Vent, Valve & Volt
Outlet not working, and you're not sure why

This one needs a licensed pro

Likely cause: a worn outlet or a loose wire

No breaker, no GFCI and no switch explains it. The outlet or a connection behind it has likely failed, which is a job for a licensed electrician.

Why this happens

This Old House lists a worn outlet and loose or frayed wires among the common causes of a dead outlet, and a power surge can also damage one. Family Handyman notes that a wire can work loose at an outlet without ever tripping the breaker, and that fixing it requires removing the outlet.

What to do right now

  1. Stop using the dead outlet and anything that shares its box.
  2. If you have a plug-in outlet tester, plug it into the dead outlet. Testers like the Klein RT210 show open ground, reversed polarity, open hot, open neutral and hot/ground reversed. Note what the lights say for the electrician.
  3. If you have a non-contact voltage tester, check it on an outlet you know is live first, then hold the tip to each slot of the dead outlet, then check the live outlet again. Fluke says to test on a known live source before and after.
  4. Know the limits: Family Handyman notes these testers can miss voltage and usually will not detect a neutral, so a quiet tester is not proof the outlet is safe.
  5. Call a licensed electrician. Do not take the cover plate off or pull the outlet out of the wall.

When to stop. Any warmth, scorch marks, burning smell, sparks or crackling: turn that breaker off and call now.

What to tell the licensed electrician

  • Which outlets are dead and which nearby outlets and lights still work.
  • That no breaker was tripped, every GFCI you found was reset, and no wall switch controls it.
  • What the plug-in tester lights showed, if you used one.
  • Whether it died after a storm, an outage or a power surge, or after something was plugged in.
  • The age of the house, and whether you have ever seen AL or Aluminum printed on cable jackets.

Build the full list: what to tell the licensed electrician.

Start this troubleshooter over

References (every fact above comes from one of these pages)
  1. This Old House: Outlet stopped working
  2. Family Handyman: What to do if an outlet isn't working and it's not the circuit breaker
  3. Klein Tools RT210 receptacle tester data sheet (PDF)
  4. Family Handyman: How to use cheap electrical testers
  5. Fluke: Non-contact voltage detector basics
  6. CPSC Publication 516: aluminum wiring (PDF)

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