Half my house losing power, AC the key factor












6














For the past couple of weeks I have been losing power occasionally to half my house. My central AC goes out, half my kitchen, living room and my kids' rooms. There are no tripped breakers though.



I have noticed that when the AC finally turns back on, so does everything else. It will be that for a while, then all of a sudden everything goes off again. Once I get the AC running, everthing powers up again. My house is only 13 years old and have never had this problem.



What is the likely cause of the issue, and what can I do to fix it?










share|improve this question









New contributor




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  • 2




    Breakers aren't universal detector-all's. They only detect overcurrent (too much power being used, e.g.by a faulty appliance).
    – Harper
    10 hours ago






  • 1




    Is there an outside main breaker near the meter? Are the circuits that go dead all on one side of the electric panel?
    – Kris
    10 hours ago






  • 4




    Please turn off the breakers to your air conditioner, electric oven, clothes dryer, and electric heating if any of that is 240V; you can tell because the breakers are double-wide. This condition is dangerous for those appliances. Also, use extreme caution if you are inspecting the location where the power comes into your breaker box; something is very wrong between there and the pole. Hopefully the fault is in the transformer, but you don't know, and until you know, treat every system as though its safety systems are in an unknown state, because they are.
    – Eric Lippert
    8 hours ago








  • 1




    Also, minor usage issue: it is confusing to use "AC" to mean "air conditioning" when you are asking a question about alternating current. :-)
    – Eric Lippert
    8 hours ago
















6














For the past couple of weeks I have been losing power occasionally to half my house. My central AC goes out, half my kitchen, living room and my kids' rooms. There are no tripped breakers though.



I have noticed that when the AC finally turns back on, so does everything else. It will be that for a while, then all of a sudden everything goes off again. Once I get the AC running, everthing powers up again. My house is only 13 years old and have never had this problem.



What is the likely cause of the issue, and what can I do to fix it?










share|improve this question









New contributor




ALBERT YBARRA is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
















  • 2




    Breakers aren't universal detector-all's. They only detect overcurrent (too much power being used, e.g.by a faulty appliance).
    – Harper
    10 hours ago






  • 1




    Is there an outside main breaker near the meter? Are the circuits that go dead all on one side of the electric panel?
    – Kris
    10 hours ago






  • 4




    Please turn off the breakers to your air conditioner, electric oven, clothes dryer, and electric heating if any of that is 240V; you can tell because the breakers are double-wide. This condition is dangerous for those appliances. Also, use extreme caution if you are inspecting the location where the power comes into your breaker box; something is very wrong between there and the pole. Hopefully the fault is in the transformer, but you don't know, and until you know, treat every system as though its safety systems are in an unknown state, because they are.
    – Eric Lippert
    8 hours ago








  • 1




    Also, minor usage issue: it is confusing to use "AC" to mean "air conditioning" when you are asking a question about alternating current. :-)
    – Eric Lippert
    8 hours ago














6












6








6







For the past couple of weeks I have been losing power occasionally to half my house. My central AC goes out, half my kitchen, living room and my kids' rooms. There are no tripped breakers though.



I have noticed that when the AC finally turns back on, so does everything else. It will be that for a while, then all of a sudden everything goes off again. Once I get the AC running, everthing powers up again. My house is only 13 years old and have never had this problem.



What is the likely cause of the issue, and what can I do to fix it?










share|improve this question









New contributor




ALBERT YBARRA is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.











For the past couple of weeks I have been losing power occasionally to half my house. My central AC goes out, half my kitchen, living room and my kids' rooms. There are no tripped breakers though.



I have noticed that when the AC finally turns back on, so does everything else. It will be that for a while, then all of a sudden everything goes off again. Once I get the AC running, everthing powers up again. My house is only 13 years old and have never had this problem.



What is the likely cause of the issue, and what can I do to fix it?







electrical






share|improve this question









New contributor




ALBERT YBARRA is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.











share|improve this question









New contributor




ALBERT YBARRA is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited 18 mins ago









Nij

1054




1054






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asked 11 hours ago









ALBERT YBARRA

312




312




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New contributor





ALBERT YBARRA is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.






ALBERT YBARRA is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.








