Wow. I lost 5 lbs running up and down the stairsinto my basement checking and re-checking breakers to see why my outlets didn't work. This was the only video I saw suggesting to bang on the wall around the outlets to see if that would locate the problem and it worked like a charm !!! Thanks so much
Hi John. Thanks for the video. I had several outlets dead. I verified there was voltage on the breaker output. I checked the outlet nearest the breaker and found a corroded neutral wire. Replaced the receptacle with a good 20 amp and all is now good. By the way credit to my wife for finding your great video.
John, THANK YOU!! This was really fantastic. I had 3 daisy-chained outlets that were dead, no tripped breaker. I used your "tapping" the wall above the outlet method and found the loose wires. All fixed up, and more importantly, safe! Thanks again for sharing!
Hi John, you were my instructor at the NCE briefly. You defined the phases to me one day in the lab and that was the first time it actually made sense to me. I just want to let you know that I am still pursuing the electrical field and got into the IBEW apprenticeship. I really appreciate your knowledge and efforts at sharing your electrical wisdom.
Wow. I just found this video. I had an outlet just stopped working for no apparent reason. It was powered by a light switch. I banged on the wall above the light switch and the outlet came on! Thank you so much!
I have an outlet that one of the two receptacles (the lower one) displays an issue. When I plug in my hair dryer but don’t switch it on, I lose power on all other receptacles down the stream. If I plug the in the hair dryer in any outlet down the stream this behaviour does not occur. If I plug in the hair dryer into the questionable receptacle but nothing is plugged into any receptacle down the stream the dryer or any other appliance will work as normal. Does this sound like a faulty receptacle?
Thanks for your no nonsense excellent information. Your electrical 50 yrs knowledge/experience with this stuff is probably "only installed" in a minimum of 200 million existing homes in the US!! Please dont kick the bucket! You guys that have over 35 years experience can offer so much help to people out here who are trying to learn from honest experienced professionals and also trying to not get ripped off by so many crooks out here that seem to be around everywhere (Auto Repair Shops, Electrical, Plumbing, HVAC, Dentist, some Medical Doctors, you name it). What happened to honesty, and integrity? Thanks again for taking the time to help.
I am back from banging on my outlets with a lamp and it worked instantly. I had a string of 5 outlets that would go out periodically without tripping the breaker. I was about to call an electrician. Thank you very much!
Bang on nearby outlets and switches!!! Fantastic logical, early and easy troubleshooting tip!!! So simple and easily overlooked!!! Thank you so much kind Sir!!!
John just saved me a lot of money. I followed his directions and discovered our outdoor lights on our RV had moisture issues and it kept tripping the GFI on the kitchen island.l after unloading the GFI inside the RV.. and remembering he said it could be attached to someplace weird, I unplugged the cord attached to the underbelly socket servicing the deck lighting --and that was it!
Absolutely great video. Your explanations are done in simple terms and I love the practical advice. Even though I had a voltmeter I used a lamp like you suggested. It was way easier to see and I found the loose connection is another receptacle. Thanks
I think it would be AWESOME to have someone to pass down their knowledge & a whole life time of wisdom. How nice it must be for those who have parents gransparents etc
My father knew so much stuff about relays, transformers, motors, , counters , air and hydrolic stuff. He worked on pinball machines for a while before WW2 then worked in linen supply machinery manufacturing in Chicago's downtown. He showed and taught me a lot of things. But much of it has become obsolete with time.
Dear John, thanks posting a very useful video. My daughter, who is also the owner of this house, plugged the vacuum cleaner in a power bar. When she turned the cleaner ON all the plugs in three bedrooms lost power. We found all circuit breaker in order. I opened up one dead plug to check the wiring. I had very small shock just like a pin pricking into skin. But now I am going to look at the 'stubbing' point of view today. Funny thing the GFCI breaker is still providing power to one of the plugs. If you wanted to kick the bucket you could have done years ago. Rest assure you are too old to die now like I am haha Jamil in Edmonton, AB, Canada
John, I like your laid back style. Great information. I never thought of banging to find the break. That would sure speed up finding it vs pulling outlets. Thank you, my friend.
Thank you very much! Great advice and more important - clearly and simply explained. Saved me a lot of time and aggravation on my 4th of July weekend. Thank God for people like you sir. Happy Independence Day.
Fantastic advise John. Thank you for passing on your knowledge. Had issue where suddenly 2/3 of receptacles/lights on branch circuit stopped working. This video had all the information I needed to troubleshoot and find the issue. Ended up all receptacles were push in connected and one had burned up. All the issues you covered were found, including discovering that the one branch circuit has 3 bedroom lights and 9 receptacles. House was built in 1968 so maybe they could get away with that back then. For now I have replaced the bad receptacle and have reconnected all the other receptacles using the screw terminals rather than push ins.
Thank you! I had a number of outlets go dead, was getting voltage, but nothing would work when plugged in. I banged the wall over the outlet I had originally thought might be the culprit, but wasn't sure - and it worked. And it's a back stab outlet just like you said it would be!
Thank you sir. I subscribed at the tap the wall tap tip. There is just no substitute for long term hands on expierience that has had time to grow to the point that it becomes part of the intuition of the diagnostic procedure. Sadly when I ask after life time expierience, all to often I get the reply that they were amazing but the guy that I knew retired.
