This is a shocking development.

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A man ain't a man until he's been zapped by 110. It's better than coffee.

Was the breaker tripped, or did he just reset it because it's an easy thing to do if something stops working?

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If we nominate Trump we will get destroyed & we'll deserve it.- L Graham
I’m going to enforce all laws concerning the protection of classified information. No one will be above the law.- DJT 2016
MAY THEY ROT IN HELL. AGAIN, MERRY CHRISTMAS!- DJT 12/25/23

yea, the breaker didn't trip. I just thought i'd try resetting it .

Oh man. Yeah don't take this the wrong way but call in a pro.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Sounds more likely that you have a wire loosened up in a wire nut- I would pull the switch out from the wall and check those first, since all the lights went out. Then, see if you can get to the wires in the likely first light fixture in the string. It could be any of the connections of the black or white wires, depending on how they were connected.

I find it easier to troubleshoot this kind of problem with the power on, but if that makes you uncomfortable, best to call a pro.

While it is against code to have any wiring connections not accessible behind drywall, that does not mean it is not possible. Some recessed ceiling cans, usually for new construction rather than remodel, make it extremely difficult to get to the wiring without tearing stuff apart.

Get rid of your gas stove.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

And get a tankless water heater.

Steak dinner boom!

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Did you get the lights back on yet? I saw the thread a few days ago but since my ipad and phone will still not allow me to sign in I couldn't post anything until today.

Your problem is probably going to be found in a location that has been altered or tampered with most recently. If you have a no contact tester which is like 10-15 dollars and the size of a marker you could determine if its the neutral or hot pretty quickly.

How old is your house and what style of wiring do you have (romex, pipe, BX). I can probably narrow it down for you but sometimes those neutrals can be a bitch and a half when they get opened up somewhere. I had a house with 2 bedrooms out and ended up finding the open neutral half way across the house in a closet fixture. If you have a pipe or BX house its almost guaranteed to be in 1 of 2 locations. If its romex it could be anywhere along the line.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

they went out completely a total of 3-4x over the course of maybe a week (of course im gone a lot so maybe it happened more), but come back on after a minute or two. It's not tripping the circuit though. I also verified its not just 1 circuit. Because it's taking out the fridge which is on a different one. I had my OG electrician over just a few hours ago, he opened the box and said a lot of the connections were loose so he tightened everything, said to call him if it happens again but the next step is to just start checking every connection. It's pipe not romex. Now, this all seemed to start when I went to change the 4 wall receptacles in my small bedroom. 1 of the 4 was showing open ground with the outlet tester thing. There was a ground wire there, but looked kinda corroded so figured maybe it got loose or wasn't making a good connection. I tried to unscrew it and reattach it and i caused a bit of a spark so i got spooked
But they all work now and check ok with the tester
The only other thing that was altered/tampered with recently was back in September last year some drywall people hung drywall on the ceiling, so they removed and reinstalled the light, I suppose it's possible they fucked something, but that was 4 months ago

Are they LED bulbs/recessed lights? If so, are they on a dimmer? If yes to both, its possible the LEDs you are using are not compatible with the dimmer you are using or are not dimmable period.

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yes it's on a dimmer . But the bulbs have been in there for a long ass time and this just started 2-3 weeks ago so im gonna rule that one out. If the 2 most recent changes were the new wall receptacles and the ceiling light being disconnected/reconnected, i'm guessing it has to do with 1 of the 2. Either I fucked something up or the drywall people did. Probably me.

Hopefully he tightened everything in the panel. I would have to guess that your drywall guys caused the problem. In a house with pipe they usually feed into a light fixture first and then branch out to the rest of the room. They also liked to run 2 circuits with a shared neutral. That would explain the fridge going out as well. If it happens again quick throw that tester in the fridge outlet. It will probably read open neutral. Then have your guy take that light fixture down and make sure you have good connections. If someone did a crap job of splicing it doesn't take much to get the wires to start shifting around to the point where they may not be making contact. Just unscrewing the wire nut to take the fixture down will do it. If you guys do get that far into it make sure you turn the circuit off and also the associated circuit that is sharing the neutral. Getting hit by a hot wire is just a little tickle. Getting hit by an open neutral is a swift kick in the balls. You also don't expect it coming from the white wire and you aren't as careful around it and tend to hold onto it longer if you do get hit.

As far as your outlet/ground issue, you should never have a spark of any kind associated with the ground wire. If your house is conduit then the ground would just be a green ground tail screwed into the back of the box and connected to the outlet. If you opened up a wire nut and got a spark that is a probably a neutral and not a ground. Is this an older home or is it just in pipe because you have weird rules like DuPage county does about mandating conduit?

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

You should have tried hitting it with your purse.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Yes, a purse. I carry a purse !

answer to the question was the main breaker. Replaced it and no issues whatsoever since


on to a new issue. Got a new dishwasher. Old one was hardwired. This one has a plug. I looked and Google tells me various things. Some say removed the plug and connect it that way/mfg might have a conversion kit, some say install the outlet, some say if you install the outlet it could be considered "inaccessible" if it's behind the dishwasher and not to code...what you say ?

Installed a Ring doorbell a month or so ago and then all of the sudden it said that it wasn't getting enough power. Long story short I had to replace the transformer in the basement. After a little bit of trial and error it ended up working out ok. First electrical project for me.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Go tankless

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If it was me, I'd cut the plug off the wire, strip the wires, and wire nut them to the hardwired connection for the old dishwasher.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Turn it off then turn it on again.

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ok got a bigger problem now, pulled out the old dishwasher and the side toward the sink is severely damaged, where it's connected at the top and bottom came loose so its waving in the wind right now. I'm open to the permanent fix of new cabinet/countertop but i need some way to ghetto rig it for now

What’s waving in the wind?

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I dunno but it recommended that when your dishwasher quits working, you kick her.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Typically you would put a 6 foot appliance cord on the dishwasher and follow the water/drain lines into the sink cabinet whether you can fit through the existing hole or drill a new one. Put your outlet in the sink cabinet and now you are code compliant.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

nah screw that shit i'm hard wiring it

next issue

need to remove a screw that is seemingly encased in concrete
i'm replacing a ceiling light
it's pretty standard, the metal base thing is held in by 2 screws. Remove the first one
Second one just will not come out. Tried WD40. Tried an impact screwdriver.

I told the drywall person not to put it back up since I was getting a new fixture, but they did anyways. The original layer of drywall was painted + popcorn ceiling, so i have a feeling that's where its getting hung up since it's not like drywall is some inpenetratable material

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002L ... URU8&psc=1

is it worth trying something like that ? I tried a regular pliers and couldn't turn it

No. Use vice grips.

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the world will always the world. your entire existence is defined by your response.

I think Vice Grips should be on the Mt. Rushmore tool hall of fame...guessing that hammer and screwdriver already got a lock on it though


but they are amazing