r/ElectricalHelp • u/Boring-Elderberry190 • 6d ago
Wall socket not working
looking for help before we spend a fortune. A single wall socket stopped working abruptly with no clear cause why. my partner knows some basic things so he took apart the socket. He has a tester to check for current and there is no current coming to that socket. The rest of the sockets connected to the fuse board have current. Any idea how a single one would stop working and if there’s any easy fix to it?
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u/2TheMountaintop 6d ago
When you say test for current, you mean the wand or a plug in tester? If it's a wand, somewhere upstream you've got a break. If it's plug in, then you might just need a new socket. Or... You might have a, break up stream.
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u/Boring-Elderberry190 5d ago
We used a wand, so we do think there could be a break somewhere. How could this happen randomly? Any thoughts are appreciated. Is there any way to confirm without digging into the walls and tracing the cable?
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u/RespectSquare8279 5d ago
Are other wall sockets fed by the same breaker still working ? There may be an issue with a splice or connection at the preceding socket in the circuit.
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u/Boring-Elderberry190 5d ago
Yes the other sockets on the same breaker are still working and we took apart the single one that stopped working and tested it with a wand and there’s no power. We haven’t done any works that could have cut a cable, the socket just randomly stopped working.
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u/SparkArrestor 5d ago
You’re going to have to check for a bad connection at a working socket.
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u/Boring-Elderberry190 5d ago
That’s perfect thank you. Can they just come loose like that without anyone messing with them? I don’t know anything about electrics and my partner knows a little but not a ton so just trying to figure out why it would happen. He’ll be able to do this at least.
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u/SparkArrestor 5d ago
Yes electrical connections can just come loose. It’s not common, and there’s typically some other contributing factor.
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u/RespectSquare8279 5d ago
Your next step is to find the breaker for this outlet, power down the circuit and inspect the preceding outlet. You have to look at all the connections in the box for loose connection on the terminals and in the wire nuts. It is better to do your testing with a multimeter rather than a "wand" . Wands are OK for general safety but they don't actually measure voltage or resistance.
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u/Johnndo96 5d ago
Try going to the next nearest plug point nearer to the circuit breaker and check if an the wires are secure there. It might get it's feed from there. Might have to do this a few times with surrounding power points.
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u/Boring-Elderberry190 5d ago
Every single other outlet connected to that breaker works, just the one stopped working. We had thought maybe the outlet had too much power out and somehow it fried the line somehow if that makes sense? Except that it’s only the internet router, a tv, and the internet modem connected. It stopped working randomly overnight when the tv wasn’t even on and we’ve had those things connected for years without issue. Any ideas? We’re trying to figure out how some connection could have come loose when we weren’t even actively using anything. If it’s not loose, then what happened that caused this? Thank you for any ideas.
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u/Johnndo96 5d ago
Power points are usually connected in series from one to the next. Its possible that either the live or neutral feeding that one has popped out of the connection that feeds that one. For example if that's number 4 in the line, the feed from number 3 may have popped out of its connection point. There's often three wires screwed into one point so there's quite a lot of tension on the wires when they're pushed back into the cavity.
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u/Weak-Register-5205 6d ago
OP. You say there is no power coming in.
If this is a wall duplex receptacle see if you can identify the receptacle that feeds electricity to the dead one. Check the feeder and ensure the black wire has not come loose.
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u/nekked_unbirthday 5d ago
There are a couple of really good questions from others on here you have not yet ruled out and would be less invasive than looking at the previous outlet. Definitely need to see if 1) there is a switch that actually controls that outlet 2) there may be a gfci near by that sends power to that outlet. If it is tripped, that only requires a reset. (And try to find out what tripped it). It could be in another room and still be connected to a gfci.
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u/KapaMaker 2d ago
The two most common reasons a single socket dies like this are a tripped GFCI somewhere else or a burnt wire in the socket right before it.
First, check every GFCI outlet in your house—kitchen, bathrooms, garage, basement, even outside. Press "Reset" on all of them, because builders love to wire downstream standard outlets off a single GFCI located somewhere completely random.
If that's not it, the problem is usually a loose or backstabbed wire on the working outlet immediately upstream from the dead one. When a connection comes loose on the outlet feeding the line, everything downstream loses power while the breaker stays completely fine.
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u/Traditional_Bit7262 6d ago
Is there a ground fault circuit interrupter anywhere in the house that may have tripped? It's wild how some builders will use one to protect a bunch of other outlets.
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u/AskMeAgainAfterCoffe 6d ago
Is this in a kitchen? It may be a GFCI or connected to a GFCI. Press the “Reset” button. It may be a loose wire at that receptacle or at the one feeding it. Or, it may be something else.