  • 2




    Breakers aren't universal detector-all's. They only detect overcurrent (too much power being used, e.g.by a faulty appliance).
    – Harper
    10 hours ago






  • 1




    Is there an outside main breaker near the meter? Are the circuits that go dead all on one side of the electric panel?
    – Kris
    10 hours ago






  • 4




    Please turn off the breakers to your air conditioner, electric oven, clothes dryer, and electric heating if any of that is 240V; you can tell because the breakers are double-wide. This condition is dangerous for those appliances. Also, use extreme caution if you are inspecting the location where the power comes into your breaker box; something is very wrong between there and the pole. Hopefully the fault is in the transformer, but you don't know, and until you know, treat every system as though its safety systems are in an unknown state, because they are.
    – Eric Lippert
    8 hours ago








  • 1




    Also, minor usage issue: it is confusing to use "AC" to mean "air conditioning" when you are asking a question about alternating current. :-)
    – Eric Lippert
    8 hours ago














  • 2




    Breakers aren't universal detector-all's. They only detect overcurrent (too much power being used, e.g.by a faulty appliance).
    – Harper
    10 hours ago






  • 1




    Is there an outside main breaker near the meter? Are the circuits that go dead all on one side of the electric panel?
    – Kris
    10 hours ago






  • 4




    Please turn off the breakers to your air conditioner, electric oven, clothes dryer, and electric heating if any of that is 240V; you can tell because the breakers are double-wide. This condition is dangerous for those appliances. Also, use extreme caution if you are inspecting the location where the power comes into your breaker box; something is very wrong between there and the pole. Hopefully the fault is in the transformer, but you don't know, and until you know, treat every system as though its safety systems are in an unknown state, because they are.
    – Eric Lippert
    8 hours ago








  • 1




    Also, minor usage issue: it is confusing to use "AC" to mean "air conditioning" when you are asking a question about alternating current. :-)
    – Eric Lippert
    8 hours ago








2




2




Breakers aren't universal detector-all's. They only detect overcurrent (too much power being used, e.g.by a faulty appliance).
– Harper
10 hours ago




Breakers aren't universal detector-all's. They only detect overcurrent (too much power being used, e.g.by a faulty appliance).
– Harper
10 hours ago




1




1




Is there an outside main breaker near the meter? Are the circuits that go dead all on one side of the electric panel?
– Kris
10 hours ago




Is there an outside main breaker near the meter? Are the circuits that go dead all on one side of the electric panel?
– Kris
10 hours ago




4




4




Please turn off the breakers to your air conditioner, electric oven, clothes dryer, and electric heating if any of that is 240V; you can tell because the breakers are double-wide. This condition is dangerous for those appliances. Also, use extreme caution if you are inspecting the location where the power comes into your breaker box; something is very wrong between there and the pole. Hopefully the fault is in the transformer, but you don't know, and until you know, treat every system as though its safety systems are in an unknown state, because they are.
– Eric Lippert
8 hours ago






Please turn off the breakers to your air conditioner, electric oven, clothes dryer, and electric heating if any of that is 240V; you can tell because the breakers are double-wide. This condition is dangerous for those appliances. Also, use extreme caution if you are inspecting the location where the power comes into your breaker box; something is very wrong between there and the pole. Hopefully the fault is in the transformer, but you don't know, and until you know, treat every system as though its safety systems are in an unknown state, because they are.
– Eric Lippert
8 hours ago






1




1




Also, minor usage issue: it is confusing to use "AC" to mean "air conditioning" when you are asking a question about alternating current. :-)
– Eric Lippert
8 hours ago




Also, minor usage issue: it is confusing to use "AC" to mean "air conditioning" when you are asking a question about alternating current. :-)
– Eric Lippert
8 hours ago










5 Answers
5






active

oldest

votes


















27














If you're in the US, my guess is that you're losing one leg of your incoming power somehow. Power comes into your home as 2 phase 240 volts - there are two 120V "legs" that are 180 degrees out of phase. Typically one leg goes to each side of the breaker panel. I bet if you trace the circuits that are down, they all go to the same half of the panel. When the air conditioning, which uses both legs, turns on, it bridges the gap and backfeeds power to the other half of your house.



Now, how you're losing a leg of your power is another question entirely. This is likely a utility problem and you should call them ASAP. The utility will check things out and if it is on their side of things then they will fix it for free. If they determine that the problem is in your panel, they will let you know and then you need to call an electrician for a repair. This is an unsafe condition and can cause all sorts of problems, so get it checked out ASAP.






share|improve this answer



















  • 1




    If you flip off all 240 V breakers and all the 120 V breakers that are trying to draw from that side (in most panels it's every-other breaker), it should be relatively safe.
    – Nick T
    9 hours ago










  • @NickT That doesn't make it safe, that only eliminates the possibility of everything that needs that leg running through the A/C. The leg is still broken, and now half your house doesn't work. You still have the problem of what caused the failure in the first place, and depending on what it is, that could be a serious fire- or electrical-hazard, just waiting to happen.
    – 202_accepted
    8 hours ago








  • 4




    @202_accepted: That is exactly right. The takeaway here should be we have no evidence that anything works correctly right now and that includes safety systems. The attitude that a system operating outside of its design parameters for unknown reasons can be made safe without understanding why it is operating incorrectly is how we lost two space shuttles, and the people running NASA are not idiots. Treat broken systems as broken until they are known to be fixed.
    – Eric Lippert
    8 hours ago