Thanks for the knowledge and your wisdom ,it's really what I needed to know ,these other guys where giving up nothing but worthless information,, appreciate you💥💪💥
Another way, besides a lamp, to know you've turned off the correct breaker for the outlet you're working on is to plug a radio or stereo into it and turn it up. You'll hear when you've cut power to the correct outlet/circuit. This saves you from repeatedly walking back and forth from the outlet area to the breaker box.
I think you missed the point. Finding the correct breaker is an entirely different matter. In this episode we are locating the guilty connection that plagues us.
I'm laughing at this video because I discovered this trick 2 weeks ago purely by accident! A light in my finished basement wouldn't turn on and a few of the nearby outlets were only registering 50 volts. All of them had the push-in wiring with cheap receptacles (had problem with them on other circuits so I've been replacing them and using j-hooks). Replaced all the receptacles and still no light, low voltage. Magically, the light started working again a week or two later. Because of another project I have to do, I had to remove an unfinished (previous owner) corner cabinet that was situated physically between the outlets and the light switch. When I took the top of the cabinet off, I spied another outlet in the wall within the cabinet. As I was pounding a pry bar between the cabinet and the wall just above that outlet, the light went out! Banged the wall above the outlet again, and the light went back on! After removing the cabinet I checked the outlet out and found in addition to the line and load wires (all just push-ins) wires to the light switch j-hooked to the outlet and the hot line to the outlet just sliding in and out of the push-in with no resistance. Replaced the receptacle, pigtailed the load and light switch wires and j-hooked the four to the receptacle. Long story short, I can testify that your advice works!
Thank you for a great explanation and demonstration of the diagnostics for when your breaker might not be tripped, but you have an outlet that's not working (likely because of push-in connnector fault).
Thanks for the sound advice. After swapping out 2 outlets on a circuit and no success. I decided to search for answer on RUclips. I had my voltage tester plugged in and banged on all the plates and watched for the tester light to go on. It was the 3rd one that I had not swapped out. Took out the socket, had fired wires. Replaced it and all's good.
John, As an electrical design engineer that worked for electrical contractors for over 35 years, although I would not design circuits this way, for general purpose receptacles the NEC allows 10 receptacles on a 15 amp breaker and 13 receptacles on a 20 amp breaker. The information is as follows: receptacles are considered 1.5 amperes each for load purposes, this is also considered a non continuous load. So fully loaded would be 15 / 1.5= 10 receptacles. 20 /1.5= 13.3 so 13 receptacles. As I said, this is NEC, not what I would design.
I had an outlet that stopped working in a bathroom in the back of the house, it was a terminal outlet in the wiring, replaced the outlet, still no current, checked all the wires, all good, so went to breaker panel, all was good, on my way back into the house noticed my solar hot water LED control panel was off. It was plugged into a GIF outlet on the garage wall, GIF outlet had tripped, reset and solar control panel came on and the outlet in the back bathroom now works! So the information about daisy chained outlets was very helpful.
This may seem a minor quibble but the National Electric Code forbids the installation of 20 ampere receptacles on 15 ampere circuits. That's because the 20 ampere receptacle will except both a 15 ampere plug and a 20 ampere plug. 20 ampere plugs are installed on equipment that will draw more than 15 amperes but not a whole lot more. Circuit breakers open much more quickly on a dead short than they do on overloads. While the thermal sensor of the circuit breaker is getting hot enough to trip the breaker damage may occur on some weak point on the circuits wiring. It may not be enough damage to prevent the receptacles and luminaires; which is the code term for lighting fixtures; to continue working but it may well be enough to cause a problem later. High quality receptacles are available in the fifteen ampere receptacle pattern. 15 ampere receptacles will not allow a 20 ampere plug to be inserted so you have less likelihood of a damaging overload. I agree completely that the back entry screw clamping receptacles are superior in many ways to side wired binding screw terminals. I also agree completely that any other type of terminal is superior to the back wired spring terminal terminals. Spring contact terminals have a far higher rate of failure per 100,000 installations than either of the 2 other types of terminals. -- Tom Horne
Thumbs up. Thanks. I got lots to learn. I do though know how to use my "idiot light". Got lots that don't work. Thankfully there is a Square D Homeline service panel with AFCI breakers protecting me till I figure it all out.
John, You should tell people the correct way to wire the plug after you find the problem. If you have 2 romex wires in your box add a pigtail to each wire - Hot, Neutral & ground then run your pigtails to the plug so if the plug burns out, breaks or anything else it does not effect the plugs downstream.
John, neat name Shook Electric lol. I have a 15 yr old house with 6 receptacles in our bedroom where the top receptacles is controlled at the wall switch. Last week the top ones went dead. No tripped breaker no sparks. Today I changed two receptacles and still the same I’ll try the bang on he wall trick and see what turns up thx.
Hello Jason...I recently installed a 100amp electric main panel from a small one. This one holds 30 breakers. I was able to put my Dr. infrared electric heater which is a double 40/40 post and my electric water heater a double 30/30 post and a wall electric heater double 20/20 post....working really good. When I tried to add a receptacle for a lamp...the light flickers and I cannot seem to find the problem.
All Receptacles in one room sometimes don't work I have 4 . So I did what you said and tighten one Receptacles and power came back on . A year later again all Receptacles not working and checked them again and can't find what going on . A week later they started working again. And everything was tight I don't get it.
do the lights in the room run off the same connections? because I have 5 outlets that have no power. I used my phone recharging in every socket in the room and outside the room and the issue is only with the electrical sockets the lights work. I will look to see if you talk about a switch box in one of the other videos.
