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I`m Batman
Sun Apr 22nd, 2012, 11:08 AM
So, here's the problem. My 2 kids/guess rooms upstairs share the same circuit I checked/reset the breaker outside and it's fine. One of the room has power and the other doesn't. What could be the issue? I've seen that room loose power and then it came back on without me doing anything. If this require a professional, I am ready to hire. :)

grim
Sun Apr 22nd, 2012, 11:26 AM
Paging Bueller.

longrider
Sun Apr 22nd, 2012, 11:37 AM
You most likely have a loose/broken wire in an outlet box. With the power coming and going in the other room it is probably just touching and when you plug/unplug something it moves just enough to change the state. This is certainly a potential hazard and needs to be looked at. What part of town are you in?

I`m Batman
Sun Apr 22nd, 2012, 12:17 PM
I'm in SE Aurora, around Tower and Hampden area.

Jmetz
Sun Apr 22nd, 2012, 12:21 PM
My brother is a master electrician and has his own company Carefree Electric. 303-227-3373

Filo
Sun Apr 22nd, 2012, 02:12 PM
You most likely have a loose/broken wire in an outlet box. With the power coming and going in the other room it is probably just touching and when you plug/unplug something it moves just enough to change the state. This is certainly a potential hazard and needs to be looked at. What part of town are you in?

Yeah, what he said. The power will come in and go from one outlet to the next to the next... You should be able to plug in a lamp or similar at each outlet moving around the room and find where the break is. One outlet will work, the next one won't. Maybe the room with no power has an outlet that works. Or the room with power has one that doesn't. It would be very rare, but not impossible, to have one half of the outlet work and one half not. After you find the last outlet with power, you (or someone qualified) open the box, find the break and fix it. While you are testing the good room, you can have someone in the bad room with another lamp plugged in. If there is an intermittent connection, it *may* make contact while you are plugging/unplugging and you will know right away which outlet has the problem. Note that the junction between the rooms may occur in the wall switch box too, depending on the electrician.

Another possibility (which I had in a 1967 house here in CO) is that there is a junction in the attic between rooms because the electrician screwed up and wired the house wrong. Then the break could be in there. Very rare.

Finally, it is possible but less likely that you broke the wire between the rooms by putting a nail into the wall. Usually you know this sort of thing right away. Reflect on when this happened and see if you can remember nailing/screwing something into the wall.

As whatshisname said, this can be hazardous so you should try to figure it out sooner rather than later. The hazard is that an intermittent connection can heat up and cause a fire. You can check the temperature of your outlets by laying a hand on them. If one is hot then you 1) probably found the culprit and 2) should move the fixing way up on your priority list.

I`m Batman
Sun Apr 22nd, 2012, 03:21 PM
Yeah, what he said. The power will come in and go from one outlet to the next to the next...

Thanks for the tip. I found the disconnect in room one and everything is up again. I didn't know that's how it works... now I do. Thanks again everyone!