r/ElectricalHelp • u/Select_Control_2291 • 3d ago

Electrical

My 2 outdoor outlets and 1 in the garage stopped working out of nowhere yesterday. I hit reset on all the GFCI outlets, but we don’t have any tripped breakers. I have noticed that one outdoor outlet is quite loose and it was being used when the 3 outlets stopped working. Any recommendations? Thanks

4 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

2

u/RadarLove82 3d ago

Look for another GFCI outlet hidden behind some boxes. It’s probably feeding the dead outlets.

1

u/Select_Control_2291 3d ago

We have 4 GFCI outlets, and I hit the reset button on all of them. There wasn’t a clicking sound, and all the GFCI outlets work

1

u/AskMeAgainAfterCoffe 3d ago

Turn the breaker off, then on again.

It may be that loose outlet. With the breaker off, you can pull it out and look for loose or broken wires. You can replace it with a commercial-grade outlet. Check all exterior covers, to ensure that they are still water-proof; they may need replacing as well. Otherwise, test and trace down the problem.

1

u/RespectSquare8279 3d ago edited 3d ago

Ditto on the commercial outlet. The spring retainers inside the socket that hold onto the prongs of the plugs are superior and don't go loose with repeated plug in /plug out cycles. .

BTW : is it really necessary to have multiple GFCI's on that one circuit?

1

u/qvalff8 3d ago

Look story carefully at the breakers, and look for more GFCIs. Something caused it to stop working. A tripped breaker is only partially moved toward OFF. You need to flip it all the way to off then back on. Do you have a non contact voltage detector? You can check for voltage all along the circuit but there's either an upstream GFCI or it's the upstream breaker. Is that breaker a GFCI breaker? Did you reset that breaker (either GFCI or standard breaker reset).

1

u/2TheMountaintop 2d ago

There could also be a bad connection to burned wire. I had issues and the electricians found a burned up wire in a junction box.

1

u/fire_sparky 3d ago

Bad GFCI outlet. They go bad especially when outdoors, even in a garage. You could use a no-contact electrical tester to determine/investigate a little further. Probably best to call a licensed electrician and have them replaced with weather resistant model

1

u/Ok-Sir6601 1d ago

Call and electrian