I had a chain of 4, or 5 that went out. Should I start checking for power closest to the breaker box, or furthest? I'll pick up some more receptacles rated for 20 amps. Thanks
Ive tried everything from tapping the wall, resetting GFCI's, to replacing the original box.I still have no power. Ive also watch multiple videos and can't seem to find one that explains how to find the dead box without opening all the boxes
That is a very good idea. I will try that. I have one room that's got four circuits not working and it's driving me crazy panel says all the breakers are on. So I will try that today. I thank you very much. I wish you lived close I had to come over here and fix the damn thing.
Thank you John, great instructional video. Question: i recently replaced a dining room chandelier which had a dimmer switch for another chandelier with low energy lightbulbs, now the dimmer switch is not dimming the lights and at night when all the lights are off I see one of the chandelier's lights slowly blinking. I removed thet bulb but the next light bulb does the same thing. What could it be? Do I need to have dimmable light bulbs? Or is the problem with the wiring.? Thanks in advance for your attention John.
Great info from one old guy to another. What I do when I rewire either for remodel or new work..I put each room on its own circuit and I supply each room with a single 20 amp circuit along with the 15 amp run. Makes it easier to troubleshoot and see which breaker goes to what...the 20 amp is for a space heater and will have a single round plug. I cannot stand a wiring job connecting two or three rooms, or sharing an outside outlet. Also...all outside outlets I install are 20 amp and separate from anything else. Bathrooms too..a 20 amp. I also keep the proper outlet according to the amp circuit I run. Another point is I use Insure connectors (because I can see the connection where in a wire nut, you cannot) and run a separate pig tail to the outlet, that way the outlet is not being stressed
I wish I'd seen this before buying a new circuit breaker for an entire circuit that went dead. Turns out the first receptacle hot line had come out over the thirty years since it'd been backstabbed. I got a better receptacle and back-wired it in. Soon I'll get some more Romex and properly pigtail the leads with a single line out to the receptacle.
That is good practice but is more time consuming. Builders are very cost sensitive so in many places I have seen the push in terminals used as it saves a lot of money. If I replace a receptacle in that situation if I don't pigtail the new one I use the side screw terminals as they are more reliable. Also he talks about using 20 amp receptacles on a 15 amp circuit what he really means is 15 amp receptacles rated to pass through 20 amps which is available on commercial grade receptacles not inexpensive residential grade ones. It would be an electrical code violation to use a receptacle which can accept a 20 amp plug on a 15 amp circuit as using a load which exceeds 15 amps will overload the wiring and trip the circuit breaker.
Hey John, Thanks for the excellent video. You make it simple and understandable. Even for an old technician. I am 74 and never knew about a whiggy and about the weaknesses of the connections inside the outlets. Power is totally different than instrumentation that works off of milliamperes ! Glad you are taking time to educate some us so we don’t get frustrated and give up. Sometimes experience is the only answer. Do you have a video on voltmeters and ampmeters ? I will search and see. Thanks again. Bob//
Great video. I have had trouble with my backyard plug not working, 3 bathrooms not working either. The middle bathroom upstairs has a GFI. I replaced all the plugs and a new GFI in the middle bathroom. I used the tester that you used and I am getting no lights on the meter, not even the two yellow light. it wont let me push the reset button and the reset button wont work on the tester. I checked all the other plugs and they are dead too. I reset the breaker a few times and still dead. Weird thing about the GFI is that the green light is on, doesnt that mean its wired correct. Would the gree
NEC does not have a limit on number of receptacle in a residential application. Use of pigtails prevents the overloading failures mentioned at 4:08. Never ideal to use the device as a junction. The NEC requires pigtailed neutrals on multi-wire circuits.
Hi John. About a week ago my microwave started blinking on and off along with my oven hood. Then the microwave died. Figured the microwave was old and the cause. Bought a new one and soon it began blinking along with the oven hood. Then, I lost power to 5 outlets and a couple of switches. I bought an outlet tester and it reads open ground but I'm getting no power from them. I found one outlet with the back stab wires and one was burned. Figured that was the problem. I switched that outlet with another end of the line outlet just to check and STILL no power. The outlets all show open ground. Could the burnt outlet I took out and l placed at the end of the line be causing the power loss to the other outlets? They were working fine since I moved in and no fuses have blown. I'm at a loss. Thank you kindly for all the people you help!! Thumbs up and new sub!!
@@JohnShook I did that and it was fine. Fuse was fine also. There was a 3 way switch in my kitchen and I banged around it as you suggested. The outlets are still dead but showing open hot instead of open ground now and the outside light is also dead now. The 3 way switch is very old with a white and black wire on the common screw. This switch feeds my kitchen light and single pole switch next to it to my outside light. I'm thinking it might also feed the power to bad circuit. I can see a red wire coupling and a white one in this switch box also. I'm going to rewire the switch and see if that's the problem. Thanks John!!
just started watching your videos and love 'em. thanks. I am confused about where to buy a 'wiggie. I understand what it does, but cannot find anything on Amazon, or the big box store that seems to be the device you are talking about. what is it called exactly? thanks
Knopp K-60 Cat Number. 14460 Voltage Tester by Knopp, at Amazon, Or any tester that's 3000 to 4000 ohms per volt. Also try electrical dealers like CED, Platt, or any electrical wholesale. should have it for under $ 50.00. JS
I have one receptacle in my kids play area that is not working. There are three others and they are all working. I’ve checked to see if the line has power and it doesn’t. I’ve changed the actual receptacle and that was not the problem either. I don’t want to hire an electrician because I know it will be super expensive. Any thoughts...?
