Electrical problem in room(please help)

[Tmt97]

So I know you guys specialize in computers, but maybe someone can help me with this problem. I don't know who else to ask. I just noticed my devices weren't charging, and I checked all the plugs in my room and nothing is getting powered from any wall outlets. Oddly enough the ceiling fan and ceiling light still turns on just fine. I tried turning the circuit breaker off and back on, it had no effect. I know I flipped the right one because I have had to do so for the same room before. I also tried hitting reset on the gfcI switch in the nearby bathroom. The room having the problem doesn't have one, nor does any of the other nearby rooms.

Edit: I'm desperate, please. SOS

[ShiftHitTheFan]

Lose connection somewhere. Go buy one of these http://www.homedepot.com/p/Gardner-Bender-120-VAC-GFCI-Outlet-Tester-1-Clam-5-Clams-Master-GFI-3501/202867890 and test all your receptacles.

Your lights work because they are on a different circuit.

Next step would be to turn off all circuits that could be close to that area of the house, and pull out the receptacles out of the wall, checking for lose connections. I don't suggest you do this though, as you can easily kill yourself / burn down your house if you do anything wrong. Call an electrician, most it should cost is $150.

 

 

The best fix right now would be to get a good heavy duty extension cord to run your PC off of (less than 50FT,12AWG or larger wire), or move to another room.

[Bajantechnician]

Lose connection somewhere. Go buy one of these http://www.homedepot.com/p/Gardner-Bender-120-VAC-GFCI-Outlet-Tester-1-Clam-5-Clams-Master-GFI-3501/202867890 and test your receptacles. Your lights work because they are on a different circuit.

 

Next step would be to turn off all circuits that could be close to that area of the house, and pull out the receptacles out of the wall, checking for lose connections. I don't suggest you do this though, as you can easily kill yourself / burn down your house if you do anything wrong. Call an electrician, most it should cost is $150.

amen

[Tmt97]

You were right. Lights were on a different circuit. My parents called an electrician, but they are for some reason convinced that the new computer I built caused the problem... Might not be able to use it now, because they seem to think any technology that wasn't bought at a bad price at bestbuy and used without question or modification is some kind of black magic. -sigh-

[ShiftHitTheFan]

 

You were right. Lights were on a different circuit. My parents called an electrician, but they are for some reason convinced that the new computer I built caused the problem... Might not be able to use it now, because they seem to think any technology that wasn't bought at a bad price at bestbuy and used without question or modification is some kind of black magic. -sigh-

 

Most likely was your computer drawing a higher wattage than any other device you have plugged in. As the wires expand and contract due to heat, they slowly loosen anything that’s connected to them. Over time, this causes bad connections that could result in excess heat, quickening the process to the wires becoming lose. Your computer most likely just put the connections over the edge. Best case, screw on a receptacle or a marrette is lose. Worst case, one of your wires in your home has broken due to improper installation. Show this post to your parents

[Tmt97]

 

 

 

Most likely was your computer drawing a higher wattage than any other device you have plugged in. As the wires expand and contract due to heat, they slowly loosen anything that’s connected to them. Over time, this causes bad connections that could result in excess heat, quickening the process to the wires becoming lose. Your computer most likely just put the connections over the edge. Best case, screw on a receptacle or a marrette is lose. Worst case, one of your wires in your home has broken due to improper installation. Show this post to your parents

 

Is there a way to prevent that from happening in the future, or will we keep having to repair the wire?

[dalekphalm]

You were right. Lights were on a different circuit. My parents called an electrician, but they are for some reason convinced that the new computer I built caused the problem... Might not be able to use it now, because they seem to think any technology that wasn't bought at a bad price at bestbuy and used without question or modification is some kind of black magic. -sigh-

It was only caused by your PC if you have shit electrical wiring, and it needed to be fixed anyway...

 

A outlet can handle ~15 amps at ~120V (If you are in North America), which is ~1800 Watts. What I'm not sure about, is whether the entire circuit also has the 15a limit.

 

@ShiftHitTheFan would you happen to know? Electrical engineering was a long time ago for me, so I don't remember.

[ShiftHitTheFan]

It was only caused by your PC if you have shit electrical wiring, and it needed to be fixed anyway...

 

A outlet can handle ~15 amps at ~120V (If you are in North America), which is ~1800 Watts. What I'm not sure about, is whether the entire circuit also has the 15a limit.

