Electrical troubleshooting question

[DwayneB2021]

I have a 110 circuit that is open between a wall outlet and the breaker. Breaker does not trip, but outlet is dead so to me this says it is an open circuit somewhere in that wire. Initially thought it was the breaker, but replaced it with no joy. This wire run is pretty much inaccessible, buried above HVAC in a basement ceiling it would be very difficult to remove it (but not impossible).

Can I disconnect this at the breaker, and at the wall outlet, and leave the dead wire in the basement ceiling? Then I would route a new #14/2 romex from breaker to the outlet. Didn't know if leaving a dead wire is a problem, I guess I could wire nut it and mark it at both ends.

Anyway just throwing it out there in case someone has been here before.

 

[herm0016]

As long as you pull it out of the boxes, I think you are fine, or at least make it short enough nobody can reconnect it.

 

[gasman1075]

I have a 110 circuit that is open between a wall outlet and the breaker. Breaker does not trip, but outlet is dead so to me this says it is an open circuit somewhere in that wire. Initially thought it was the breaker, but replaced it with no joy. This wire run is pretty much inaccessible, buried above HVAC in a basement ceiling it would be very difficult to remove it (but not impossible).

Can I disconnect this at the breaker, and at the wall outlet, and leave the dead wire in the basement ceiling? Then I would route a new #14/2 romex from breaker to the outlet. Didn't know if leaving a dead wire is a problem, I guess I could wire nut it and mark it at both ends.

Anyway just throwing it out there in case someone has been here before.

Have you pulled the outlet from the wall ? To see if it is broken ? I just replaced every outlet in my 30 year old house because of 1 broken duplex arcing in a plastic box in the wall.

 

[coldsteelva]

Have you run a voltage or continuity test? It could just be a dead old receptacle.

 

[Roadworthy]

In addition to a possible defective receptacle (I've run into them, too) If there's another wire or fixture between that outlet and the panel the problem could be the interim outlet. Look at your outlet. If it's the type where wires push into it to make the connection the contacts may be "tired". They get that way over time. Put your wires under the screws then tighten the screws. No screws? That's a really cheap outlet. Trash it on principle. Note - if you have aluminum wire as was used in some homes in the seventies that's a fire hazard by itself.

 

[i7win7]

Have you run a voltage or continuity test? It could just be a dead old receptacle.

or controlled by another switch in house?

 

[workinonit]

My recommendation is to hire someone that has experience with this. I would put my money on some other device or that receptacle being the culprit over the wire. And BTW, if you are installing a 20 amp receptacle the new wire pull will need to be 12 AWG.

 

[BCinVA]

I have a 110 circuit that is open between a wall outlet and the breaker. Breaker does not trip, but outlet is dead so to me this says it is an open circuit somewhere in that wire. Initially thought it was the breaker, but replaced it with no joy. This wire run is pretty much inaccessible, buried above HVAC in a basement ceiling it would be very difficult to remove it (but not impossible).

Can I disconnect this at the breaker, and at the wall outlet, and leave the dead wire in the basement ceiling? Then I would route a new #14/2 romex from breaker to the outlet. Didn't know if leaving a dead wire is a problem, I guess I could wire nut it and mark it at both ends.

Anyway just throwing it out there in case someone has been here before.

It is highly unlikely that a wire will be open without something damaging it. I would be absolutely sure there is not a problem at either end first, either at the receptacle or the breaker. Once I had a dead outlet. I had previously worked on my main panel a couple of weeks before. I checked the breaker with a meter, and had good power at the connection on the breaker but very low volts at the receptacle. Changed receptacle and still same problem. There were no devices between the receptacle and the breaker. After quite a while trying to solve this mystery, I decided to check at the breaker one more time. When I had reinserted the hot wire to the breaker when I was working in there, I had inadvertently inserted the wire in the breaker just far enough that the terminal screw in the breaker was coming down partially on the insulation on the wire and not the stripped part. I was getting just enough connection to get about 60 volts. I had almost convinced myself something was wrong with the wire. Unless you have some sort of rub, or vibration situation severe enough to have cut the wire in two, I can't imagine it being the wire itself. You can check the continuity of the wire with a meter and determine if it is open. Good luck, and let us know the answer to the mystery.

 

[fishdrivel]

My recommendation is to hire someone that has experience with this. I would put my money on some other device or that receptacle being the culprit over the wire. And BTW, if you are installing a 20 amp receptacle the new wire pull will need to be 12 AWG.

Bingo!

 

[ThunderChop]

Is the receptacle on the load side of an GFCI somewhere in the circuit? If that GFCI is tripped, then an receptacle on the load side may not function.