Plug A light into the receptacle not working, bang on wall above each receptacle and switch in the room to see if the light flickers, if not open each receptacle and switch and check the wiring. JS
Hi can you help me out please? Thank you for the videos. So about couple months now it all started from the master bedroom light and a wall outlet on one wall that stopped working. Then since then electrical around the house stopped working. For instances, the kitchen one wall with an outlet where we plugged the fridge and microwave suddenly stopped working. Then we used an extension cord on the other wall (left side) where sink is so it can reach the fridge…it worked but keeps going out and we thought maybe it’s cause the extension cord is heavy and may not plug in tight and we wiggled as we wiggle it will turn on and off so we taped it to hold in place…that outlet now is dead too. Then now I have a different extension cord with just 1 plug I use to plug the fridge in and it connected to the outlet on the right side of the sink where the disposal switch is (oh and the disposal doesn’t work but has power maybe that just need replacement), anyways and from there just last night the outlet on the wall facing the front door stopped working and an outlet on the left of that wall only 1 plug outlet works but can clearly see black things like it exploded so I unplug it now today after I saw how dark the damage is and same night last night the dining room and kitchen lights (both separate areas) stopped working, hallway bathroom light stopped working, my sons room light and outlets are not working. I watched RUclips how to check using a multimeter and I have one that from harbor freight called cen tech a red one and I set it to ACV 750 and tested the dark one that looks blown up and top plug one comes out at 125 and bottom plug zero reading or no numbers come on and it doesn’t work when attempted to plug something in to test only top one works. Then as I went to test the wall outlet in the dining room I inserted the black lead probe on the left of plug and RIGHT when I inserted the RED lead probe in at first no reading so I thought maybe I didn’t put in far to where probe is not making contact so I push a little and the outlet SPARKED in my face and outlet is also black now with the right side of the hole looking so much bigger! Like it suppose to look like a parallel line but now it’s a circle. And the multimeter the red probe metal part is damage. Do you think you can help me? I have reset all the gfi 1 main one that turns the other 2 on I guess cause if the main gfi isn’t on the other 2 will not reset at all. Other 2 gfi only lets me reset and actually clicks if I reset the main one that has the red and black button. I also checked the power panel switch box outside to see if any of those switch are in the middle and all are turn on but I did turn off and on all switches that said ;lighting, kitchen, washer and dryer, etc. still none of the lights work and outlet still not working. We have home warranty and already requested service but taking too long. I’ve contacted the service company and left a message as they have not even contact me for an appointment.
John! I installed new ceiling fans in the bedroom that previously had not had any light fixtures wired? The circuit box was wired to the plug and the switch controlled one half of the plug. After wiring new fixture to the switch, i got done weird results and the fan's lights wouldn't come on. And the lamp plugged at the wall controlled the fan. So I replaced the plug and now the outlet has power but the ceiling fan does not! What did I do wrong? Should I have wired the fan to the outlet?
Hi, I have a question for you I have electrical tester that indicates sockets wired correctly. I have 120v from black wire to ground No power from black to neutral what my problem
Wow. I lost 5 lbs running up and down the stairsinto my basement checking and re-checking breakers to see why my outlets didn't work. This was the only video I saw suggesting to bang on the wall around the outlets to see if that would locate the problem and it worked like a charm !!! Thanks so much
Hi John. Thanks for the video. I had several outlets dead. I verified there was voltage on the breaker output. I checked the outlet nearest the breaker and found a corroded neutral wire. Replaced the receptacle with a good 20 amp and all is now good. By the way credit to my wife for finding your great video.
John, THANK YOU!! This was really fantastic. I had 3 daisy-chained outlets that were dead, no tripped breaker. I used your "tapping" the wall above the outlet method and found the loose wires. All fixed up, and more importantly, safe! Thanks again for sharing!
Hi John, you were my instructor at the NCE briefly. You defined the phases to me one day in the lab and that was the first time it actually made sense to me. I just want to let you know that I am still pursuing the electrical field and got into the IBEW apprenticeship. I really appreciate your knowledge and efforts at sharing your electrical wisdom.
Hey Jason, are you still in your apprenticeship? If so how are you liking it so far?
@@zlabfab487; AA d
Wow. I just found this video. I had an outlet just stopped working for no apparent reason. It was powered by a light switch. I banged on the wall above the light switch and the outlet came on! Thank you so much!
I have hired John to do work on commercial buildings. He knows what he is doing and is very professional about everything. Thanks John
Tom Henry would be proud...
I have an outlet that one of the two receptacles (the lower one) displays an issue. When I plug in my hair dryer but don’t switch it on, I lose power on all other receptacles down the stream. If I plug the in the hair dryer in any outlet down the stream this behaviour does not occur.
If I plug in the hair dryer into the questionable receptacle but nothing is plugged into any receptacle down the stream the dryer or any other appliance will work as normal.
Does this sound like a faulty receptacle?
Thanks for your no nonsense excellent information. Your electrical 50 yrs knowledge/experience with this stuff is probably "only installed" in a minimum of 200 million existing homes in the US!! Please dont kick the bucket! You guys that have over 35 years experience can offer so much help to people out here who are trying to learn from honest experienced professionals and also trying to not get ripped off by so many crooks out here that seem to be around everywhere (Auto Repair Shops, Electrical, Plumbing, HVAC, Dentist, some Medical Doctors, you name it). What happened to honesty, and integrity? Thanks again for taking the time to help.