 

@ShiftHitTheFan would you happen to know? Electrical engineering was a long time ago for me, so I don't remember.

It was only caused by your PC if you have shit electrical wiring, and it needed to be fixed anyway... THiS

 

 

They can withstand a 15 amp load, but you are only supposed to load a 15 amp circuit to 80% of it's max capacity (at least in our electrical code here in Ontario CAN). Roughly 1440 watts, rounded to 1500. 

 

Basically yes, 15 amps. Though that just the wall outlet. I believe we were taught that 60% of all electrical fires in residential are due to poor connections. 

 

 

Is there a way to prevent that from happening in the future, or will we keep having to repair the wire?

 

Tell your parents that your house has shitty wiring, and that is the only reason that it failed. It could have been a fuck ton worse. The shitty connections could have over heated, and burned down your house.

 

Oh yea, forgot to mention. The breaker for your room, TURN IT OFF, AND LEAVE IT OFF UNTIL THE ELECTRICIAN FIXES THE PROBLEM! Unless you have fixed it already, there is a MAJOR FIRE HAZARD!

If that lose connection wherever it is touches ground / neutral, there is a risk of fire due to the short.

[Tmt97]

 

It was only caused by your PC if you have shit electrical wiring, and it needed to be fixed anyway... THiS

 

 

They can withstand a 15 amp load, but you are only supposed to load a 15 amp circuit to 80% of it's max capacity (at least in our electrical code here in Ontario CAN). Roughly 1440 watts, rounded to 1500. 

 

Basically yes, 15 amps. Though that just the wall outlet. I believe we were taught that 60% of all electrical fires in residential are due to poor connections. 

 

 

 

Tell your parents that your house has shitty wiring, and that is the only reason that it failed. It could have been a fuck ton worse. The shitty connections could have over heated, and burned down your house.

 

Oh yea, forgot to mention. The breaker for your room, TURN IT OFF, AND LEAVE IT OFF UNTIL THE ELECTRICIAN FIXES THE PROBLEM! Unless you have fixed it already, there is a MAJOR FIRE HAZARD!

If that lose connection wherever it is touches ground / neutral, there is a risk of fire due to the short.

 

So if I show this to my parents I want to ask one more question. What if I had a lamp, an iphone charger, and a monitor in my room, along with the computer. Would that be too much? Or is it still due to bad wiring? My mother who is an electrical engineer(ironic I know) has told me it's too much to have in one room(while she has twice as many electronics in her own), and I don't know what else I am supposed to do. I have electronics that need electricity, and I dont know what else I can do but unplug it all and live in the stone age. Also, do you have any credentials, due to my mother being an electrical engineer it wont be easy for her to swallow her pride on this one...

[ShiftHitTheFan]

So if I show this to my parents I want to ask one more question. What if I had a lamp, an iphone charger, and a monitor in my room, along with the computer. Would that be too much? Or is it still due to bad wiring? My mother who is an electrical engineer(ironic I know) has told me it's too much to have in one room(while she has twice as many electronics in her own), and I don't know what else I am supposed to do. I have electronics that need electricity, and I dont know what else I can do but unplug it all and live in the stone age. Also, do you have any credentials, due to my mother being an electrical engineer it wont be easy for her to swallow her pride on this one...

I just finished my first semester of college. Studying to hopefully become an industrial electrician. Legally... If the total power drawn is over 1500 watts, I would have to discourage you form plugging all the things in. Also, legally, you assume all risk, and I am not at fault if anything happens.

 

In reality, my pc must draw more than yours, so maybe 550W max. Led monitor, 75W max. Lamp, if its incandescent, 60W, CLF 13W. Charger 15W max. Stereo, max 75W. Comes to 825W with room to spare. I wouldn't worry.   (once a certified electrician says the wiring is ok)

 

If your mom complains, tell her that her 1500W + hair dryer has a greater chance to burn down the house. Turn it on high for 5min, and feel how hot the cord / plug gets afterwards.

[Tmt97]

I just finished my first semester of college. Studying to hopefully become an industrial electrician. Legally... If the total power drawn is over 1500 watts, I would have to discourage you form plugging all the things in. Also, legally, you assume all risk, and I am not at fault if anything happens.