  • 4




    @EricLippert On top of that, as it sounds, half the house is currently running through the A/C, which means that the A/C is doing a whole lot of work outside it's safety-parameters, and that the breaker running the A/C is also potentially faulted. Best case: the line is failed from meter -> house, worst case: well...there's a whole lot in the worst-case.
    – 202_accepted
    8 hours ago










  • This happened to my parents' house- one of the two legs bringing power to the house had broken in a windstorm. Call the power company- they fix this.
    – Jamie M
    8 hours ago



















12














You are losing a hot from the pole



In North American {or multiphase European} service, When you lose all your 240V* loads and about half of your 120V** circuits, that means you have lost a leg of power. Here is how most North American panels are laid out, if your lost circuits fit the pattern, that confirms it.



That problem may be around the main breaker in your service panel. It may also be inside your meter pan. However it is most likely out at the electric pole or somewhere in between pole and meter. That is the power company's bailiwick and they fix that for free as part of the service.



You can get this diagnosed for free by calling the power company and reporting an outage. They will also treat it as an urgent matter.



Turn off your 240V* loads, this can damage them.



You don't see any bold headlines on this answer because it isn't another problem: same problem but with the neutral wire broken. In that case it would be a true emergency. Your 240V* loads would work, but your two 120V** loads would have either too-high or too-low voltage (the two voltages adding up to 240V* ***). The too-high voltage can melt appliances and start a fire. The advice would be the same, we'd just be screaming it.




* in Europe and Eurostyle service on 5 continents, this number is 400V. In NYC and parts of Central America this number is 208V.



** in Europe etc. this number is 230V.



*** in Europe or NYC, the voltages won't quite add up to the higher number, because of 3-phase weirdness. There, power is supposed to be a triangle with neutral in the middle. This failure causes it to float around.







share|improve this answer























  • diagnosed for free
    – Mazura
    1 hour ago



















1














I had a gopher chew his way through one leg of the incoming power to my house. AC, some kitchen appliances, and the well stopped working. All the other outlets worked in the house. Nasty gophers. Electrician dug it up and replaced the supply near the breaker box.

(The gopher didn't make it.)






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    0














    I had a similar problem at my 1st house. It turned our to be the ground level transformer feeding my house had a huge fire ant pile inside of it and the current was leaking to ground before it entered the house. Some days it was OK and other days it wasn't.






    share|improve this answer








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    • How did the problem get fixed?
      – Jay Elston
      3 hours ago



















    0














    I had a similar problem at my house on multiple occasions. Each time the problem turned out to be a bad outlet. The problem also coincided with a bad GFCI outlet (the ones with the button that pops out). The first and second time we fixed our own by replacing the outlets with the same type (two different outlets). I can't recommend this because electricity is dangerous. Please call an electrician. If you ignore this warning please do your due diligence in research and also turn off your main power. The third time really confused us and we had an electrician do it. Just FYI, we used a multi-meter to figure out which outlets had power and which did not.



    Random facts that I have seen:




    • Electricity can do weird things you don't expect

    • Ants sometimes nest in electrical components for some reason and mess stuff up

    • Animals like rats chew on wires for some reason and mess stuff up

    • Lightning storms can cause unseen damage from surges

    • Water can get to the strangest places and mess stuff up (sometimes from the AC)

    • Sometimes things weren't installed correctly and fail at random times





    share








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      5 Answers
      5






      active

      oldest

      votes








      5 Answers
      5






      active

      oldest

      votes









      active

      oldest

      votes






      active

      oldest

      votes









      27














      If you're in the US, my guess is that you're losing one leg of your incoming power somehow. Power comes into your home as 2 phase 240 volts - there are two 120V "legs" that are 180 degrees out of phase. Typically one leg goes to each side of the breaker panel. I bet if you trace the circuits that are down, they all go to the same half of the panel. When the air conditioning, which uses both legs, turns on, it bridges the gap and backfeeds power to the other half of your house.



      Now, how you're losing a leg of your power is another question entirely. This is likely a utility problem and you should call them ASAP. The utility will check things out and if it is on their side of things then they will fix it for free. If they determine that the problem is in your panel, they will let you know and then you need to call an electrician for a repair. This is an unsafe condition and can cause all sorts of problems, so get it checked out ASAP.






      share|improve this answer



















      • 1




        If you flip off all 240 V breakers and all the 120 V breakers that are trying to draw from that side (in most panels it's every-other breaker), it should be relatively safe.
        – Nick T
        9 hours ago










      • @NickT That doesn't make it safe, that only eliminates the possibility of everything that needs that leg running through the A/C. The leg is still broken, and now half your house doesn't work. You still have the problem of what caused the failure in the first place, and depending on what it is, that could be a serious fire- or electrical-hazard, just waiting to happen.
        – 202_accepted
        8 hours ago








