Most homeowners experience an outlet or two that is not working when they go to plug something in it. Whether if it is a charger, appliance, vacuum, or any other electrical device, you need the outlet readily available for your needs. When your outlet works fine one time, and then later it doesn’t give any power, you may wonder what happened. Today, we at Peterkin Electric would like to offer a few reasons your outlet goes bad.

Circuit Breaker Tripped

Because you tripped your circuit breaker, a common reason why an outlet isn’t working in your home. It will stop electricity from flowing to the outlets on its circuit when a circuit breaker is overloaded, which happens when too much electricity is in use. To prevent a dangerous overload of the system, this is a safety measure doing its job. For any tripped breakers, check your circuit breaker. This is likely your problem if there are any. Don’t stop there, but you can restore electricity to a dead outlet by flipping the breakers in the opposite direction. Avoid using too many of them at once, turn off or unplug any devices or appliances on that circuit and to avoid a problem in the future.

Faulty GFCI Outlet

These are Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) outlets if you have outlets in your home with “Test” or “Retest” buttons on them. When a leak of electrical current occurs, these outlets are designed to automatically shut off. If you press the “Test” button and the “Retest” button doesn’t pop out, you can tell if there’s a problem with a GFCI outlet. You should call an electrician for repairs in this instance.

Bad Electrical Wiring

Especially if you’re in an older home or one that hasn’t been updated in a while, sometimes your home’s wiring is to blame. Especially if you’re in an older home or one that hasn’t been updated in a while sometimes your home’s wiring is to blame. Resulting in a loss of electrical power to an outlet, wiring can loosen or split over time.

Electrical Wiring & More in Laguna Woods, Santa Ana, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach, Aliso Viejo, Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Irvine, Lake Forest & Orange County, California

Contact a professional electrician for rewiring services as soon as possible if you suspect there’s bad wiring in your home. The number one reason why homes burn down, aging or degraded wiring can heat up and spark an electrical fire. Whether you are having problems with a worn outlet, or other electrical needs, call in the professionals of Peterkin Electric and let us assist you!