All circuit breakers off but still have power

Hi, How did you test the power?

The answe is yes cicuit breakers can fail in the on position and though the tripper appears off the contact are still being made. Rule No one. NEVER assume a circuit dead without testing it.

Does it have a UPS? Are you measuring power using a digital meter?

Anything can fail ... or be wired incorrectly.

first try turning off main breaker...........

you need to check if other circuits are powered when you believe they are off

Are you in a multi-unit building where the outlet could be wired to a neighbor's meter? Try running a high current appliance like a toaster and see if the meter disc spins faster.

Is this an apartment or condo? If it is, it could be you are getting power from the neighbors breaker panel. Not uncommon in older apartments. I once worked in an old building with 4 apartments. Talk about a nightmare. Everyone was paying for the neighbors power. I was able to separate all the outlets to the proper meters, but not all the lights. I could have done it, but the cost would have been outrageous for the owner and he told me his price limit and said to do the best I could.

Mark

And in case your TESTER might be dead, test before turning it off too. That could mean little or no extra work, such as plugging in an outlet tester (and making sure it works), then turn off the breaker and see it go out.

I am in a detached home, not sharing electrical with anyone. I tested by plugging in a radio and hitting every breaker. The radio never went off. So, lets assume I have a broken breaker. How do I locate the breaker for this circuit or test each breaker to find the broken one.

Did you try the main breaker? That might be informative. Maybe it's a battery powered radio.

You could disconnect each breaker in turn. Or check the voltage across each breaker while they're all off (one will have 0 volts, the others will be 120 v -- unless they're ALL bad).

First, determine which breakers DO work (cut something off). The bad one isn't one of those.

Most battery-powered radios I've had anything to do with don't switch over unless the power cord is physically disconnected.

(1) leave all circuit breaker off and use a voltmeter (or a light bulb) to probe the output of all breakers. If you find 120V, that's the culprit.

(2) first eliminate all the working breakers, then remove the uncertain ones one-at-a-time until you find it.

(3) Froogle "circuit breaker locator".

replying to Tony Hwang, Mary J Stokes wrote: With a tester machine

replying to Jack, Mary J Stokes wrote: Hey Jack we have juice running too the light outlets and plug ins but no lights will come on or no plug in s Will work plugged the tester in one and it stayed orange any suggestions

Get a tester with a red light?

You are using a radio powered by batteries or by default an electric one that has switched over to batteries when the AC was cut off. ====