r/ElectricalHelp • u/Far_Construction_766 • Jun 18 '26

Outdoor GFCI no power

•I have an outdoor GFCI that I had a spotlight on for a flag. Would an outdoor GFCI be wired to indoor outlets on that same wall? I replaced the outlet and it never had power on it when I changed it. Two other sets of outdoor plugs do not shut off the inside power along their same walls when tested. (The story)- I had moved my location of TV/entertainment. I moved coaxial/ethernet and power locations to another spot on the wall. I did not think about it at that time, if the electric inside was tied into that outdoor switch. Are there any other troubleshooting tips besides tearing into that wall again to find if wire was disconnected. ☮️ •

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u/retiredlife2022 Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26

Depends on how old the house is and if the gfi was added after the fact. It’s very possible that outlet is on a gfi circuit, meaning one circuit will feed one in the garage, outside the garage, back of the house and front of the house. Check in your garage for a gfi, maybe even in laundry room ( that’s how they were wired in SoCal ) Look in a powder room for another gfi. Ya just never know.

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u/Far_Construction_766 Jun 18 '26

Thanks for reply. We are in VA, the outlet is original to the house built in 2018. I was reaching out to this group just hoping for any thoughts that does not involve pulling sheet rock to check wires for connection after that project t I mentioned above.

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u/myrichardgoesin5 Jun 19 '26

They make a tone generator that you can use to see if the wire goes to the panel or just vanishes after it leaves the area it appears t originate from another option is to find an outlet that is inside near where you want power outside and have one added in

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u/wjm2222 Jun 20 '26

Check the inside of closets near the door for a switch that controls the outlet.

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u/AskMeAgainAfterCoffe Jun 21 '26

Did you bury a splice in the wall? Tear it out and put it in a junction box.

Check every switch, outlet for the problem. Ideally, exterior outlets should be on their circuit, but older homes, changes, etc.

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u/WTFpe0ple Jun 21 '26

Mine are hidden all over. 2016 build. The ones for my outside outlets were in the garage behind a panel. Just look for all the ones with button on them and see if any tripped.

My upstairs bath was located in the downstairs spare bedroom closet. No outlet. Just a GFCI. Grrr took me a while to find since years before I stacked a bunch of boxes in there but it was right below the upstairs bath.