Do not hesitate to contact 5 Star Electricians El Porto if you are looking for the most comprehensive outlet repair service that perfectly meets your needs. You can always rest assured that the company can provide you with the most reliable solution that will bring back the comfort of your home in no time.
Most homeowners have no understanding of what lies behind an outlet. As a result, when a plug stops working, homeowners typically struggle to identify the problem. Most households have damaged outlets on a regular basis. Most defective outlets, fortunately, may be fixed without the assistance of a professional. The electrical pros at 5 Star Electricians EL Porto are here to help!
Outdoor electrical outlets may fail for a variety of reasons. The most typical problem is that a GFCI outlet outdoors has tripped and has to be reset, or the main breaker has tripped. Additionally, here are some other reasons why your outdoor outlets have stopped working:
- Tripped Circuit Breaker
Circuit breakers control the flow of electricity to each room in your home. When too much electrical current travels through the circuits, the breaker will ‘trip,’ or cut off, to protect the circuits from overheating and causing damage.
- Blown Fuse
A blown fuse is most commonly caused by anything using too much power from the circuit. This is usually caused by utilizing too many lights or plug-in equipment at the same time. A multiple outlet adapter inserted into a socket is the most common cause of this type of problem.
- Tripped GFCI Outlet
GFCIs are intended to protect people from bodily injury caused by electrical failures that might allow electricity to pass through you to the ground. When a GFCI breaker trips, it instantly disconnects the current flowing down an unexpected ground line, even if the quantity of current is insignificant enough to trip a standard circuit breaker. If the GFCI outlet continues to trip, you may be overloading the circuit with too many appliances or have malfunctioning equipment.
- Burned Out Outlets
When outlets are overloaded with appliances, loaded power strips, and so on, the demand exceeds what the electrical wiring was meant to handle. When this happens, the wire becomes hot and may burn or melt anything in touch with it, including the plastic outlet.
- Loose Connecting Wires
The usage of plugs and sockets over time can deteriorate the connection between the pins of the plug and the contacts of the socket (commonly known as power points). This might result in a loose connection, which can cause electrical arcing and perhaps a fire.
- Faulty Outlets
Malfunctioning electrical outlets, old wiring, out-of-date appliances, or faulty receptacles and switches can all cause a fire. When homeowners forgo doing basic maintenance and arranging safety checks with a professional electrician, the danger of an accident increases.
Though it is unusual, outlets may really fail. If you’ve tried everything else, you might only need to replace the outlet. Turn off the breaker if you want to replace it yourself. Electricity is dangerous, so if you are unsure about examining a damaged outlet on your own, contact a licensed specialist.
Possible Ways of Solving Your Malfunctioning Outdoor Outlet
If your outside outlet has stopped working, use the information below to diagnose and address the problem:
Check Your Tripped GFCI Outlet
First and foremost, your home’s age may be a factor. If you have a modern house, all of the exterior outlets should be GFCI, and you can simply reset the tripped outlet by pushing the little RESET button on the outlet itself.
If you have an older home, the outdoor outlets are most likely not GFCI, and the GFCI outlet that has tripped is situated somewhere in your home. You must look for it since it might be in the garage, basement, behind your workbench, beneath the water heater, in the kitchen, or even the bathroom.
Once you have found the GFCI outlet that has tripped, hit the RESET button to restore power to any other outlets that have gone dark. Now go check the exterior outlets; they should all be operational.
Reset the Tripped GFCI Outlet
If all of the exterior electrical outlets have stopped working, check to see if any of them are GFCI and have been tripped. All outdoor electrical outlets in newer homes include GFCI outlets. Check to determine if any of your outside GFCI outlets have tripped. If you detect a tripped one, hit the RESET button to restore power to the outlet.
You may have more exterior GFCI outlets than you think, including one near the AC condenser, one at the side of your property near the main breaker box, one near the back patio, one near the front door, and others you may not use very often. If any of these are triggered, use the RESET button to restore power.
Check the Main Breaker Box
Whether none of the outside outlets have tripped, nor have any of the inside GFCI outlets that are in line with the outside outlets, check the main breaker box to determine if one of the breakers has tripped. Examine the breaker box carefully since it might be difficult to detect if a breaker has tripped. If you see one breaker that does not appear to be entirely in the ON position, shift it from OFF to ON. If the breakers were correctly identified by the electricians, there might be labeling in the breaker box that says “outdoor outlets.” Once you’ve located and restored the tripped breaker, you should have power to all exterior outlets.
If you’ve reset all GFCI outlets and checked the circuit box for a tripped main breaker but still don’t have power to the outlets, there might be a problem with one of them. Allow an expert to examine the problem and troubleshoot it from here. If you are confident in your abilities, proceed to test the outlet with a meter to determine whether a specific outlet has failed.
Contact Your Trusted Electricians
If you did everything just to fix your faulty outdoor outlet on your own, it’s time to ask for some help from your trusted electrician near you. Licensed professionals have, for sure, the tools and equipment that are necessary to restore your faulty outlet. Also, they can help you fix the issue in a timely manner since they are highly trained to do a variety of electrical repairs, which includes an outlet repair service.
If you want to know more tips about how to fix simple electrical problems, you may check out our blogs. On the other hand, should you need any professional help, you may contact us here right away.