      • 4




        @202_accepted: That is exactly right. The takeaway here should be we have no evidence that anything works correctly right now and that includes safety systems. The attitude that a system operating outside of its design parameters for unknown reasons can be made safe without understanding why it is operating incorrectly is how we lost two space shuttles, and the people running NASA are not idiots. Treat broken systems as broken until they are known to be fixed.
        – Eric Lippert
        8 hours ago






      • 4




        @EricLippert On top of that, as it sounds, half the house is currently running through the A/C, which means that the A/C is doing a whole lot of work outside it's safety-parameters, and that the breaker running the A/C is also potentially faulted. Best case: the line is failed from meter -> house, worst case: well...there's a whole lot in the worst-case.
        – 202_accepted
        8 hours ago










      • This happened to my parents' house- one of the two legs bringing power to the house had broken in a windstorm. Call the power company- they fix this.
        – Jamie M
        8 hours ago
















      27














      If you're in the US, my guess is that you're losing one leg of your incoming power somehow. Power comes into your home as 2 phase 240 volts - there are two 120V "legs" that are 180 degrees out of phase. Typically one leg goes to each side of the breaker panel. I bet if you trace the circuits that are down, they all go to the same half of the panel. When the air conditioning, which uses both legs, turns on, it bridges the gap and backfeeds power to the other half of your house.



      Now, how you're losing a leg of your power is another question entirely. This is likely a utility problem and you should call them ASAP. The utility will check things out and if it is on their side of things then they will fix it for free. If they determine that the problem is in your panel, they will let you know and then you need to call an electrician for a repair. This is an unsafe condition and can cause all sorts of problems, so get it checked out ASAP.






      share|improve this answer



















      • 1




        If you flip off all 240 V breakers and all the 120 V breakers that are trying to draw from that side (in most panels it's every-other breaker), it should be relatively safe.
        – Nick T
        9 hours ago










      • @NickT That doesn't make it safe, that only eliminates the possibility of everything that needs that leg running through the A/C. The leg is still broken, and now half your house doesn't work. You still have the problem of what caused the failure in the first place, and depending on what it is, that could be a serious fire- or electrical-hazard, just waiting to happen.
        – 202_accepted
        8 hours ago








      • 4




        @202_accepted: That is exactly right. The takeaway here should be we have no evidence that anything works correctly right now and that includes safety systems. The attitude that a system operating outside of its design parameters for unknown reasons can be made safe without understanding why it is operating incorrectly is how we lost two space shuttles, and the people running NASA are not idiots. Treat broken systems as broken until they are known to be fixed.
        – Eric Lippert
        8 hours ago






      • 4




        @EricLippert On top of that, as it sounds, half the house is currently running through the A/C, which means that the A/C is doing a whole lot of work outside it's safety-parameters, and that the breaker running the A/C is also potentially faulted. Best case: the line is failed from meter -> house, worst case: well...there's a whole lot in the worst-case.
        – 202_accepted
        8 hours ago










      • This happened to my parents' house- one of the two legs bringing power to the house had broken in a windstorm. Call the power company- they fix this.
        – Jamie M
        8 hours ago














      27












      27








      27






      If you're in the US, my guess is that you're losing one leg of your incoming power somehow. Power comes into your home as 2 phase 240 volts - there are two 120V "legs" that are 180 degrees out of phase. Typically one leg goes to each side of the breaker panel. I bet if you trace the circuits that are down, they all go to the same half of the panel. When the air conditioning, which uses both legs, turns on, it bridges the gap and backfeeds power to the other half of your house.



      Now, how you're losing a leg of your power is another question entirely. This is likely a utility problem and you should call them ASAP. The utility will check things out and if it is on their side of things then they will fix it for free. If they determine that the problem is in your panel, they will let you know and then you need to call an electrician for a repair. This is an unsafe condition and can cause all sorts of problems, so get it checked out ASAP.






      share|improve this answer














      If you're in the US, my guess is that you're losing one leg of your incoming power somehow. Power comes into your home as 2 phase 240 volts - there are two 120V "legs" that are 180 degrees out of phase. Typically one leg goes to each side of the breaker panel. I bet if you trace the circuits that are down, they all go to the same half of the panel. When the air conditioning, which uses both legs, turns on, it bridges the gap and backfeeds power to the other half of your house.



