[golfluva5]

Last weekend my sister used a blow dryer at my camp and took down the power to the house. I reset the breaker numerous times but still nothing. The only thing that comes on is the refrigerator and one light in the kitchen. They are both on the same breaker which is a 15 amp breaker. Before I left, I turned off all the breakers except the one that is working. What could be happening and how do I go about troubleshooting this?

 

[Scuba_Dave]

How big is the main feed?
On the main panel is the fridge on one side/hot feed & the rest of the house on another?
Did you check every outlet etc to make sure they did not have power?
I can see one leg being out
I can't see only 1 breaker working

 

[golfluva5]

I have a 100 amp main feed. Not sure what you mean by "is the fridge on one side/hot feed & the rest of the house on another?"
"Did you check every outlet etc to make sure they did not have power?"
I will do that this weekend when I go up there. Should I just put the breakers back on and test each outlet with a voltage tester?

 

[joed]

Do you have a way to measure voltage? Measure from neutral to each side of the main breaker. Measure across the main breaker terminals.

 

[golfluva5]

Yes I have a volt meter. So Put one side on the 120 volt main and the other on the neutral bus bar? I believe that is on the right side of the breaker box right?

 

[joed]

There will be 2 main lines. Each one should be 120 volts to neutral or ground.

 

[golfluva5]

I tested both mains to ground. Readings were 17 volts and 2 volts. So I called the electric company and they came and tested power to the meter outside and said it was fine. Now there is a on/off breaker under the meter outside that feeds the breaker box inside which they said I own. So I took the cover off and tested both sides and got the same readings. I'm stumped at what could be happening. Could the meter not be working properly? Keep in mind, that I just went up there and replaced all the receptacles, which also did nothing.

 

[Yoyizit]

I tested both mains to ground.
Readings were 17 volts and 2 volts.
So I called the electric company and they came and tested power to the meter outside and said it was fine. So I took the cover off and tested both sides and got the same readings.

You're right at the fault. It's between the good readings PoCo got and the low readings you got.
With current running into whatever still does work in your house measure the voltage across the closed breakers. It should be less than 1/10th volt but it's probably more like 100v.
It kinda' sounds like your breaker is bad or bolted connections are loose. Watch out for level 2 arc flash.

 

[joed]

Did you measure the input and output of the breaker? If there is no voltage on the input then call the POCO back and have them pull the meter. Sounds like the issue is in the meter base.

 

[daxinarian]

double check to make sure your voltmeter was set to AC voltage and not DC voltage...

Scratched my head for a few hours one time until I realized my mistake.