 

In reality, my pc must draw more than yours, so maybe 550W max. Led monitor, 75W max. Lamp, if its incandescent, 60W, CLF 13W. Charger 15W max. Stereo, max 75W. Comes to 825W with room to spare. I wouldn't worry.   (once a certified electrician says the wiring is ok)

 

If your mom complains, tell her that her 1500W + hair dryer has a greater chance to burn down the house. Turn it on high for 5min, and feel how hot the cord / plug gets afterwards.

Thanks so much! I really needed someone to back me up on this!

[boarder2k7]

Most likely was your computer drawing a higher wattage than any other device you have plugged in. As the wires expand and contract due to heat, they slowly loosen anything that’s connected to them. Over time, this causes bad connections that could result in excess heat, quickening the process to the wires becoming lose. Your computer most likely just put the connections over the edge. Best case, screw on a receptacle or a marrette is lose. Worst case, one of your wires in your home has broken due to improper installation. Show this post to your parents

Your wires damn well better not be getting hot. Wire expansion hasn't been an issue since we dropped aluminum conductors (and those are okay if properly terminated). A 14 gauge wire that we use as spec for a 15 amp circuit is capable of more than 15 amps before it gets hot (it's good for 30 amps in open air [chassis wiring] scenarios).

The breaker will trip before the 14/2 in the walls gets warm.

The reasons extension cords and things get warm near the ends is because they get bent all the time and have broken strands internally, increasing the resistance and generating heat.

To the suggestion someone made about using a 12 gauge extension cord, that's fine but is very overkill. Any standard grounded house type extension cord will run all but the most insane computers with ease. A computer at 1 kw is still only pulling 8.3 amps out of the wall...

[ShiftHitTheFan]

Your wires damn well better not be getting hot. Wire expansion hasn't been an issue since we dropped aluminum conductors (and those are okay if properly terminated). A 14 gauge wire that we use as spec for a 15 amp circuit is capable of more than 15 amps before it gets hot (it's good for 30 amps in open air [chassis wiring] scenarios).

The breaker will trip before the 14/2 in the walls gets warm.

The reasons extension cords and things get warm near the ends is because they get bent all the time and have broken strands internally, increasing the resistance and generating heat.

To the suggestion someone made about using a 12 gauge extension cord, that's fine but is very overkill. Any standard grounded house type extension cord will run all but the most insane computers with ease. A computer at 1 kw is still only pulling 8.3 amps out of the wall...

I said that about the wire gauge because its overkill. I have no clue what he might try to power on a single cord. If he puts his whole room on there, there is a chance to overload the cord.

Dud to the fact that his room was overloaded by a simple computer, Im not going to say how good his house is. I also stated what is with code for current draw here. 14/2 on 120v us max 15 amps. Could it take more? Shure, but that's not to code here.

About the building wire heating up. They do, and I have actually had a demo in class. We used an flir, and added a 1600W load on 14/2 romex cable for half an hour. You could definitely see the heat on the actual wires. Not hot enough to melt anything, but warmer than room temp.

Plus, how do you know that he does not have aluminum wiring? I have no clue how old his house is and neither do you.

Also, copper expansion under heat is a thing.

Dont read this in a rude tone. It's more neutral.

[refinedskillz]

Should be fine unless your PC has a 15000 watt PSU.

[Tmt97]

I said that about the wire gauge because its overkill. I have no clue what he might try to power on a single cord. If he puts his whole room on there, there is a chance to overload the cord.

Dud to the fact that his room was overloaded by a simple computer, Im not going to say how good his house is. I also stated what is with code for current draw here. 14/2 on 120v us max 15 amps. Could it take more? Shure, but that's not to code here.

About the building wire heating up. They do, and I have actually had a demo in class. We used an flir, and added a 1600W load on 14/2 romex cable for half an hour. You could definitely see the heat on the actual wires. Not hot enough to melt anything, but warmer than room temp.

Plus, how do you know that he does not have aluminum wiring? I have no clue how old his house is and neither do you.

Also, copper expansion under heat is a thing.

Dont read this in a rude tone. It's more neutral.

Its a brand new house, couple of years old. Thats the saddest part.

[IAMSWIFT1]

Should be fine unless your PC has a 15000 watt PSU.

So No AMD Builds?

[Tmt97]

So No AMD Builds?

But mine is AMD...

[IAMSWIFT1]

But mine is AMD...

.............../S

[Tmt97]

@ShiftHitTheFan
New development, power is back on in my room. The electrician hasn't been here yet, and no one has done anything. Not sure how that happened...

[Cory_plays_games]

Loose connection or just reset the breaker