Household Electric Question

[ritalz]

Visiting with my son today and he asked me to look at one of the wall outlets in the laundry area. It's a GFCI outlet that didn't seem to have any power. I tried to reset but got nothing. Pulled the cover and disconnected one leg to test for power going into the outlet, still nothing. All the breakers appear to be on. Started tracing the wiring but it goes into the wall and I couldn't see where it might come out. Checked the basement in that area but didn't find any wiring in that area. There is a light switch about four feet to the left with expected wire running to the basement but that us all. Guess it is possible that the outlet is fed from the same wire as the light switch but that doesn't seem likely. Scratching my head on this one.

[gregforesi]

If there is no power coming into the GFCI then something came loose somewhere.
I'd check inside the light switch box and see if the GFCI is fed from there. Maybe a wire nut came loose. It's been known to happen.

GFCI's can go bad, but there should be 120v across the neutral and power wires inside that box, and a check across the neutral to ground should show very low resistance (they are bonded together in the breaker panel).

It's kind of rare for a GFCI to only protect the one outlet (itself). If there are other outlets nearby, see if they have power.

[ritalz]

I didn't think to check the light switch while I was there and I didn't have a meter with me. I rigged up a light and used it to test while bypassing the GCFI altogether. Forgot to mention that it's a two story house so it seems unlikely the wiring is above. The dead outlet is on the main level.

[Sidecar Bob]

Actually, it is not at all uncommon for a GFCI outlet to only protect itself. especially in places where code requires a dedicated circuit in a wet area such as over a kitchen counter.

We need more details. How old is the place and the wiring? Has he made any changes to the wiring recently? Was it working before?

If there is no power to the outlet I'd start by taking a closer look at the breakers. Some breakers don't move much when tripped so the only way to tell for sure is to switch it off and back on (if the breakers are not clearly labelled this might be a good time to figure out what each one does and write it down).
FWIW, I have gotten into the habit of writing the breaker number on each switch/receptacle plate (inside the plate upstairs and on the face in the basement) any time I work on anything electrical so that I know exactly which circuit I'm working on the next time.

[ritalz]

The house is only five years old and he just recently moved in. He isn't the type to have made any changes of this kind. He and I have both looked at the breaker box and I have reset a couple that had suspect labels. Good idea to label each box, seen this done in some commercial buildings.

[Sidecar Bob]

The electrician who installs the box is supposed to label each breaker but they often label them vaguely (a lot of ours were just marked "lighting" with no mention of which part of the house).

5 years is pretty new so you shouldn't encounter knob & tube or non-grounded circuits or anything like that and what is there should meet code, which means that if the plug was intended for a washing machine it should be on its own circuit (if there is a gas dryer it might have a 20A circuit for both to plug into).

So the outlet hasn't worked since he moved there? I would expect the cable from that box to run directly back to the panel without going through any other boxes. If I was there in person I'd start at the panel and make sure that the correct breaker is actually on and that the wires are properly connected inside the panel (do NOT open the panel unless you feel confident working around electricity).

Note that local electrical codes in the US are based on the National Electrical Code (in Canada local codes are based on the Canadian Electrical code and the NEC and CEC are intentionally almost identical). Most places allow homeowners to work on their own electrical systems but only licensed (& trained) professionals are allowed to do work in other people's homes so technically you shouldn't do any actual work on your son's wiring.
But you can give him advice and hand him the tools.......

[CYBORG]

If the wire at the GFCI is not hot put a tone generator on it and trace it to where the tone stops. There's your problem

[ritalz]

True that the labels are very vague and the ground is in place. The washer/dryer plugs are on the opposite wall. I tried to follow the wire but it is hidden inside the wall and not dropped down into the basement. I need to look inside the switch box to see if the outlet is branched in there. If that don't work a tone generator might be in order (thanks Doug).

[Sidecar Bob]

In a house that new there shouldn't be anything else on the washing machine circuit but on the other hand who knows what the Previous Owner did? (sounds like working on a bike, doesn't it?)

[ritalz]

The only way to tell would be to locate the plans for the house. I'll report back when I get to look at it again.

[Sidecar Bob]

The plans won't show what the PO changed....

[ritalz]

Based on what I've seen around the house, I doubt the PO had enough working knowledge to make such a change. IMHO

[Whiskerfish]

My PO was an Electrical Engineer. I know a fair amount about electricity but he has made me scratch my head a bunch.

[ritalz]

Finally resolved this to the best of my ability. Took a piece of drywall down to get a better look. The wire for the outlet does go up towards the second floor/attic. We decided to cap it off and tag it as not active. Ran some new wire to the outlet and even added another outlet for his workbench. Son was happy with the results and that is all that mattered.

[Sidecar Bob]

Sounds good to me. Unless there is a mystery switch upstairs that's about all you could do.