Posted by Red on May 15, 2015, 6:53 am, in reply to "Strange Electrical Problem"
189.164.202.203
Kathy B., after thinking on your problem, a few ideas. First would be a loose hot wire at the breaker. Begin your check there at the breaker panel.
Second, your electrician needs to make sure that everything losing power is on the same breaker; even though it seems strange that only the outlet for the fridge would be on the same circuit as the ceiling fans. If you can isolate the problem to one circuit have the electrician start by replacing the breaker, then working out from the closest fixture checking each connection along the way. If you replace the breaker up-size it to the next larger size, ie: 15 amp up to 20 amp.
The way the problem comes and goes is why it sounds like a loose connection. (it can be either the hot lead or the neutral which is loose) However, the way they pull wires and make up connections follows no simple logic. The course the wire follows is not simply a straight line, but may follow the path of fixtures the original electrician decided to add to the circuit. For example, if all three ceiling fans are wired together, then he decided to add the fridge outlet, power for the fridge may come from your master bedroom side rather than a direct course from the breaker panel.
Finally, if the same electrician was used on your home that wired mine, don't expect him to remember how it was done. The process I watched was totally baffeling, seeming more by chance than by design, with some boxes containing 20 or more wires, some used but also some dead-heading when found to be surplus. Good luck. Rojo
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