Troubleshooting Common Household Problems
Outdoor or garage outlets aren’t working
One of the most common complaints we hear in the spring and fall around big rains is that an outdoor or garage outlet isn’t working. The most common culprit is a tripped GFCI, often found in the garage. What happens more often than not is that when outdoor outlets are installed they’re given a bead of caulk around the seal to make sure they stay watertight but over time in the Texas sun and heat the caulk starts to dry up and pull away from the house or the outlet. When the caulk starts to break down it allows moisture or rain to enter the junction box. When the GFCI senses moisture on the circuit it knows to trip to make sure any electrocution hazard doesn’t have the opportunity to hurt someone. The GFCI won’t reset until it no longer senses the moisture, so give the circuit a day or two to dry out and then try pushing the reset button. Once the circuit resets, give the outdoor outlets a fresh bead of caulk to keep them dry, we use a paintable, clear caulk.
Occasionally, in older homes, homes with a detached garage, or homes with no garage at all the GFCI outlet could be an outdoor outlet, it could be in a bathroom, or it could be in a laundry or utility room.
Pro Tip: Reset the GFCI a day or two after a big rain, then recaulk outdoor outlets.
My ________ trips the breaker every time it turns on
Breakers trip for a few reasons
- It’s overloaded
- It’s going bad
- The thing plugged in is going bad
There’s a few things we do to determine which of these is the cause. If the breaker trips but only when the item (washing machine, disposal, microwave, box fan, etc) is turned on it’s likely that the breaker is fine and it’s doing its’ job which is to make sure things are running as they’re supposed to and trip when that’s not the case. In this scenario, it could be that when the unit turns on it overloads the circuit with all the other things on the same circuit. If we know there are already many things on this circuit then this is a likely scenario and running a new circuit to something would help alleviate the strain. Try plugging the item into a different circuit and run it as normal, if the same thing happens on other circuits then the problem is the unit. If plugging in to a different circuit allows the item to run normally then it’s possible that the breaker is going bad. Another sign that the breaker is going bad is that it trips when the item isn’t running.
Pro Tip: Plug the thing on the tripping circuit into another circuit to see if the problem is the unit or the breaker.
Lights are flickering
If the lights are flickering in just one room there could be a couple of different reasons depending on the type of light. Fluorescent lights often flicker when a ballast starts to go bad. Recessed lights can also flicker when they’re starting to go out. If the lights are flickering across the whole house it’s a good idea to call your power provider and see if they can check their connections to make sure the problem isn’t on their end.
Pro Tip: If lights all over the house are flickering, call your power provider.
My lights dim when the AC kicks on
This could be a small surge going through the electrical when the AC tries to draw power on startup. It’s not uncommon to see this same issue when a vacuum plugged into the wall is running. Something to consider would be a whole home surge protector.
Loose outlets
Outlets can be loose for a couple of reasons. One reason is that the sheetrock is cut a little too wide for the junction box. A fix for this is to create a spacer using a small piece of wire wrapped around a screwdriver to create a spring about a sheetrock thickness to keep the outlet from being squishy. Another reason is that the junction box behind the outlet has broken away from it’s connection to the stud. Unless you’re feeling extra confident in your ability to replace a junction box it’s probably easier and faster to have an electrician complete this work.
Buzzing switch
If when you hear a switch buzzing, you can wiggle it to get the buzzing to stop then it’s possible that the buzzing is being caused by a loose wire. This is something you’ll want to address sooner than later. A loose wire can cause an arc which could cause a lot of damage. You’ll want to turn the breaker off to the switch (or outlet), take the plate off with a flathead screwdriver, and pull the switch or outlet out of the wall by using a phillips screwdriver and make sure each of the screws on the side are good and tight.
I smell a fishy or burning plastic smell
First, turn off the breaker to that circuit. The smell is coming from the sheathing around the wire burning or melting which means that the wire is getting too warm. It’s likely that the outlet or switch will need to be replaced and the wiring will need to be cut back to clean wire. If you’re comfortable taking on this repair be sure to let everything come back to room temperature before working on it.