I am back from banging on my outlets with a lamp and it worked instantly. I had a string of 5 outlets that would go out periodically without tripping the breaker. I was about to call an electrician. Thank you very much!
I practically paid for my entire college with a little tool bag. Thank you Mr. Push-In receptacle!
John, I just diagnosed a GFCI issue using your thoughtful and informative video. Thank you so much for sharing the experience from your career!
Your banging on the wall hack has saved me from having to call an electrician and from spending a few hundred bucks. Thanks!
John, your knowledge and video helped me out today. I used a lamp and started tapping and in the second bedroom I found the culprit. Thanks so much.
Bang on nearby outlets and switches!!! Fantastic logical, early and easy troubleshooting tip!!! So simple and easily overlooked!!! Thank you so much kind Sir!!!
Excellent video, straight to the point . No dragged out chatter , very informative . Thank you so much
John just saved me a lot of money. I followed his directions and discovered our outdoor lights on our RV had moisture issues and it kept tripping the GFI on the kitchen island.l after unloading the GFI inside the RV.. and remembering he said it could be attached to someplace weird, I unplugged the cord attached to the underbelly socket servicing the deck lighting --and that was it!
Absolutely great video. Your explanations are done in simple terms and I love the practical advice. Even though I had a voltmeter I used a lamp like you suggested. It was way easier to see and I found the loose connection is another receptacle. Thanks
I think it would be AWESOME to have someone to pass down their knowledge & a whole life time of wisdom. How nice it must be for those who have parents gransparents etc
My father knew so much stuff about relays, transformers, motors, , counters , air and hydrolic stuff. He worked on pinball machines for a while before WW2 then worked in linen supply machinery manufacturing in Chicago's downtown. He showed and taught me a lot of things. But much of it has become obsolete with time.
Dear John, thanks posting a very useful video. My daughter, who is also the owner of this house, plugged the vacuum cleaner in a power bar. When she turned the cleaner ON all the plugs in three bedrooms lost power. We found all circuit breaker in order. I opened up one dead plug to check the wiring. I had very small shock just like a pin pricking into skin. But now I am going to look at the 'stubbing' point of view today. Funny thing the GFCI breaker is still providing power to one of the plugs.
If you wanted to kick the bucket you could have done years ago. Rest assure you are too old to die now like I am haha
Jamil in Edmonton, AB, Canada
John, Brilliant video! I have been chasing a bad receptical for a week and you solved my problems. Thanks very much and I am now a subscriber.
Greatly appreciated your knowledge and effort and most of all your noble spirit that's willing to share with all of us out here, thank you!
John, I like your laid back style. Great information. I never thought of banging to find the break. That would sure speed up finding it vs pulling outlets. Thank you, my friend.
I've always gone to wise owls for knowledge....don't kick to soon! you're very much needed. Thanx!
Thank you very much! Great advice and more important - clearly and simply explained. Saved me a lot of time and aggravation on my 4th of July weekend. Thank God for people like you sir. Happy Independence Day.
Fantastic advise John. Thank you for passing on your knowledge. Had issue where suddenly 2/3 of receptacles/lights on branch circuit stopped working. This video had all the information I needed to troubleshoot and find the issue. Ended up all receptacles were push in connected and one had burned up. All the issues you covered were found, including discovering that the one branch circuit has 3 bedroom lights and 9 receptacles. House was built in 1968 so maybe they could get away with that back then. For now I have replaced the bad receptacle and have reconnected all the other receptacles using the screw terminals rather than push ins.
I had the same problem and it turned out that a cable was loose in a bathroom socket, Now is working properly
As I was watching your video we both said at the same time OUT OF LUCK when wiring a custom home - LOVE YOU MAN - You are definitely a MASTER
What a great suggestion. Thank you for passing this tip on John!
Thanks for sharing your knowledge, wisdom, and experience with the world. Four receptacles now working. Much appreciated! :)
John, I really liked your video and appreciate you sharing your knowledge of the electrical trade.
Thank you for this video! I was able to identify two bad outlets using the "tapping" method. I replaced them and now the entire circuit is working.
Taping on the outlet worked for me. I found the scoundrel. Thank you.
Thank you! I had a number of outlets go dead, was getting voltage, but nothing would work when plugged in. I banged the wall over the outlet I had originally thought might be the culprit, but wasn't sure - and it worked. And it's a back stab outlet just like you said it would be!
Thank you sir. I subscribed at the tap the wall tap tip. There is just no substitute for long term hands on expierience that has had time to grow to the point that it becomes part of the intuition of the diagnostic procedure. Sadly when I ask after life time expierience, all to often I get the reply that they were amazing but the guy that I knew retired.
Thanks John - the video was very helpful. I was able to identify which outlet had a problem by plugging the lamp in and tapping on the outlet!
Thanks for the knowledge and your wisdom ,it's really what I needed to know ,these other guys where giving up nothing but worthless information,, appreciate you💥💪💥
Thank you John for your knowledge, very much appreciated. God bless.
I just found this channel. These are really informative and thanks for doing them!
Another way, besides a lamp, to know you've turned off the correct breaker for the outlet you're working on is to plug a radio or stereo into it and turn it up. You'll hear when you've cut power to the correct outlet/circuit. This saves you from repeatedly walking back and forth from the outlet area to the breaker box.
I think you missed the point. Finding the correct breaker is an entirely different matter. In this episode we are locating the guilty connection that plagues us.
