Electrical: Outlets Not working - no Tripped Breaker

[Andrew B.]

Can anybody recommend any trouble shooting steps that I can pursue, before I call an electrician?

All of a sudden, all the outlets in my master bedroom stopped work except for one plug in one of the outlets (two plugs per outlet).

I tried resetting all the breakers just to be sure, and that didn't fix anything.

I'm comfortable with DIY, but electric is something I usually leave to professionals. I'd be comfortable replacing an outlet if I had to or maybe testing with a multimeter, but anything else is getting a professional.

[Sai T.]

I do not do the electrical repairs except troubleshooting. Check the breakers some times they get faulty. If you are comfortable checking the breaker.

[George W.]

Any GFCI outlets (the ones with the reset button)? Maybe you have a gfci outlet that tripped and all the outlets that follow it in that circuit are tripped because it needs to be reset.

If it's not that and you can't figure it out easily then you should probably just call an electrician.  

[Sai T.]

Good suggestion 👍
Originally posted by @George W.:

Any GFCI outlets (the ones with the reset button)? Maybe you have a gfci outlet that tripped and all the outlets that follow it in that circuit are tripped because it needs to be reset.

If it's not that and you can't figure it out easily then you should probably just call an electrician.  

[Kyle J.]

Are there other outlets on the same breaker that are still working?  And is the outlet with the one plug that's still working on that same breaker as the outlets that are now out?  If so, are the outlets that are now out "downstream" from that outlet?  In other words, does it appear logical that this would be the order they would go: breaker > outlet with one working plug > outlets that are no longer working.  

If the outlets that are all out are on their own breaker/circuit, I'd start with double checking the breaker and/or GFCI.  However, if they are on the same breaker/circuit as other working outlets, then I usually start my trouble-shooting at the last working outlet in the line.  I've had wires come loose from outlets and also outlets go bad, which can/will cause all outlets after that point (i.e. "downstream") to not work.  Hence the reason I asked those questions about how/where those other outlets fell on the circuit. 

Hard to diagnose over the computer but hopefully that helps.

[Mike Reynolds]

Originally posted by @Andrew B.:

Can anybody recommend any trouble shooting steps that I can pursue, before I call an electrician?

All of a sudden, all the outlets in my master bedroom stopped work except for one plug in one of the outlets (two plugs per outlet).

I tried resetting all the breakers just to be sure, and that didn't fix anything.

I'm comfortable with DIY, but electric is something I usually leave to professionals. I'd be comfortable replacing an outlet if I had to or maybe testing with a multimeter, but anything else is getting a professional. 

Change the outlet that has one out and the rest may work fine. What happens sometimes is they will loop from one plug to another through the studs. Since you have an outlet that the top or bottom works then your breaker is likely fine. The homerun hot wire goes into the top (or bottom) of the plug and then another wired comes out the other side to head to the next plug. If 1/2 of that plug is out the rest of the outlets down from the one that is out are also out. 

Change that one plug first and get back with us. 

[Mike Reynolds]

https://www.bing.com/th?id=OIP...

Like this picture, if half the first plug goes out, so does the second. And third and fourth as so on.

[Bob H.]

Also consider the possibility that the receptacle that works halfway is supposed to be a split outlet, with one outlet controlled by a switch so you can turn on a lamp when walking into the room. It would be odd to have other receptacles downstream be wired to the switched side, but consider it. Maybe there is a switch you inadvertently turned off recently.

An intentionally split outlet is one reason to have the tabs described in @Mike Reynolds' picture to be split. I'm not a fan of the practice, but some electricians install split outlets upside down to make them easily identifiable.

[Don Meinke]

Also check for back stabbed connections in ANY outlet.  If they are stabbed check all others and install on screws only.  Back stabbing has a VERY high rate of failure.  You might find one with wire burned completely off.

Other thing to check is to make sure it is COPPER wire and not aluminum wire.  Alluminum is problematic as well.

[Andrew B.]

Thank you everyone for your help! I'm a little embarrassed to admit that it was just a light switch that kills the power. I guess the lesson here is to check ALL the simple options before you assume a serious problem.

[Mike Reynolds]

Originally posted by @Andrew B.:

Thank you everyone for your help! I'm a little embarrassed to admit that it was just a light switch that kills the power. I guess the lesson here is to check ALL the simple options before you assume a serious problem. 

That's good then. Easy cheap lesson. When I was a volunteer fire fighter rookie I was trying to gain entry to a steel door house. I pried and pried and it wouldn't open. Then the chief comes over and turns the handle and it was unlocked. 

[Todd Rasmussen]

Originally posted by @Andrew B.:

Thank you everyone for your help! I'm a little embarrassed to admit that it was just a light switch that kills the power. I guess the lesson here is to check ALL the simple options before you assume a serious problem.

If you switch the hots on the half plug, you'll have one half switched out let and the rest will have power constantly. Do a little research, make sure you kill the breaker before you start touching things and it's about as easy of a DIY electrical project as you'll get.