      Now, how you're losing a leg of your power is another question entirely. This is likely a utility problem and you should call them ASAP. The utility will check things out and if it is on their side of things then they will fix it for free. If they determine that the problem is in your panel, they will let you know and then you need to call an electrician for a repair. This is an unsafe condition and can cause all sorts of problems, so get it checked out ASAP.







      share|improve this answer














      share|improve this answer



      share|improve this answer








      edited 10 hours ago









      manassehkatz

      6,9131029




      6,9131029










      answered 10 hours ago









      CoAstroGeek

      1,2751715




      1,2751715








      • 1




        If you flip off all 240 V breakers and all the 120 V breakers that are trying to draw from that side (in most panels it's every-other breaker), it should be relatively safe.
        – Nick T
        9 hours ago










      • @NickT That doesn't make it safe, that only eliminates the possibility of everything that needs that leg running through the A/C. The leg is still broken, and now half your house doesn't work. You still have the problem of what caused the failure in the first place, and depending on what it is, that could be a serious fire- or electrical-hazard, just waiting to happen.
        – 202_accepted
        8 hours ago








      • 4




        @202_accepted: That is exactly right. The takeaway here should be we have no evidence that anything works correctly right now and that includes safety systems. The attitude that a system operating outside of its design parameters for unknown reasons can be made safe without understanding why it is operating incorrectly is how we lost two space shuttles, and the people running NASA are not idiots. Treat broken systems as broken until they are known to be fixed.
        – Eric Lippert
        8 hours ago






      • 4




        @EricLippert On top of that, as it sounds, half the house is currently running through the A/C, which means that the A/C is doing a whole lot of work outside it's safety-parameters, and that the breaker running the A/C is also potentially faulted. Best case: the line is failed from meter -> house, worst case: well...there's a whole lot in the worst-case.
        – 202_accepted
        8 hours ago










      • This happened to my parents' house- one of the two legs bringing power to the house had broken in a windstorm. Call the power company- they fix this.
        – Jamie M
        8 hours ago














      • 1




        If you flip off all 240 V breakers and all the 120 V breakers that are trying to draw from that side (in most panels it's every-other breaker), it should be relatively safe.
        – Nick T
        9 hours ago










      • @NickT That doesn't make it safe, that only eliminates the possibility of everything that needs that leg running through the A/C. The leg is still broken, and now half your house doesn't work. You still have the problem of what caused the failure in the first place, and depending on what it is, that could be a serious fire- or electrical-hazard, just waiting to happen.
        – 202_accepted
        8 hours ago








      • 4




        @202_accepted: That is exactly right. The takeaway here should be we have no evidence that anything works correctly right now and that includes safety systems. The attitude that a system operating outside of its design parameters for unknown reasons can be made safe without understanding why it is operating incorrectly is how we lost two space shuttles, and the people running NASA are not idiots. Treat broken systems as broken until they are known to be fixed.
        – Eric Lippert
        8 hours ago






      • 4




        @EricLippert On top of that, as it sounds, half the house is currently running through the A/C, which means that the A/C is doing a whole lot of work outside it's safety-parameters, and that the breaker running the A/C is also potentially faulted. Best case: the line is failed from meter -> house, worst case: well...there's a whole lot in the worst-case.
        – 202_accepted
        8 hours ago










      • This happened to my parents' house- one of the two legs bringing power to the house had broken in a windstorm. Call the power company- they fix this.
        – Jamie M
        8 hours ago








      1




      1




      If you flip off all 240 V breakers and all the 120 V breakers that are trying to draw from that side (in most panels it's every-other breaker), it should be relatively safe.
      – Nick T
      9 hours ago




      If you flip off all 240 V breakers and all the 120 V breakers that are trying to draw from that side (in most panels it's every-other breaker), it should be relatively safe.
      – Nick T
      9 hours ago












      @NickT That doesn't make it safe, that only eliminates the possibility of everything that needs that leg running through the A/C. The leg is still broken, and now half your house doesn't work. You still have the problem of what caused the failure in the first place, and depending on what it is, that could be a serious fire- or electrical-hazard, just waiting to happen.
      – 202_accepted
      8 hours ago






      @NickT That doesn't make it safe, that only eliminates the possibility of everything that needs that leg running through the A/C. The leg is still broken, and now half your house doesn't work. You still have the problem of what caused the failure in the first place, and depending on what it is, that could be a serious fire- or electrical-hazard, just waiting to happen.
      – 202_accepted
      8 hours ago






      4




      4




      @202_accepted: That is exactly right. The takeaway here should be we have no evidence that anything works correctly right now and that includes safety systems. The attitude that a system operating outside of its design parameters for unknown reasons can be made safe without understanding why it is operating incorrectly is how we lost two space shuttles, and the people running NASA are not idiots. Treat broken systems as broken until they are known to be fixed.
      – Eric Lippert
      8 hours ago




      @202_accepted: That is exactly right. The takeaway here should be we have no evidence that anything works correctly right now and that includes safety systems. The attitude that a system operating outside of its design parameters for unknown reasons can be made safe without understanding why it is operating incorrectly is how we lost two space shuttles, and the people running NASA are not idiots. Treat broken systems as broken until they are known to be fixed.
      – Eric Lippert
      8 hours ago