I fow your advice after a day changing outlets find out was in my office one outlet was no good with intermittent connection. Thank you John
I'm laughing at this video because I discovered this trick 2 weeks ago purely by accident! A light in my finished basement wouldn't turn on and a few of the nearby outlets were only registering 50 volts. All of them had the push-in wiring with cheap receptacles (had problem with them on other circuits so I've been replacing them and using j-hooks). Replaced all the receptacles and still no light, low voltage. Magically, the light started working again a week or two later. Because of another project I have to do, I had to remove an unfinished (previous owner) corner cabinet that was situated physically between the outlets and the light switch. When I took the top of the cabinet off, I spied another outlet in the wall within the cabinet. As I was pounding a pry bar between the cabinet and the wall just above that outlet, the light went out! Banged the wall above the outlet again, and the light went back on! After removing the cabinet I checked the outlet out and found in addition to the line and load wires (all just push-ins) wires to the light switch j-hooked to the outlet and the hot line to the outlet just sliding in and out of the push-in with no resistance. Replaced the receptacle, pigtailed the load and light switch wires and j-hooked the four to the receptacle. Long story short, I can testify that your advice works!
Thank you for a great explanation and demonstration of the diagnostics for when your breaker might not be tripped, but you have an outlet that's not working (likely because of push-in connnector fault).
Old school.. simply awesome...!!! Thanks for posting this.
Great, very understandable and concise. John's advice is great!
Thanks for the sound advice. After swapping out 2 outlets on a circuit and no success. I decided to search for answer on RUclips. I had my voltage tester plugged in and banged on all the plates and watched for the tester light to go on. It was the 3rd one that I had not swapped out. Took out the socket, had fired wires. Replaced it and all's good.
ruclips.net/video/IS46G_WoKWA/видео.html John Shook
John, As an electrical design engineer that worked for electrical contractors for over 35 years, although I would not design circuits this way, for general purpose receptacles the NEC allows 10 receptacles on a 15 amp breaker and 13 receptacles on a 20 amp breaker. The information is as follows: receptacles are considered 1.5 amperes each for load purposes, this is also considered a non continuous load. So fully loaded would be 15 / 1.5= 10 receptacles. 20 /1.5= 13.3 so 13 receptacles. As I said, this is NEC, not what I would design.
I had an outlet that stopped working in a bathroom in the back of the house, it was a terminal outlet in the wiring, replaced the outlet, still no current, checked all the wires, all good, so went to breaker panel, all was good, on my way back into the house noticed my solar hot water LED control panel was off. It was plugged into a GIF outlet on the garage wall, GIF outlet had tripped, reset and solar control panel came on and the outlet in the back bathroom now works! So the information about daisy chained outlets was very helpful.
Thank you Mr Shook. Excellent video. I’ve got a game plan now to tackle my issue.
This may seem a minor quibble but the National Electric Code forbids the installation of 20 ampere receptacles on 15 ampere circuits. That's because the 20 ampere receptacle will except both a 15 ampere plug and a 20 ampere plug. 20 ampere plugs are installed on equipment that will draw more than 15 amperes but not a whole lot more. Circuit breakers open much more quickly on a dead short than they do on overloads. While the thermal sensor of the circuit breaker is getting hot enough to trip the breaker damage may occur on some weak point on the circuits wiring. It may not be enough damage to prevent the receptacles and luminaires; which is the code term for lighting fixtures; to continue working but it may well be enough to cause a problem later. High quality receptacles are available in the fifteen ampere receptacle pattern. 15 ampere receptacles will not allow a 20 ampere plug to be inserted so you have less likelihood of a damaging overload.
I agree completely that the back entry screw clamping receptacles are superior in many ways to side wired binding screw terminals. I also agree completely that any other type of terminal is superior to the back wired spring terminal terminals. Spring contact terminals have a far higher rate of failure per 100,000 installations than either of the 2 other types of terminals.
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Tom Horne
Great stuff...explained like we are in the same room.
Great way to check your pacemaker! An idiot light! Love it!
Thumbs up. Thanks. I got lots to learn. I do though know how to use my "idiot light". Got lots that don't work. Thankfully there is a Square D Homeline service panel with AFCI breakers protecting me till I figure it all out.
Thank you, again. Glad this video is still available.
Thank you for sharing your time and your knowledge. I recently move to an apartment and I have some receptacles they don’t work.
A ton of information from. A professional, not afraid and sure enough of himself, to pass on his knowledge
John, You should tell people the correct way to wire the plug after you find the problem. If you have 2 romex wires in your box add a pigtail to each wire - Hot, Neutral & ground then run your pigtails to the plug so if the plug burns out, breaks or anything else it does not effect the plugs downstream.
Thanks John. Will try the BOW technique to locate my bad outlet/switch that causing my issues.
It doesn't take long watching a video to know if the person is a professional. Thanks for the info.
Thanks for your clear, concise help. Much appreciated!
John, neat name Shook Electric lol. I have a 15 yr old house with 6 receptacles in our bedroom where the top receptacles is controlled at the wall switch. Last week the top ones went dead. No tripped breaker no sparks. Today I changed two receptacles and still the same I’ll try the bang on he wall trick and see what turns up thx.
Hello Jason...I recently installed a 100amp electric main panel from a small one. This one holds 30 breakers. I was able to put my Dr. infrared electric heater which is a double 40/40 post and my electric water heater a double 30/30 post and a wall electric heater double 20/20 post....working really good. When I tried to add a receptacle for a lamp...the light flickers and I cannot seem to find the problem.
