I have three rooms on one side of the house that have lost the outlets and the overhead light fixtures. No breakers are flipped. This is a Federal Pacific breaker box in a house that was built in 1978. Where do i go from here....ytube .....friend of a friend.....calling all home electricians.
Do you know if this is one circuit or multiple? If one circuit I would follow the power from the breaker panel to where it stops. Potentially a bad connection at a device in the circuit. Has anything changed recently in the house, electrical or otherwise?
If multiple circuits are down, are they all on the same side of the breaker panel?
Check all the GFCI outlets and make sure none of that is in series with one of them thats tripped. See if there any outdoors.
GhiaMonster might be on to something.
It could be you have lost one 110v wire into the home. It happens. I've seen it twice recently. If so, the 220v devices won't be working correctly. If you have an electric oven, see if the oven comes on. Or an electric clothes dryer. If true, call your power supplier.
I have seen breakers fail, but never in the on position. Have you flipped the breakers on and off?
Embarassing as it might be, rodents in the attic could be a culprit. But, when that happens it usually trips a breaker or burns the home down.
GhiaMonster said:Do you know if this is one circuit or multiple? If one circuit I would follow the power from the breaker panel to where it stops. Potentially a bad connection at a device in the circuit. Has anything changed recently in the house, electrical or otherwise?
If multiple circuits are down, are they all on the same side of the breaker panel?
nothing has changed ....not sure how to determine the side of the breaker panel......let me say this earlier(this year) I had light switch issues in the grosh that were recitfied with new components (1978)
+1 on GFCI. I ran into two weird ones, recently. The first was a wall out for years. I thought the GFCI was on a different circuit because it was still working. Turns out it had tripped, but only shut off the downstream. That one is now replaced. I also had a GFCI trip that I did not find because there is not test button and the reset is color matched and smooth... That one worked fine but is now also replaced.
Not saying you have a GFCI issue, just that I recently had two weirds ones. I do have an outside GFCI that takes out the onside of the garage, so +1 on check outside, too.
Slippery said:Check all the GFCI outlets and make sure none of that is in series with one of them thats tripped. See if there any outdoors.
As yikes as this sounds this domicile is sans GFCI.....yes yes I know get my sorry ares in gear..
I would be in the panel with a volt meter, but not recommending that for the novice.
You really need to see if a 220v device is working correctly. If not call the power company. You have lost a 110v leg into the home.
YMMV
Just for giggles, have you tried cycling the breakers on those circuits off then on? While FPE breakers had a more of a reputation for not tripping when they should (I’ve heard them referred to as Flames Pacific) it could be just be poor contact in the breaker and it’s simple enough to try. I’ve also seen breakers that didn’t “look” tripped but actually were.
"Embarrassing as it might be, rodents in the attic could be a culprit. But, when that happens it usually trips a breaker or burns the home down."
Not at all embarrassing most of the if not all the attic entrances have been addressed (fingers crossed)
I fretted over this awhile back when other issues occured .....this panel is a POS with $85 breakers(15amp) as replacements
so I'm really looking at a total panel redo....with what little I know Square D ?.......fire away
What you have to concern yourself with is the present. Tomorrow you can approach the cure.
Do you have good smoke detectors currently?
Also, do you have any idea if the home has aluminum wiring. If so it couls be a problem at some connection on the circuit as noted earlier by Ghia Monster.
You still have not reported the status of 220v appliances in the home. Just saying.
Square D is solid and well supported by many suppliers. Murray and Siemens are other comparable brands. Federal Pacific has been out of business for many years, so you’ll be ahead in the long run.
Edited to add that Purple Frog is spot on with his questions on checking your oven (220V elements) to be sure you have both sides of the panel fed as well as the aluminum wire question. 1978 was around the time aluminum wire was commonly used due to copper prices and availability at the time. Aluminum is fine when used with connectors designed for it as well as the anti oxidation paste. Most home service entrance is aluminum due to the large wire size needed for example.
11GTCS said:Just for giggles, have you tried cycling the breakers on those circuits off then on? While FPE breakers had a more of a reputation for not tripping when they should (I’ve heard them referred to as Flames Pacific) it could be just be poor contact in the breaker and it’s simple enough to try. I’ve also seen breakers that didn’t “look” tripped but actually were.
Thank you I'll be doing the on-off two step tomorrow.....but I'm seriously looking a total panel R&R.....do I just step aside and let the expert tell me what I really need or do my.......oh nevermind.....
Purple Frog (Forum Supporter) said:You still have not reported the status of 220v appliances in the home. Just saying.
all present and accounted for SIR....YES SIR ......sorry
A pro with a volt meter can check out the circuit. Might be minor. But, you are right to take care.
Changing out a panel is a big deal, hang on to your wallet. Some old timers didn't leave a lot of slack in the wires.
Stay calm. But stay aware. I'm serious about smoke detectors.
Have you verified that you don't have power on that circuit? It's possible to lose the neutral on a circuit. I would check the effected outlets with a voltmeter, to make sure they really are dead. I would also pull the panel cover and check each breaker to make sure they are all fully on. Sometimes breakers trip and don't look tripped, turning them all the way off and then back on could fix the problem. I would also check the other outlets that are working, it's possible the problem is in an outlet that seems to be working fine.
I just had my panel swapped. 200a GE panel and all new breakers. $700 I thought it was not bad.
more tomorrow y'all thanks peace out
Everything mentioned in this thread is possible, but most are statistically unlikely.
80% odds that it is all a single 120V circuit, and that there is a loose connection (aluminum or otherwise) in a box.
Start with that, then proceed to other possibles.
Yeah. Federal pacific stab locks are on the no no list for a lot of multifamily property sales transactions. Almost always require reserves for replacements. Swapping that breaker box is in your best interest.
As RustyVW said, I'd take a multimeter and check each outlet between hot/neutral, hot/ground, neutral/ground to see if you have power getting to any part of the circuit.
If you have power with any of those measurements, then you can locate the breaker and turn off the power to the malfunctioning leg and sleep soundly at night until you find the source of the issue. Once power is off, if you have long enough leads on your meter or use an extension cord, you can also check continuity between outlets.
I had a similar issue last winter where I lost three outlets on a circuit and traced it to a broken wire in the wall. Luckily the wall was close to the box so it wasn't too bad to check continuity from the box to the outlets on the circuit and between the outlets. It wasn't a fun fix, but with systematic troubleshooting I was able to isolate and take the bad section out of the circuit then run a new feed into a more accessible location in the circuit.
GhiaMonster said:Do you know if this is one circuit or multiple? If one circuit I would follow the power from the breaker panel to where it stops. Potentially a bad connection at a device in the circuit. Has anything changed recently in the house, electrical or otherwise?
If multiple circuits are down, are they all on the same side of the breaker panel?
My bad I just reread this post and yes multiple circuits on the same side of the panel are down. So should I be looking at the outlets/light switches for power at the wires connected to these? Like I alluded to previously the replacement of light switches in the grosh fixed that problem .
In reply to 759NRNG :
Ok. Multiple circuits. On the same side.
Are ALL the circuits on one side of the panel down?
If all the circuits on one side of the panel are down, then your 240V circuits should not be working either. It's a power company problem. (They've dropped a feeder leg)
If several (but not all) on 1 side are down, then you have more than 1 problem (and it's NOT the power company). Possibly deteriorating connections (aluminum wiring?). You will have to start tracing them one at a time.
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