      4




      4




      @EricLippert On top of that, as it sounds, half the house is currently running through the A/C, which means that the A/C is doing a whole lot of work outside it's safety-parameters, and that the breaker running the A/C is also potentially faulted. Best case: the line is failed from meter -> house, worst case: well...there's a whole lot in the worst-case.
      – 202_accepted
      8 hours ago




      @EricLippert On top of that, as it sounds, half the house is currently running through the A/C, which means that the A/C is doing a whole lot of work outside it's safety-parameters, and that the breaker running the A/C is also potentially faulted. Best case: the line is failed from meter -> house, worst case: well...there's a whole lot in the worst-case.
      – 202_accepted
      8 hours ago












      This happened to my parents' house- one of the two legs bringing power to the house had broken in a windstorm. Call the power company- they fix this.
      – Jamie M
      8 hours ago




      This happened to my parents' house- one of the two legs bringing power to the house had broken in a windstorm. Call the power company- they fix this.
      – Jamie M
      8 hours ago













      12














      You are losing a hot from the pole



      In North American {or multiphase European} service, When you lose all your 240V* loads and about half of your 120V** circuits, that means you have lost a leg of power. Here is how most North American panels are laid out, if your lost circuits fit the pattern, that confirms it.



      That problem may be around the main breaker in your service panel. It may also be inside your meter pan. However it is most likely out at the electric pole or somewhere in between pole and meter. That is the power company's bailiwick and they fix that for free as part of the service.



      You can get this diagnosed for free by calling the power company and reporting an outage. They will also treat it as an urgent matter.



      Turn off your 240V* loads, this can damage them.



      You don't see any bold headlines on this answer because it isn't another problem: same problem but with the neutral wire broken. In that case it would be a true emergency. Your 240V* loads would work, but your two 120V** loads would have either too-high or too-low voltage (the two voltages adding up to 240V* ***). The too-high voltage can melt appliances and start a fire. The advice would be the same, we'd just be screaming it.




      * in Europe and Eurostyle service on 5 continents, this number is 400V. In NYC and parts of Central America this number is 208V.



      ** in Europe etc. this number is 230V.



      *** in Europe or NYC, the voltages won't quite add up to the higher number, because of 3-phase weirdness. There, power is supposed to be a triangle with neutral in the middle. This failure causes it to float around.







      share|improve this answer























      • diagnosed for free
        – Mazura
        1 hour ago
















      12














      You are losing a hot from the pole



      In North American {or multiphase European} service, When you lose all your 240V* loads and about half of your 120V** circuits, that means you have lost a leg of power. Here is how most North American panels are laid out, if your lost circuits fit the pattern, that confirms it.



      That problem may be around the main breaker in your service panel. It may also be inside your meter pan. However it is most likely out at the electric pole or somewhere in between pole and meter. That is the power company's bailiwick and they fix that for free as part of the service.



      You can get this diagnosed for free by calling the power company and reporting an outage. They will also treat it as an urgent matter.



      Turn off your 240V* loads, this can damage them.



      You don't see any bold headlines on this answer because it isn't another problem: same problem but with the neutral wire broken. In that case it would be a true emergency. Your 240V* loads would work, but your two 120V** loads would have either too-high or too-low voltage (the two voltages adding up to 240V* ***). The too-high voltage can melt appliances and start a fire. The advice would be the same, we'd just be screaming it.




      * in Europe and Eurostyle service on 5 continents, this number is 400V. In NYC and parts of Central America this number is 208V.



      ** in Europe etc. this number is 230V.



      *** in Europe or NYC, the voltages won't quite add up to the higher number, because of 3-phase weirdness. There, power is supposed to be a triangle with neutral in the middle. This failure causes it to float around.







      share|improve this answer























      • diagnosed for free
        – Mazura
        1 hour ago














      12












      12








      12






      You are losing a hot from the pole



      In North American {or multiphase European} service, When you lose all your 240V* loads and about half of your 120V** circuits, that means you have lost a leg of power. Here is how most North American panels are laid out, if your lost circuits fit the pattern, that confirms it.



      That problem may be around the main breaker in your service panel. It may also be inside your meter pan. However it is most likely out at the electric pole or somewhere in between pole and meter. That is the power company's bailiwick and they fix that for free as part of the service.



      You can get this diagnosed for free by calling the power company and reporting an outage. They will also treat it as an urgent matter.



      Turn off your 240V* loads, this can damage them.



      You don't see any bold headlines on this answer because it isn't another problem: same problem but with the neutral wire broken. In that case it would be a true emergency. Your 240V* loads would work, but your two 120V** loads would have either too-high or too-low voltage (the two voltages adding up to 240V* ***). The too-high voltage can melt appliances and start a fire. The advice would be the same, we'd just be screaming it.