Always great to learn , tricks and such, from long time experience. POT LUCK. Thank you
All Receptacles in one room sometimes don't work I have 4 . So I did what you said and tighten one Receptacles and power came back on . A year later again all Receptacles not working and checked them again and can't find what going on . A week later they started working again. And everything was tight I don't get it.
Very good. Now I can go to work fixing my problem receptacles. Thank you.
do the lights in the room run off the same connections? because I have 5 outlets that have no power. I used my phone recharging in every socket in the room and outside the room and the issue is only with the electrical sockets the lights work. I will look to see if you talk about a switch box in one of the other videos.
WE THANK YOU SIR FOR YOURE KNOWLEDGE..
I had a chain of 4, or 5 that went out. Should I start checking for power closest to the breaker box, or furthest? I'll pick up some more receptacles rated for 20 amps. Thanks
Your awesome great video to watch with some experience thank you very much sir for the time you and effort you put in to it
Ive tried everything from tapping the wall, resetting GFCI's, to replacing the original box.I still have no power. Ive also watch multiple videos and can't seem to find one that explains how to find the dead box without opening all the boxes
Thank you very much for the video !! Take care 💗
Thank you for passing your knowledge along.
That is a very good idea. I will try that. I have one room that's got four circuits not working and it's driving me crazy panel says all the breakers are on. So I will try that today. I thank you very much. I wish you lived close I had to come over here and fix the damn thing.
Thanks for your very educational and practical videos
Thank You very for the feedback!!🙏🙏
Thank you John, great instructional video.
Question: i recently replaced a dining room chandelier which had a dimmer switch for another chandelier with low energy lightbulbs, now the dimmer switch is not dimming the lights and at night when all the lights are off I see one of the chandelier's lights slowly blinking. I removed thet bulb but the next light bulb does the same thing.
What could it be?
Do I need to have dimmable light bulbs? Or is the problem with the wiring.?
Thanks in advance for your attention John.
Some Dimmers leak voltage, Use a switch (on off). JS
@@JohnShook Thank you John for your helpful reply.
Great info from one old guy to another. What I do when I rewire either for remodel or new work..I put each room on its own circuit and I supply each room with a single 20 amp circuit along with the 15 amp run. Makes it easier to troubleshoot and see which breaker goes to what...the 20 amp is for a space heater and will have a single round plug. I cannot stand a wiring job connecting two or three rooms, or sharing an outside outlet. Also...all outside outlets I install are 20 amp and separate from anything else. Bathrooms too..a 20 amp. I also keep the proper outlet according to the amp circuit I run. Another point is I use Insure connectors (because I can see the connection where in a wire nut, you cannot) and run a separate pig tail to the outlet, that way the outlet is not being stressed
Thank you very much John , you just fixed my problem.
Thank you for your insight and experience. I was able to make the repair.
Thank you boss, this vedio is very helpful it's as clear as day light .
I wish I'd seen this before buying a new circuit breaker for an entire circuit that went dead. Turns out the first receptacle hot line had come out over the thirty years since it'd been backstabbed. I got a better receptacle and back-wired it in. Soon I'll get some more Romex and properly pigtail the leads with a single line out to the receptacle.
Thank you for sharing the valuable insight you have.🌸
Thanks John! Great tips!
Excellent video! Saved me a couple hundred dollars! Thanks you so much!
I like to pigtail behind the outlet so the outlet it self is never Carrey’s pass through current. Great video.
That is good practice but is more time consuming. Builders are very cost sensitive so in many places I have seen the push in terminals used as it saves a lot of money. If I replace a receptacle in that situation if I don't pigtail the new one I use the side screw terminals as they are more reliable. Also he talks about using 20 amp receptacles on a 15 amp circuit what he really means is 15 amp receptacles rated to pass through 20 amps which is available on commercial grade receptacles not inexpensive residential grade ones. It would be an electrical code violation to use a receptacle which can accept a 20 amp plug on a 15 amp circuit as using a load which exceeds 15 amps will overload the wiring and trip the circuit breaker.
You've been a great help. Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey John, Thanks for the excellent video. You make it simple and understandable. Even for an old technician. I am 74 and never knew about a whiggy and about the weaknesses of the connections inside the outlets. Power is totally different than instrumentation that works off of milliamperes ! Glad you are taking time to educate some us so we don’t get frustrated and give up. Sometimes experience is the only answer. Do you have a video on voltmeters and ampmeters ? I will search and see. Thanks again. Bob//
ruclips.net/video/goPZ1UhrBWw/видео.html
Thank you Mr. Shook, your advise help me.
Thanks from a 40 year tile guy who hates dealing with electrical.
Great video. I have had trouble with my backyard plug not working, 3
bathrooms not working either. The middle bathroom upstairs has a GFI. I
replaced all the plugs and a new GFI in the middle bathroom. I used
the tester that you used and I am getting no lights on the meter, not
even the two yellow light. it wont let me push the reset button and the
reset button wont work on the tester. I checked all the other plugs
and they are dead too. I reset the breaker a few times and still dead.
Weird thing about the GFI is that the green light is on, doesnt that
mean its wired correct. Would the gree
NEC does not have a limit on number of receptacle in a residential application. Use of pigtails prevents the overloading failures mentioned at 4:08. Never ideal to use the device as a junction. The NEC requires pigtailed neutrals on multi-wire circuits.
