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kitchen outlet no power

12K views 27 replies 6 participants last post by  J187 
#1 ·
I had a kitchen outlet that was working, but faulty (top receptacle of outlet didn't always have power). I changed to new receptable, now the entire circuit in kitchen doesn't work. If you can advise of what I can do, I would like to know what happened. I used a plug tester, but nothing lights up.
 
#3 ·
Did you find the breaker and turn off power before starting work?

Do you have a tester? I mean one that does not plug in. If you use a plug in tester and the outlet is dead, then you pull the rec out of the wall you should test the wires to make sure they are dead.

Me thinks you have tripped a GFI and that you are lucky it was there.
 
#4 ·
Yes, I turned off the breaker first before removing receptacle. It was suggested that I reset the utility breaker bc the garbage disposal and diswasher are on the same circuit. I did that and now there is power back in the kitchen...............but :huh: another problem came about. I turned off the breaker again to put back the outlet into the wall, but now the power in kitchen circuit remained live. I shut all breaker circuits (furnance, utility, range, lights and plugs) Also, I went to the garage to shut off all power to the house, but when I checked the tester plug it was still lighted that all is correct. What happened now? Well....at least there's power, but something is wrong if it can't be turned off.

Thanks for your input and tips.
 
#7 ·
The circuit breaker panel is labeled : "Utility Range"; "Utility Disposal AC Dishwasher"; "Furnace"; "Light"; "Plugs" In the Garage, the circuit breaker panel is labeled: "Lights Bulbs Washer Dryer"

This is a house.

I again turned off the circuit breaker and reset GFI and reset utility breaker, but kitchen circuit still live and can't turn off power. Should I be worried about overheating and just call a electrican?
 
#9 ·
Just to clarify:
You turned off ALL the breakers and you still had power JUST in the kitchen or just at this ONE outlet?

When you turned off all the breakers did the power turn off at the other plugs in the house?

Does the breaker for the kitchen area seem to move freely like the others or is it stiff to move?
 
#11 ·
huh?

if you have turned off all of the power, then no circit should be able to be completed. enough power may be storeed in the GFCI to lite a lite tester, even if there is no power to the circit.
try testing with a voltmeteter or a power comsuming device (lamp) (hairdrier) to see if you actual have a completed circit when the breaker is off. if so the circit is getting power from another source and you should consult an electrician.

randy
 
#12 ·
When I turned off the circuit breaker power, all the outlets in the kitchen remained still on (there are about 8 outlets on this circuit).

All the other outlets, lights, utility throughout the house were off (no power).

The breaker moved freely with no problem.

The old receptable is now connected to the wiring (the top part no longer flickers when I first tested it the first time around and it shows connect correct). Yes, the metal side bars are still intact. It originally worked fine, but now who knows. Do I need to remove the metal tabs?

Thanks for everyone's help and the advice to not lose any sleep. (I'll try) If it's not a hazard that is good news. :no:
 
#13 · (Edited)
There should be a main breaker at the top of the panel box. This should turn off the whole panel and the whole house.
Turn this off and see if the kitchen outlets lose power.

If you lose power after the main breaker is turned off then you may have a bad breaker just for the kitchen circuit. The breaker is about $5-10 dollars but have an electician replace it or you could get seriously injured or killed working near live wires in the main panel box.

If the main circuit breaker does not stop power going to the kitchen then you are getting power from another source to this circuit.
Do you live in a condo?
Then you may be getting power form your neighbors circuit. If this is the case then you are very lucky that you did not get shocked when you changed the receptacle in the beginning.
 
#16 ·
well.....another problem again....:eek: It was suggested that I plug the refrigerator back to the outlet as it was (it gave a small spark when I plugged it in). All outlets in kitchen was on when this was done.

To check it again, I went to turn off the circuit breakers on the panel and now no more power to the kitchen again! Again, I reset circuit breaker, reset GFCI and still no power.

I give up...it is beyond my level of knowledge. There were electrical outlets added to this circuit and that may be the problem (about 6 years ago).

I know there's a short somewhere and it's time for a licensed electrician to correct this.

Everyone, thank you for all your great advise and tips.
 
#19 ·
I agree with redline. From the last little bit of info you gave, it sounds like when you plugged the fridge back in, a short tripped the breaker again. Are you sure there are no problems with the wiring inside that box? Did you check for pinched wires or exposed wires? Is the outlet on a split circuit? - there would be three wires coming in, one most likely red...
 
#20 ·
Turn off the one breaker that you think is for the kitchen.
Is the power off on ALL the plugs in the kitchen?
IF most of the plugs are off and you have one or two that still have power then the two with power may be on another circuit. (you indicated that some plugs where added).
If the power is still on all the plugs in then kitchen after you turn off the kitchen breaker then turn off the main breaker at the top of the main panel.
Are the kitchen plugs off now?
If they are off now then you may have a bad breaker for the kitchen that needs to be replaced.

Now with the power off to the kitchen (and the whole house) remove the plug that you said sparked when you plugged in the refrig.
Are there loose wires on this plug?
If so, tighten.
Reinstall the plug, turn the main power back on.
Do you have power to all plugs in the kitchen?
 
#21 ·
Where as the plug is used for a fridge, I'm suspecting its possibly a split circuit receptical and perhaps when he was testing the power he didn't pay particular attention to which side of the receptical he was testing each time - Although he may have thrown the breaker for the top, the bottom still had juice or vice versa...
 
#23 ·
I found the main house panel and it was not in the garage, but outside in the utility box. This is good to know. I did shut off the power here and all the power did go off in the house.

The problem now is that the power in the kitchen circuit will stay on when I shut off the circuit breaker panel that is in the house. This is very strange that only the kitchen circuit stays on, and the rest of the house power is off.

well....I have an licensed electrician coming this week and hopefully all will be resolved soon :no:.

thank you everyone for your helpful tips. I'll let you know what happens.
 
#25 ·
:thumbup: I have power now! The electrician who has about 30 years experience found this interesting and anxious to get to the bottom of it. At the panel, the circuit that's for the range (220) was attached with a bracket along with 2 (110) which was for the kitchen outlets (it was not labeled as such, bc it was labeled "Utility" "Range") He couldn't understand why it was done this way. I told him it's been like this since I brought the house 21 years ago. So all these years the outlets were wired along with the range and never labeled properly. He disassembled the bracket and now the switch to turn off the kitchen outlets are independent and not a part of the range (220) circuit.

Now I can turn off the correct circuit and it will shut off the right plugs.:thumbsup:

I still don't completely understand, but he said that was the cause of it staying on.
 
#26 ·
apt238 said:
I had a kitchen outlet that was working, but faulty (top receptacle of outlet didn't always have power). I changed to new receptable, now the entire circuit in kitchen doesn't work. If you can advise of what I can do, I would like to know what happened. I used a plug tester, but nothing lights up.

Did the range work when this problem first started?

It is lucky that you did not get electrified by changing the outlet that was on a different breaker then indicated on the box.

I was going to suggest that before the electrician came to the house that you turn off one breaker at a time and check each outlet to see which outlet corresponds with what breaker.

Sometimes outlets on diffeent floors and different rooms are on a breaker that is not indicate on the simple labels on the panel box.


:thumbup:
 
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