Pats#1 Posted December 9, 2017 Share Posted December 9, 2017 13 minutes ago, SimsZilla said: I can't seem to find my good meter so I have to pick one up tomorrow at home depot. i found an old one that says im NOT getting any power to the black, but my klein tool volt tester says i am. im so confused. I might just have to call an electrician. im so damn confused Electricity is a fickle beast...some other things to look at as well is to make sure the Amperages match up with the outlet and the breaker, just to be on the safe side. You may try testing your voltage tester as well. Test an outlet that you for sure has power, then open the breaker, and retest. Sometimes voltage tester give false readings if small components become loose and end up closing the LED light circuit (it's very sensitive). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimsZilla Posted December 9, 2017 Share Posted December 9, 2017 18 minutes ago, Pats#1 said: Electricity is a fickle beast...some other things to look at as well is to make sure the Amperages match up with the outlet and the breaker, just to be on the safe side. You may try testing your voltage tester as well. Test an outlet that you for sure has power, then open the breaker, and retest. Sometimes voltage tester give false readings if small components become loose and end up closing the LED light circuit (it's very sensitive). im gonna let you know what i come up with tomorrow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gopherwrestler Posted December 9, 2017 Share Posted December 9, 2017 If your GFCI is not working and you are hooking them both up to the line and not the load, and your ground is hooked up and the outlet is not tripping than your outlet is junk. If you had it hooked up correct and it is tripping, you have a short. But if you had two GFI's both not work I am guessing you are just not hooking them up right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vike daddy Posted December 9, 2017 Share Posted December 9, 2017 (edited) 20 hours ago, SimsZilla said: Anyone have an electrical prowess? so last weekend i decided to string up my xmas lights at my new house, first thing i noticed was that the outlet for outside wasn't a GFCI so i decided to swap it out. The outlet had no problem or anything before this. So i unscrew it and it has a black, white, and then a ground. I connect everything correctly and then I figure I am good to go. Test the GFCI, nothing. Wire is hot, plug says it has power. But the GFCI wouldn't work. It had a red light, so i decided it was the GFCI, bought another one and same problem. I then put the old one on and it works. I then got a weatherproof outlet (since the GFCI's weren't working) and again, I get power to the outlet, Black is hot, but it does not work. Nothing I plug in works, but the outlet says I am getting power. I'm legit stumped. I have a GFCI on the same breaker but it works fine and it's not tripped. anyone have any ideas? if there is another GFI outlet already on that circuit somewhere and the additional one you put in is "downstream" from it, it will not function. and... if you do have an existing GFI outlet on that circuit, and it is located between your exterior outlet and the breaker panel box, then the old non-GFI outlet is already protected by the existing GFI one. that's how circuitry works. that will be $75. and to the guy who said electricity is a fickle beast... sorry, you're wrong. electricity and circuitry is totally dependable. sometimes our understanding of it is fickle, but it always functions the way it is designed to. there's nothing fickle about physics. Edited December 9, 2017 by vike daddy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pats#1 Posted December 10, 2017 Share Posted December 10, 2017 3 hours ago, vike daddy said: if there is another GFI outlet already on that circuit somewhere and the additional one you put in is "downstream" from it, it will not function. and... if you do have an existing GFI outlet on that circuit, and it is located between your exterior outlet and the breaker panel box, then the old non-GFI outlet is already protected by the existing GFI one. that's how circuitry works. that will be $75. and to the guy who said electricity is a fickle beast... sorry, you're wrong. electricity and circuitry is totally dependable. sometimes our understanding of it is fickle, but it always functions the way it is designed to. there's nothing fickle about physics. In a vacuum sure....but when you are dealing with wiring that's been behind walls for decades sometimes, old electrical components, etc....it's absolutely fickle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vike daddy Posted December 10, 2017 Share Posted December 10, 2017 actually, old wiring is still very reliable. until it starts getting touched and bumped. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pats#1 Posted December 10, 2017 Share Posted December 10, 2017 Just now, vike daddy said: actually, old wiring is still very reliable. until it starts getting touched and bumped. Exactly, and there's no way to tell what has happened inside of walls you can't see behind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vike daddy Posted December 10, 2017 Share Posted December 10, 2017 but the fickle comment you made wasn't about old wiring. no biggie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heimdallr Posted December 10, 2017 Share Posted December 10, 2017 when you don't pay attention during physics class Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimsZilla Posted December 10, 2017 Share Posted December 10, 2017 so i feel like an idiot. what happened was that inside the house, the outlet that fed directly to that one (which i didnt check bc they all worked), there was 3 white wires connected and one was loose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vike daddy Posted December 11, 2017 Share Posted December 11, 2017 On 12/10/2017 at 10:35 AM, SimsZilla said: so i feel like an idiot. what happened was that inside the house, the outlet that fed directly to that one (which i didnt check bc they all worked), there was 3 white wires connected and one was loose. see? there's always an understandable explanation. electricity is not fickle. good for you for figuring it out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incarcerated_Scarface Posted December 12, 2017 Share Posted December 12, 2017 I think that if you use a hot stick they sometimes don't read properly. Hot sticks are not reliable to me, I don't trust them. I've seen those things give wrong readings so many times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incarcerated_Scarface Posted December 12, 2017 Share Posted December 12, 2017 (edited) On 12/9/2017 at 7:20 PM, vike daddy said: actually, old wiring is still very reliable. until it starts getting touched and bumped. In DC the homes have a lot of this "rag wire" where the minute you grab it, the insulation crumbles off to a complete bare wire. I used to hate doing electrical work in DC. Edited December 12, 2017 by steadypimpin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gopherwrestler Posted December 17, 2017 Share Posted December 17, 2017 You still see a lot of that cloth wiring down here in southwest minnesota. Been buyin houses lately down here and flipping them, I find it constantly while inspecting them. Helping a friend put in a new box and put in new lights in his old milk barn, all old stuff yet. Electricity isn't scary with much you are going to do around the house, have had scares tho. Locked on to a 3 phase once helping the old man out and remembered the "stand on yer toes" trick, helluva burn on my hand and took a good fall. Also putting storm sewer in a few years back and cut threw a wire with a saw (was supposed to be dead, was told dead by inspecter) and she blew up in my face, thank god this was the one time I was actually wearing my safety glasses and gloves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimsZilla Posted December 18, 2017 Share Posted December 18, 2017 (edited) built in before and after Edited December 18, 2017 by SimsZilla 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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