read that right).

This thing could blow right up in your face before you even know what's going on. And believe me, liquid metal is HOT!
 
#11 ·
need to know in laymans terms i can understand -a hot leg out - please clarify- i would like to know more i do not intend to deal with live current -you say when the 220 appliance runs it ? back into the system 1 -why does this happen is it a case of slow wear or an all at once occurance 2when i hired the guy he said i didnt push the main breaker hard enough it worked for months after that 3is it the main breaker or half of it -i dont understand 1 hot leg out but i appreasiate the quick explaination of the way it wors -thank you -ps i have some experiance a s an electrican helper for 3 months
 
#12 ·
It's difficult jumping back and forth between posts here :yes:

To help you understand, you have two hot legs @1 120 vots each, 240 volts between them. You have a bad connection somewhere in one of them. It could be the wires, the breaker or the internal compnents of the panel like the lugs or bus bar. The "silver" wire is the neutral/ground.
Turn the main off and on...maybe a couple times. Turn all other breakers off first. Breaker need to be replaced at some point. It may be dead already.
 
#15 ·
thank you db4ever all i said was if i let the power go off anyhow i could switch out the breakers i dont want to -the computer quit twice in the last hour i hade to turn on the oven and reboot 10 minutes each time -but HOW DANGEROUS IS THIS can i leave for a while as i dont have any more savings
 
#19 · (Edited)
I don't say this very often, but:
Don't mess with it.
Call an electrician.

There is at least a language barrier and a technical barrier, neither of which is trivial.
Fixing your problem is risky even for a knowledgeable person.
Your chance of fixing it: 1%
Your chance of permanent injury: 80%
 
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