      * in Europe and Eurostyle service on 5 continents, this number is 400V. In NYC and parts of Central America this number is 208V.



      ** in Europe etc. this number is 230V.



      *** in Europe or NYC, the voltages won't quite add up to the higher number, because of 3-phase weirdness. There, power is supposed to be a triangle with neutral in the middle. This failure causes it to float around.







      share|improve this answer














      You are losing a hot from the pole



      In North American {or multiphase European} service, When you lose all your 240V* loads and about half of your 120V** circuits, that means you have lost a leg of power. Here is how most North American panels are laid out, if your lost circuits fit the pattern, that confirms it.



      That problem may be around the main breaker in your service panel. It may also be inside your meter pan. However it is most likely out at the electric pole or somewhere in between pole and meter. That is the power company's bailiwick and they fix that for free as part of the service.



      You can get this diagnosed for free by calling the power company and reporting an outage. They will also treat it as an urgent matter.



      Turn off your 240V* loads, this can damage them.



      You don't see any bold headlines on this answer because it isn't another problem: same problem but with the neutral wire broken. In that case it would be a true emergency. Your 240V* loads would work, but your two 120V** loads would have either too-high or too-low voltage (the two voltages adding up to 240V* ***). The too-high voltage can melt appliances and start a fire. The advice would be the same, we'd just be screaming it.




      * in Europe and Eurostyle service on 5 continents, this number is 400V. In NYC and parts of Central America this number is 208V.



      ** in Europe etc. this number is 230V.



      *** in Europe or NYC, the voltages won't quite add up to the higher number, because of 3-phase weirdness. There, power is supposed to be a triangle with neutral in the middle. This failure causes it to float around.








      share|improve this answer














      share|improve this answer



      share|improve this answer








      edited 4 hours ago

























      answered 10 hours ago









      Harper

      65.4k342133




      65.4k342133












      • diagnosed for free
        – Mazura
        1 hour ago


















      • diagnosed for free
        – Mazura
        1 hour ago
















      diagnosed for free
      – Mazura
      1 hour ago




      diagnosed for free
      – Mazura
      1 hour ago











      1














      I had a gopher chew his way through one leg of the incoming power to my house. AC, some kitchen appliances, and the well stopped working. All the other outlets worked in the house. Nasty gophers. Electrician dug it up and replaced the supply near the breaker box.

      (The gopher didn't make it.)






      share|improve this answer








      New contributor




      John Shay is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.























        1














        I had a gopher chew his way through one leg of the incoming power to my house. AC, some kitchen appliances, and the well stopped working. All the other outlets worked in the house. Nasty gophers. Electrician dug it up and replaced the supply near the breaker box.

        (The gopher didn't make it.)






        share|improve this answer








        New contributor




        John Shay is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
        Check out our Code of Conduct.





















          1












          1








          1






          I had a gopher chew his way through one leg of the incoming power to my house. AC, some kitchen appliances, and the well stopped working. All the other outlets worked in the house. Nasty gophers. Electrician dug it up and replaced the supply near the breaker box.

          (The gopher didn't make it.)






          share|improve this answer








          New contributor




          John Shay is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
          Check out our Code of Conduct.









          I had a gopher chew his way through one leg of the incoming power to my house. AC, some kitchen appliances, and the well stopped working. All the other outlets worked in the house. Nasty gophers. Electrician dug it up and replaced the supply near the breaker box.

          (The gopher didn't make it.)







          share|improve this answer








          New contributor




          John Shay is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
          Check out our Code of Conduct.









          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer






          New contributor




          John Shay is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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          answered 9 hours ago









          John Shay

          111




          111




          New contributor




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          New contributor





          John Shay is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
          Check out our Code of Conduct.






          John Shay is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
          Check out our Code of Conduct.























              0














              I had a similar problem at my 1st house. It turned our to be the ground level transformer feeding my house had a huge fire ant pile inside of it and the current was leaking to ground before it entered the house. Some days it was OK and other days it wasn't.






              share|improve this answer








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              • How did the problem get fixed?
                – Jay Elston
                3 hours ago
















              0














              I had a similar problem at my 1st house. It turned our to be the ground level transformer feeding my house had a huge fire ant pile inside of it and the current was leaking to ground before it entered the house. Some days it was OK and other days it wasn't.






              share|improve this answer








              New contributor




              3dalliance is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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              • How did the problem get fixed?
                – Jay Elston
                3 hours ago














              0












              0








              0






              I had a similar problem at my 1st house. It turned our to be the ground level transformer feeding my house had a huge fire ant pile inside of it and the current was leaking to ground before it entered the house. Some days it was OK and other days it wasn't.






              share|improve this answer








              New contributor




              3dalliance is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
              Check out our Code of Conduct.









