Need rec on a (1) Washing machine repairman and (2) electrician.

[Obey]

Hey guys-

I have a washing machine that just started leaking as it fills, and I have an outlet in my bathroom that I have diligently attempted to repair without success. Anyone have any recs as to who I can call (and pay) to have this stuff fixed?

Thanks-

J

 

[Obey]

No replies? I should have specified I am looking for someone in the NOLA area, and I still have a busted washer

Any help is appreciated.

 

[jimdana1942]

Describe your outlet problem more, just what is happening with it.

 

[Obey]

The GFCI outlet in the master bathroom, without any obvious precipitating incident, stopped working a few weeks ago. Because this is the primary hair dryer outlet, I am reminded by my SO that this outlet is blown at least once to twice a day. I'm impressed with my own mental fortitude that I have gotten through at least 3 weeks without fixing it.

Because a visual inspection didn't indicate any problems and because I got a no-read on my multimeter, I tried to arc the hot and white lines. It left an impressive scar on my screwdriver, and made me realize that my DMM must be busted (I verified this after checking a few other outlets around the house - let's just say I am glad that I didn't touch the wires after I turned the fuse back on to read the voltage).

I figure it must be the outlet. I buy a new GFCI outlet for $20 (!) at Home Depot and install it, even cutting and stripping new wire just because. I turn the fuse back on and...nothing. I haven't tried to arc the line or read voltage since I did it the first time - I nearly **** my pants when, expecting nothing to happen, the line popped with a puff of smoke and blew a fuse, so I'm not about to do that again, but I am assuming that there is power to the hot line.

Anyways, I'm officially stumped and about to return the new outlet. Any thoughts as to what the issue could be?

BTW, this outlet is NOT connected to any switch in the house, at least to my knowledge.

 

[XDguy]

Did you hook up the line side of the outlet to the hot coming in? There is a line and a load hook up, the load feeds other outlets. If a gfi is not hooked up right it wont work. Where are you located, I will be on the south shore saturday.

 

[Obey]

Did you hook up the line side of the outlet to the hot coming in? There is a line and a load hook up, the load feeds other outlets. If a gfi is not hooked up right it wont work. Where are you located, I will be on the south shore saturday.

Yeah, I made sure it was properly hooked up. I am in the Garden District. I will gladly pay you if you can fix this thing.

 

[my-rifle]

For any service tech, go to http://www.gnoinfo.com/?. This site has a section where consumers give recommendations for service people. I got the recommendation for my A/C service, and though they charged me $8K, I got an all-new 16 SER A/C replacing my entire old system - including ducts. The personnel were totally customer oriented, and I will go there again for electrical work when we're ready to do that.

 

[yamatitan]

Yeah, I made sure it was properly hooked up. I am in the Garden District. I will gladly pay you if you can fix this thing.

Is the outlet tripping or just not working at all? Do you have continuity between the hot and the ground? How about the neutral and ground? How about between the Hot and Neutral? How many wires are in the box one set? two sets? 3 sets? Try hooking all of them to the line side and see if it works then. If it does you may have a short somewhere down the line.

 

[jimdana1942]

The GFCI outlet in the master bathroom, without any obvious precipitating incident, stopped working a few weeks ago. Because this is the primary hair dryer outlet, I am reminded by my SO that this outlet is blown at least once to twice a day. I'm impressed with my own mental fortitude that I have gotten through at least 3 weeks without fixing it.

Because a visual inspection didn't indicate any problems and because I got a no-read on my multimeter, I tried to arc the hot and white lines. It left an impressive scar on my screwdriver, and made me realize that my DMM must be busted (I verified this after checking a few other outlets around the house - let's just say I am glad that I didn't touch the wires after I turned the fuse back on to read the voltage).

I figure it must be the outlet. I buy a new GFCI outlet for $20 (!) at Home Depot and install it, even cutting and stripping new wire just because. I turn the fuse back on and...nothing. I haven't tried to arc the line or read voltage since I did it the first time - I nearly **** my pants when, expecting nothing to happen, the line popped with a puff of smoke and blew a fuse, so I'm not about to do that again, but I am assuming that there is power to the hot line.

Anyways, I'm officially stumped and about to return the new outlet. Any thoughts as to what the issue could be?

BTW, this outlet is NOT connected to any switch in the house, at least to my knowledge.

