Electrical outlets that don’t work can cause a lot of problems. When you troubleshooting your outlets, you should be able to know whether you need to replace them or if a quick fix will do.
Keep in mind during the troubleshooting, if the problem is larger than you expected, it’s best to call a professional electrician to come out and take a look. Do not try to fix the problem if you’re unsure what you’re doing. You may complicate the issue and cause more problems.
There is a lot of reason that an outlet stops working. Tripped breakers, blown fuses, or faulty receptacles can all cause outlets to just not work. Once you figure out what is going on, you can either attempt to fix the issue or call a licensed electrician to assist with the problem.
3 Outlet Troubleshooting Tips
1. Check your electrical panel first. Make sure that no circuit breakers in your panel have tripped causing the power to that outlet to stop. If you look in your panel box and see any breakers in the off position, try turning them back on to see if that fixes the outlet.
If you have an older home, you might still have a fuse box. If you see any blown fuses, be sure to replace them and check the other again. This could be a larger issue which you might want to run past a professional electrician.
2. Check to make sure your receptacles are still up to par. When you plug a device into an outlet it should sit snug and stay in place. If you’re able to move the plug around easily, your outlets could be worn out. It’s time to replace the outlets with new ones.
3. Try out different devices in the outlet to make sure the outlet is the problem and not the appliance. It could be that the device you are trying to plug in has died or the cord is not working. Switch out the devices to see if that’s the issue.
The best way to figure out what’s going on with your outlets not working is to call a professional electrician who has the tools to troubleshoot the outlets quickly and efficiently. A knowledgeable electrician can get to the root of the problem very quickly, saving you time and money.
Elcon Electric has a team of knowledgeable and professional electricians who are here to troubleshoot any issues you may be having. We have been servicing the South Florida area for over 25 years. Please call us if you are having problems.