Outdoor Outlet Not Working

Last week we had our first snow this winter. It's so beautiful out there. But after the snow, our Christmas light cannot be turned on. I checked the outlet, mounted on siding besides front door. It's not working. So I went down to my basemennt checking breakers. All of them are in on position. Anyway I just turned all of them to off position and back to on position again. Went outside and checked the outlet. It's still not working. So I decided to take out this outlet and checked wires, black and white, no voltage.

Now came the hard part. I tried to figure out which circuit is this outlet on. So I checked the nearest outlet and switch, which is located in my dinning room. All of them are working. There are three pair of wires connected to the switch. One pair in, one pair to front door light outside. And I don't know where does the third pair leads to because after I disconnected them, all other outlets and lights are still working.

Is it possible that the wire is burned out in the middle inside wall? If it is, how to repair it? We just had our house painted inside out this summer. Really don't want to open the wall to repair it. The house is about 15 years old.

Thank you in advance.

Reply to
michaelgz2000
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If your house isn't ancient the outlet is controlled by a GFI. The GFI could be another outdoor outlet so look around outside for other outlets and if you see one with 2 buttons, press the reset button. It might also be in your bathroom or kitchen. Ground Fault interrupters are required outdoors, in garages (look there too), kitchens, some basemsnets and bathrooms.

Reply to
Art

First, I am assuming you are checking the voltage with an multimeter?

"There are three pair of wires connected to the switch. One pair in, one pair to front door light outside. And I don't know where does the third pair leads to because after I disconnected them, all other outlets and lights are still working."

Does the front door light work? If so..you can find the correct breaker then ...when the light turns off. If the light did not work to begin with, then check the breaker outputs.

More than likely the outside outlet is corroded, I cant see the wire being defective...but it is possible. More info is needed. If using a multimeter....do you show incoming AC at the location of the three pairs?

Reply to
avid_hiker

Aren't some GFIs located in the breaker box? If yes, are they integral with a breaker, or a separate thing that might not be obvious in bad lighting?

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

There is a possibility, especially if it is a new house, that the outside outlets are GFI outlets, and they have tripped. Check them.

Is there a GFI breaker somewhere else? Also, to reset a breaker that has tripped, you have to put it ALL THE WAY to OFF, then back on to reset it. Did you do that?

Reply to
professorpaul

Yup...forgot about that GFI......had a house with same.....was the GFI in Bath.

Reply to
avid_hiker

It is extremely remote that the wiring inside the wall has failed.

Reply to
HeyBub

There is another outdoor outlet on the other side of my house. It's working. The one in garage is also working. Both of them are just normal outlets, not GFI.

I'll check all outlets in bathrooms, kitchen, basements, etc, tonight.

Thanks.

Reply to
michaelgz2000

Yes, I was using a multimeter.

Yes, the front door light is working and I know which breaker controls it.

Three pairs in the switch box, one pair is incoming, the other two are outgoing. All of them have voltage when I switch on breaker. But the pair outside has no voltage.

Thanks for your fast reply.

Reply to
michaelgz2000

Unless someone ran a saber saw through it. With faults of this type:

1/ First check those darned GFCIs ... ALL of them ... the one that shuts down the garage could be in bathroom. 2/ The boxes. Wire nuts ... not the best thing ever invented.
Reply to
Charles Schuler

You guys are right. After I reset the GFI in a bath room on the other side of my house, my Christmas light is on again!

Thank you all for your great help.

Reply to
michaelgz2000

I knew a guy who reset the GFI outside his house, and the Christmas lights went on in his bathroom.

Reply to
mm

mm wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

My toilet won't flush if the GFCI is tripped :-)

Reply to
Al Bundy

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