Misc Receptacle Questions

There are multiple questions on this page. Be sure to scroll down to find the one you're looking for!

I plugged a battery charger in an outlet on my kitchen countertop and now that outlet and the one next to it doesn't work. What do you think may be the problem?

There could be a couple of different problems. Since it is a kitchen countertop outlet, it may be connected 'downstream' of a GFCI outlet, so you should check the test/reset buttons of your GFCI countertop outlets. Sometimes, you have to press TEST first and then RESET for it to reset properly. It should be noted that newer GFCI receptacles will not reset if they are damaged, wired incorrectly, or if the original problem that caused it to trip has not been corrected.

Is the circuit breaker tripped in the panel? These have to be turned OFF before turning back on to reset. We have a page about this at www.wurtsboroelectric.com/id135.html. It should answer any questions about resetting a breaker.

Lastly, if none of these things work, it's possible that there is a loose connection of the outlet wiring. Locating this problem would involve opening all of the receptacles on the same circuit and checking tightness of the wire connections. Many times, this seemingly simple answer solves the most peculiar problems! If you’re not comfortable with this, then you may need to have a licensed electrician check the connections.

The receptacles in my upstairs and downstairs bathrooms are not working at exactly the same time. Are they on a special circuit?

Bathroom receptacles in newer houses are usually wired on a separate circuit due to changes in the Code. The Code allows for a 20 amp circuit to be dedicated to all bathroom receptacles so long as they don’t supply power to any other part of the bathroom or any other part of the house. Usually, a GFCI receptacle will be installed on this circuit in each bathroom.

Now, it's possible that when the electricians wired your house, they only installed a GFCI receptacle in one bathroom and connected all the other ones to the load side of that first receptacle, thereby providing GFCI protection to each bathroom outlet without spending the extra $12 it would cost to install a GFCI receptacle in each bathroom. While this puts a couple of dollars back into the electrician’s pocket, it creates a huge inconvenience for the homeowner, since in order to reset a tripped GFCI breaker, he or she would have to go to that bathroom to do it.

Some houses use GFCI circuit breakers instead of the receptacles, which may require a trip to the service panel to check for a tripped GFCI breaker there.

If you do not have a GFCI circuit breaker for the bath receptacles, look for the outlet with a test/reset button on it and make sure it is reset fully. There is a further explanation of ground fault receptacles on our website at http://www.wurtsboroelectric.com/gfcireceptacle.html

I have two bedroom outlets that lost power. I’ve checked the wires at the outlets and they’re well connected. What else could it be?

The problem is probably further 'upstream' in the circuit. You need to check the live receptacles on the same circuit. There are several more questions dealing with this topic on this our website that may also be helpful.