Ferrari Mailing List: Re: Off Topic -- No Ferrari Content -- NFC

[Dave Craig (dave.craig]

It greatly depends on where you live, some places went copper and some
places stayed aluminum until much later.  I have seen both here in Oklahoma.
Heck, 1930s homes were usually knob and tube wiring.  If you have been into
the wiring and it looked like copper, I would start with a voltmeter at the
outlets, if this is a bust, then go straight to the breaker and check it out
there.

Yep, worked for an electrician while I was in college.  

Good luck,

Dave Craig



-----Original Message-----
From: LarryT [mailto:l02turner [at] comcast.net] 
Sent: Friday, March 09, 2007 11:36 AM
To: Dave Craig
Cc: 'The FerrariList'
Subject: Re: [Ferrari] Off Topic -- No Ferrari Content -- NFC

Thanks Dave -
    The great depth of knowledge that exists out there in Ferrari land is 
such a huge help!

As I mentioened in my 1st reply - the house was built in 1974 so it sounds 
like the wiring behind the panel will be the nest place to look - and 
Charles suggestion to call in a professional is something I'll definately 
do!  I respect 110V - had a electrician working on a problem a few years ago

in the kitchen - he worked the whole problem 'hot' which made me nervous. 
But he was ok.

I wonder when aluminum was no longer allowed?  I had always thought it was 
much longer ago (we had a home built in the 30s with alum wire IIRC).  The 
reason I ask is I have changed outlets and all the wires looked to be copper

but I'm no expert..

As far as the specific problem there a couple other things I should have 
mentioned -
The ceiling lights & fans are unaffected.
The MBR wall outlets are the only ones affected that I know of (I'll check 
other rooms).
House was built 4/74
No work done recently.
Home is 2 story, crawl space, w/attic.
Breaker Box is in garage.

Dave's comments made me wonder about something else - generally, are the 
wires run up the walls, to the fixtures or into the attic and down to the 
outlets?  I've alwayed worried about drilling into the wall/cutting out 
drywall and wonder where to avoid the wires.  I'm trying to picture the last

house I saw with electrical wires run and seems like holes are cut into the 
studs about 1/2 way up the wall - but I may be wrong.

Thanks again!  Very helpful!

Larry T (67 MGB, 74 911, 78 240D, 91 300D)
www.youroil.net for Oil Analysis and Weber Parts
Test Results http://members.rennlist.com/oil
PORSCHE POSTERS!  youroil.net
Weber Carb Info http://members.rennlist.com/webercarbs
Porsche Road Test http://members.rennlist.com/roadtest/
.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dave Craig" <dave.craig [at] sbcglobal.net>
To: "'LarryT'" <l02turner [at] comcast.net>
Cc: "'The FerrariList'" <ferrari [at] ferrarilist.com>
Sent: Friday, March 09, 2007 11:58 AM
Subject: RE: [Ferrari] Off Topic -- No Ferrari Content -- NFC


> Larry,
>
> Yes, it is a very common practice to daisy chain wall outlets.  And this
> would be a good place to start.  You can buy a cheap volt meter at Radio
> Shack ($10.00 or so) and even better is Harbor Freight ($1.99 honestly!).
> Measure the voltage at the wires that attach to the outlets and see if you
> are getting voltage (roughly 110 VAC) at the wires.  I agree with your 
> idea
> of each end and not the middle outlets.  And outlets in your bedroom 
> should
> not be GFI.
>
> However, there are other things that can cause this.  Bad breaker, loose
> connection to the wire at the breaker (this is very common in 1970s homes
> with aluminum wiring), miss-wired outlets (modern outlets have a small 
> piece
> of brass that acts as an overcurrent fuse), and a bad connection in the
> junction box in the attic.  The key will be to get a volt meter and start
> figuring out where in the chain you have voltage and where you don't. 
> This
> approach should lead you to the problem.  And be careful, 110VAC bites.
>
> Good luck,
>
> Dave Craig
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: LarryT [mailto:l02turner [at] comcast.net]
> Sent: Friday, March 09, 2007 10:23 AM
> To: Dave Craig
> Cc: The FerrariList
> Subject: [Ferrari] Off Topic -- No Ferrari Content -- NFC
>
> Howdy --
>    Sorry about the Off Topic question - but I know I can count on ya;ll,
> The wall oitlets in the Master Bedroom have lost all power.  Last evening,
> we were getting ready for bed and noticed the TV in our BR was turned off.
> Found out all the wall outlets (4) were depowered (if that's a word).  I
> checked the circuit breaker - turned it completely off then back on -
> without any change.  Checked the GFI in the 2 bathrooms and both are ok 
> and
> both outlets are providing power.
>
>    I can only think the wiring to the outlets is "daisy-chained" and the
> 1st in the link in the BR is bad - broken outlet, loose wire or some other
> problem with one outlet.  Without a wiring diagram I have no way of 
> knowing
> which is 1st in the chain - although some logic tells me it one of 2
> possibilities out of 4 total outlets - thinking the 2 "middle" outlets are
> unlikely to be the 1st in the chain.
>
>    Is it common practice to daisy chain the wiring to outlets?
>
>    Any ideas about what might have caused this?  The electrical devices -
> clocks, phones, lamps, etc. were all on when my wife went into the 
> bathroom
> to shower - when she got out, the TV was off and she assumed I had turned 
> it
>
> off.
>
>    Other than installing new outlets & I admit that's a long shot - I'm at
> a loss.  Wish I knew more about electrical
> stuff --
>
> TIA -
>
> Larry T (67 MGB, 74 911, 78 240D, 91 300D)
> www.youroil.net for Oil Analysis and Weber Parts
> Test Results http://members.rennlist.com/oil
> PORSCHE POSTERS!  youroil.net
> Weber Carb Info http://members.rennlist.com/webercarbs
> Porsche Road Test http://members.rennlist.com/roadtest/
> .
>
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