electrical short

The circuit breaker for the electrical outlets and lights for my kitchen and bathroom opened. I unplugged everything and turned off all the lights and it still opens. I inspected all the outlets for a sign of a short and they all look fine. The wire from the breaker reads zero ohms to ground. I assume there is a short in the wiring behind the wall somewhere.

I will be calling in an electrician to troubleshoot and repair the problem Monday. I am hoping he will have some kind of a sniffer that can inject a signal into the shorted line and then zero in on the short location. Does such a thing exist or am I into the major job of replacing all the wire?

Rod

Reply to
rod_lake
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Not if he measures zero ohms to ground, that's a hard short and there's no way for a bad breaker to do that.

It's rare for a wire to short in the wall, unless you have mice, or drive a nail through it (recently or in the past). Did you actually take out all the outlets and inspect the wires carefully? Don't forget ceiling fixtures and anything else that may be on the circuit. I usually find these come down to a nicked wire in a box.

Reply to
Paul Franklin

Hi, Bad circuit breaker? Never know if you did not check it. Tony

Reply to
Tony Hwang

This is Turtle.

Well I can't see it or look at the meter reading from here so. Wait for the electrician but you can invest in a electric receptical analizer from Radio Shack , Low's, Home Depot, Southerlands, or any electric supply outlet store. You just plug it into the receptical and watch the lites lite up on it and it will tell you what the problem is by what lite lites up and in what order on the lite part of the plug in device. They are about $3.00 and well worth the cost to get a look at what is wrong with it.

TURTLE

Reply to
TURTLE

For $3, all that's going to tell him is if the receptacle is wired properly. Which isn't his problem it would appear.

Reply to
Pop

How about light bulbs and nightlights? YOu also have to either remove those or turn off the switches that turn them on. In other words, be sure it's just receptacles, not a closet lite or something somewhere.

Zero ohms: On what scale? You need to use a scale that can show you ten to twenty ohms or less. If it was a 1k scale, then it might easily look like zero. Although, your descrip does sound like it's a dead short, it's best to be sure.

Did you make sure the breaker went all the way off and then all the way on? Some breakers go to a sort of "middle" position when they pop, and you have to push it the rest of the way off before it'll actually turn back on.

Just a couple thoughts,

P> rod snipped-for-privacy@netzero.com wrote:

Reply to
Pop

This is Turtle.

You need to try one now days and see it say broke common, broken ground, no power on hot, reversed polarity, and you don't want to know if any of this stuff is going on or has happen to the circuit system. OH yea, that is right the common wires will never come loose or break the connection because this never happens.

TURTLE

Reply to
TURTLE

I have one, fool; it isn't what he needs at the moment. His problem is an exposed, hot wire which blows a breaker when he connects it. Polarity hasn't got a whole lot to do with his situation at the moment. He has a meter which will also tell the same things those cheapie LEDs show. Your way isn't the only way and isn't a requirement for anyone but yourself. I use mine all the time, but when it gets down to doing the electrical work, I'm using my meter/s; then I can work with power off.

Reply to
Pop

You iddn't read the most important part of the OP's writing. I'll delete all but the part you missed.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

It's wise to pull the sockets and look for shorts there. I know of no magical sniffer. The electrician might....

In the meantime it sounds like work.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

This is Turtle.

So if your judgement is better than mine. Tell the man what the problem is and explain it to all of us know nothings.

TURTLE

Reply to
TURTLE

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