Two years ago I had an outlet in my bathroom that we ran a small elec. heater from. The outlet quit working but once in a while it would work. Finally, I checked other outlets in BR adjoining bath and found they didn't work. Tried breaker, etc. Then, I took the wall plate off each outlet and checked wiring, all okay until I got to outlet in the BR that was opposite the bath outlet. It was partly melted and the wires were black and insulation on wires was melted about 2 inches back. I had tied into that outlet when 30 years ago I installed the outlet in the bath. I cleaned up the wiring, replaced the outlet and everything works good now. We just no longer use it for a heater anymore. .

 

[Yrdawg]

volts are our friend amps are bad

volts good amps bad

LED = little electric dealey

don't touch the shiney shi*

 

[dantheman]

Is the outlet tripping or just not working at all? Do you have continuity between the hot and the ground? How about the neutral and ground? How about between the Hot and Neutral? How many wires are in the box one set? two sets? 3 sets? Try hooking all of them to the line side and see if it works then. If it does you may have a short somewhere down the line.

That is a scary post .

 

[yamatitan]

That is a scary post .

Whats scary about it?

I know in some cases listed above the breaker would be tripping. but not if the neutral and the ground are touching which would cause the GFI to trip and not the breaker unless it was on a arc fault.

 

[dantheman]

Telling him to connect all of the " sets " of wires to the line side of the receptacle ?

That can be easily misunderstood by a novice . Instead of testing his meter on a known good source , he " arced " the wires together to see if they were hot . No way in hell would I encourage him to perform any more troubleshooting on his own .

 

[yamatitan]

Telling him to connect all of the " sets " of wires to the line side of the receptacle ?

That can be easily misunderstood by a novice . Instead of testing his meter on a known good source , he " arced " the wires together to see if they were hot . No way in hell would I encourage him to perform any more troubleshooting on his own .

I guess but its really not that big of a deal all I was trying to determine was if the problem was down the line in the circuit or coming from the panel. Hes already put in a whole new receptacle it isnt anymore dangerous then that or like you said arcing the wires with a screw driver. lol Most likely the worst thats going to happen is hes going to trip the ground fault or the breaker. Alot of times when we have the problem of a GFI tripping is the line and load side are mixed or there is a ground touching a neutral on the load side.

 

[O_R_B_1]

E-mail inbound.

 

[Obey]

Thanks for the help, and even though that was kind of a d.ick post, dan, I know you meant well. In response, I resolved to hire a professional prior to making the original post here (the description of the issue thereafter was a copy-paste of post I made on another forum when I tried to fix the issue myself). I really don't have the time or skill to address this issue. A few guys have contacted me off-board to resolve both issues, so I'll keep you all posted.

 

[jimdana1942]

Thanks for the help, and even though that was kind of a d.ick post, dan, I know you meant well. In response, I resolved to hire a professional prior to making the original post here (the description of the issue thereafter was a copy-paste of post I made on another forum when I tried to fix the issue myself). I really don't have the time or skill to address this issue. A few guys have contacted me off-board to resolve both issues, so I'll keep you all posted.

Smart move.

 

[dantheman]

Wasn't trying to be a **** . But , you weren't showing good common sense by shorting fires together to see if they're hot . ( especially when you have a meter handy ) I just had my doubts about your troubleshooting methods and figured it was time for you to call in a pro before you hurt yourself .

 

[Obey]

Wasn't trying to be a **** . But , you weren't showing good common sense by shorting fires together to see if they're hot . ( especially when you have a meter handy ) I just had my doubts about your troubleshooting methods and figured it was time for you to call in a pro before you hurt yourself .

No big deal, like I said, I know you meant well. While I am reluctant to spend any time explaining myself, being that the DMM did not work on any good connection, I just wanted to determine if there was power running to that outlet or not.

Also, I point to the title of the thread and the original post - as stated, I'm done screwing with it, so I wanted a rec, not a fix. I appreciate your 'figuring' that it was time for me to call in a pro, but again, that was a resolution made prior to the origin of this thread. I don't want the above to be interpreted as a negative response to you, but someone advising me to do what I have done already kind of makes me look , so I am merely clarifying.

 

[dantheman]

Well , you WERE getting troubleshooting tips from others , that's why I posted . But , what the hell , I'll be the villain here .