Hi John. About a week ago my microwave started blinking on and off along with my oven hood. Then the microwave died. Figured the microwave was old and the cause. Bought a new one and soon it began blinking along with the oven hood. Then, I lost power to 5 outlets and a couple of switches. I bought an outlet tester and it reads open ground but I'm getting no power from them. I found one outlet with the back stab wires and one was burned. Figured that was the problem. I switched that outlet with another end of the line outlet just to check and STILL no power. The outlets all show open ground. Could the burnt outlet I took out and l
placed at the end of the line be causing the power loss to the other outlets? They were working fine since I moved in and no fuses have blown. I'm at a loss. Thank you kindly for all the people you help!! Thumbs up and new sub!!
Start By Checking the Neutral in the panel, ?. Then the Last Neutral in the outlet closest to, or just before the panel. JS.
@@JohnShook I did that and it was fine. Fuse was fine also. There was a 3 way switch in my kitchen and I banged around it as you suggested. The outlets are still dead but showing open hot instead of open ground now and the outside light is also dead now. The 3 way switch is very old with a white and black wire on the common screw. This switch feeds my kitchen light and single pole switch next to it to my outside light. I'm thinking it might also feed the power to bad circuit. I can see a red wire coupling and a white one in this switch box also. I'm going to rewire the switch and see if that's the problem. Thanks John!!
Thanks for the quick to the point lesson
Thank you! I fixed receptacles problem in my home office...
Can the top plug work poorly, weakly, though the bottom plug in the same receptacle seems to work?
just started watching your videos and love 'em. thanks. I am confused about where to buy a 'wiggie. I understand what it does, but cannot find anything on Amazon, or the big box store that seems to be the device you are talking about. what is it called exactly? thanks
Knopp K-60 Cat Number. 14460 Voltage Tester by Knopp, at Amazon, Or any tester that's 3000 to 4000 ohms per volt.
Also try electrical dealers like CED, Platt, or any electrical wholesale. should have it for under $ 50.00. JS
I have one receptacle in my kids play area that is not working. There are three others and they are all working. I’ve checked to see if the line has power and it doesn’t. I’ve changed the actual receptacle and that was not the problem either. I don’t want to hire an electrician because I know it will be super expensive. Any thoughts...?
Plug A light into the receptacle not working, bang on wall above each receptacle and switch in the room to see if the light flickers, if not open each receptacle and switch and check the wiring. JS
Hi can you help me out please? Thank you for the videos.
So about couple months now it all started from the master bedroom light and a wall outlet on one wall that stopped working. Then since then electrical around the house stopped working. For instances, the kitchen one wall with an outlet where we plugged the fridge and microwave suddenly stopped working. Then we used an extension cord on the other wall (left side) where sink is so it can reach the fridge…it worked but keeps going out and we thought maybe it’s cause the extension cord is heavy and may not plug in tight and we wiggled as we wiggle it will turn on and off so we taped it to hold in place…that outlet now is dead too. Then now I have a different extension cord with just 1 plug I use to plug the fridge in and it connected to the outlet on the right side of the sink where the disposal switch is (oh and the disposal doesn’t work but has power maybe that just need replacement), anyways and from there just last night the outlet on the wall facing the front door stopped working and an outlet on the left of that wall only 1 plug outlet works but can clearly see black things like it exploded so I unplug it now today after I saw how dark the damage is and same night last night the dining room and kitchen lights (both separate areas) stopped working, hallway bathroom light stopped working, my sons room light and outlets are not working.
I watched RUclips how to check using a multimeter and I have one that from harbor freight called cen tech a red one and I set it to ACV 750 and tested the dark one that looks blown up and top plug one comes out at 125 and bottom plug zero reading or no numbers come on and it doesn’t work when attempted to plug something in to test only top one works. Then as I went to test the wall outlet in the dining room I inserted the black lead probe on the left of plug and RIGHT when I inserted the RED lead probe in at first no reading so I thought maybe I didn’t put in far to where probe is not making contact so I push a little and the outlet SPARKED in my face and outlet is also black now with the right side of the hole looking so much bigger! Like it suppose to look like a parallel line but now it’s a circle. And the multimeter the red probe metal part is damage.
Do you think you can help me? I have reset all the gfi 1 main one that turns the other 2 on I guess cause if the main gfi isn’t on the other 2 will not reset at all. Other 2 gfi only lets me reset and actually clicks if I reset the main one that has the red and black button. I also checked the power panel switch box outside to see if any of those switch are in the middle and all are turn on but I did turn off and on all switches that said ;lighting, kitchen, washer and dryer, etc. still none of the lights work and outlet still not working.
We have home warranty and already requested service but taking too long. I’ve contacted the service company and left a message as they have not even contact me for an appointment.
John! I installed new ceiling fans in the bedroom that previously had not had any light fixtures wired? The circuit box was wired to the plug and the switch controlled one half of the plug. After wiring new fixture to the switch, i got done weird results and the fan's lights wouldn't come on. And the lamp plugged at the wall controlled the fan. So I replaced the plug and now the outlet has power but the ceiling fan does not! What did I do wrong? Should I have wired the fan to the outlet?
John
May I ask you plz
I plug into a wall outlet..it powers closet light..closet hard wired no switch..ideas?? Thanks
Thank you. This is a time saver.
Great Video..This Info Helped me fix my Problem ..keep up the good work👌
Hi, I have a question for you
I have electrical tester that indicates sockets wired correctly. I have 120v from black wire to ground
No power from black to neutral what my problem