June 6, 2003, Newsletter Issue #60: GFI not working
Tip of the Week
Question:
Outlets in all the three bathrooms of mine are suddenly stopped working when I plugged in my hair dryer in one of the bathroom. I opened the outlet but could not detect any current ( using a electric tester ) on the live wire. I also switched off and on all the switches in the circuit breaker. Is there any way of finding out if the circuit breakers are good or test any other thing before concluding there could be a wiring problem and calling a electrical contractor. thanks, -Vinay
Answer:
Yes. You can turn off the breaker, disconnect the wire, and then turn the breaker back on. Check the voltage between the terminal screw and the neutral bar. If the breaker works, the problem is in the circuit. Is it possible that there is another GFI outlet ahead of the bathrooms? If so, it may have tripped. Home Improvement Guru
As the reader reported later, there was indeed another GFI outlet ahead of the bathrooms which had tripped.
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