              I had a similar problem at my 1st house. It turned our to be the ground level transformer feeding my house had a huge fire ant pile inside of it and the current was leaking to ground before it entered the house. Some days it was OK and other days it wasn't.







              share|improve this answer








              New contributor




              3dalliance is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
              Check out our Code of Conduct.









              share|improve this answer



              share|improve this answer






              New contributor




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              answered 8 hours ago









              3dalliance

              1011




              1011




              New contributor




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              New contributor





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              3dalliance is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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              • How did the problem get fixed?
                – Jay Elston
                3 hours ago


















              • How did the problem get fixed?
                – Jay Elston
                3 hours ago
















              How did the problem get fixed?
              – Jay Elston
              3 hours ago




              How did the problem get fixed?
              – Jay Elston
              3 hours ago











              0














              I had a similar problem at my house on multiple occasions. Each time the problem turned out to be a bad outlet. The problem also coincided with a bad GFCI outlet (the ones with the button that pops out). The first and second time we fixed our own by replacing the outlets with the same type (two different outlets). I can't recommend this because electricity is dangerous. Please call an electrician. If you ignore this warning please do your due diligence in research and also turn off your main power. The third time really confused us and we had an electrician do it. Just FYI, we used a multi-meter to figure out which outlets had power and which did not.



              Random facts that I have seen:




              • Electricity can do weird things you don't expect

              • Ants sometimes nest in electrical components for some reason and mess stuff up

              • Animals like rats chew on wires for some reason and mess stuff up

              • Lightning storms can cause unseen damage from surges

              • Water can get to the strangest places and mess stuff up (sometimes from the AC)

              • Sometimes things weren't installed correctly and fail at random times





              share








              New contributor




              takintoolong is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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                0














                I had a similar problem at my house on multiple occasions. Each time the problem turned out to be a bad outlet. The problem also coincided with a bad GFCI outlet (the ones with the button that pops out). The first and second time we fixed our own by replacing the outlets with the same type (two different outlets). I can't recommend this because electricity is dangerous. Please call an electrician. If you ignore this warning please do your due diligence in research and also turn off your main power. The third time really confused us and we had an electrician do it. Just FYI, we used a multi-meter to figure out which outlets had power and which did not.



                Random facts that I have seen:




                • Electricity can do weird things you don't expect

                • Ants sometimes nest in electrical components for some reason and mess stuff up

                • Animals like rats chew on wires for some reason and mess stuff up

                • Lightning storms can cause unseen damage from surges

                • Water can get to the strangest places and mess stuff up (sometimes from the AC)

                • Sometimes things weren't installed correctly and fail at random times





                share








                New contributor




                takintoolong is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                Check out our Code of Conduct.





















                  0












                  0








                  0






                  I had a similar problem at my house on multiple occasions. Each time the problem turned out to be a bad outlet. The problem also coincided with a bad GFCI outlet (the ones with the button that pops out). The first and second time we fixed our own by replacing the outlets with the same type (two different outlets). I can't recommend this because electricity is dangerous. Please call an electrician. If you ignore this warning please do your due diligence in research and also turn off your main power. The third time really confused us and we had an electrician do it. Just FYI, we used a multi-meter to figure out which outlets had power and which did not.



                  Random facts that I have seen:




                  • Electricity can do weird things you don't expect

                  • Ants sometimes nest in electrical components for some reason and mess stuff up

                  • Animals like rats chew on wires for some reason and mess stuff up

                  • Lightning storms can cause unseen damage from surges

                  • Water can get to the strangest places and mess stuff up (sometimes from the AC)

                  • Sometimes things weren't installed correctly and fail at random times





                  share








                  New contributor




                  takintoolong is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                  Check out our Code of Conduct.









                  I had a similar problem at my house on multiple occasions. Each time the problem turned out to be a bad outlet. The problem also coincided with a bad GFCI outlet (the ones with the button that pops out). The first and second time we fixed our own by replacing the outlets with the same type (two different outlets). I can't recommend this because electricity is dangerous. Please call an electrician. If you ignore this warning please do your due diligence in research and also turn off your main power. The third time really confused us and we had an electrician do it. Just FYI, we used a multi-meter to figure out which outlets had power and which did not.



                  Random facts that I have seen:




                  • Electricity can do weird things you don't expect

                  • Ants sometimes nest in electrical components for some reason and mess stuff up

                  • Animals like rats chew on wires for some reason and mess stuff up

                  • Lightning storms can cause unseen damage from surges

                  • Water can get to the strangest places and mess stuff up (sometimes from the AC)

                  • Sometimes things weren't installed correctly and fail at random times






                  share








                  New contributor




                  takintoolong is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                  Check out our Code of Conduct.








                  share


                  share






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                  answered 8 mins ago









                  takintoolong

                  1011




                  1011




                  New contributor




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                  New contributor





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                  takintoolong is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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