The outlet does not work, what should I do?

It is quite unpleasant to encounter a problem when suddenly the outlet is out of order. There are two main types of malfunctions, but there are much more variations, as well as ways to eliminate them.

These include:

• The tension completely disappeared;

• The outlet has two phases.

Let's see why all the outlets or one of them stopped working. But first, familiarize yourself with the design of the outlet.

What does the outlet consist of?

First you need to find out the device itself. First of all, you see the front panel fixed in a frame. They are screwed to the main part through 1, less often 2 screws. After removing the front part, we see the main part, which is fixed in the undergrowth using two bursting legs, and they are fixed with 1 screw each. When you tighten the screws, the legs straighten and lock, and when you loosen, the legs lower and you can remove the outlet from the wall.

If the single outlet you see in the center are two horizontally located holes for the plug, they lead to the conductive busbars. There may not be any holes, then the tire will immediately appear before you, as in the photo below.

The wire to the outlet is connected through the clamping screw to the terminal strip. Be careful there is tension on the screws, do not grasp the tip of the screwdriver when you unscrew them.

One outlet in the room does not work, and the rest is normal

You plugged in the appliance and it showed no signs of life. It is necessary to check for the presence of a phase, if there is only one phase and it means there are problems with the neutral wire, if there is no phase, check for the presence of zero - this can be done by calling the socket of the socket with zero to the same in the other socket, after making sure where the phase is on and where zero using voltage indicator (the indicator screwdriver is most common) or to the ground terminal, depending on the type of wiring and grounding in a particular room or installation.

If it turned out that there is only a phase or if there is no place with zero, then somewhere the contact disappeared due to oxides, soot or a wire burned out. First of all, you need to disassemble the socket, for this you need to unscrew 1 or 2 mounting screws to remove the front panel.

All operations must be carried out with a tool with dielectric handles, when the input circuit breaker or the machine of the outlet group is turned off.

Burnt wires from the outlet

Next, you will see the outlet itself, its conductive busbars and frame. To remove from the socket, you need to loosen the mounting screws, after which the mounting brackets will loosen. Further inspect the connection of the wires to the outlet. If they are charred, clean and reconnect. Inspect the terminal blocks to which they are connected. If they are not burnt in place, then they need to be cleaned to a shine with sandpaper or small files.

If the case near the terminal blocks is melted, it is better to replace the outlet. Sometimes a current can flow through the deposit, this will cause further problems.

To reconnect the wire, you need to unscrew the screw from the terminal block, insert the wire and tighten it. Be careful, the wire should be stripped exactly enough so that the exposed part is completely hidden in the terminal in order to avoid short circuits. Sometimes it may not work due to the fact that the place where the plug is inserted is covered with a layer of carbon or oxide, try to clean it.

All electrical connections and contact points must be well cleaned and shiny, then the contact will warm up less and will last longer.

There is no voltage in the outlet, but the wires are connected to it.

The voltage can reach the outlet, but disappear in it if the tires crack or burn out.To check if there is voltage on the cable, you do not need to disconnect it - just touch the caps of the fixing screws with the probes of the measuring device or indicator.

If the device shows “zero”, remove the socket and wires from it. Re-measure when you are sure that the cables are de-energized, and begin to search for a break or loss of contact.

Types of connecting sockets: loop or star

To deal with this malfunction, you need to know how the connections are made in your case. There are two types of connection:

1. The loop.

2. The star.

The cable is more common: the cable is connected to the first outlet and from it to the subsequent ones. The benefits are obvious: low copper consumption and less strobes. And the disadvantages are: if the cable burns out from one of the outlets, all connected after it also stop working.

In addition, when connecting a load of high power to the last of the outlets, the load falls on 1 cable, and the remaining outlets can no longer be loaded. This is equivalent to the situation when you have 1 outlet and a bunch of tee and extension cords are inserted into it.

Connecting outlets according to the star scheme is as follows: each of the outlets of the apartment is connected by a separate cable to the opening machine or junction box of the room.

Troubleshooting

Regardless of how you connect the outlets, you first need to find the nearest junction box and open it. Next, you need to inspect the compounds for burnouts, melting insulation.

If the sockets are connected by a loop, the situation is simplified. Distribution boxes are often glued with wallpaper or even worse - plastered or covered with drywall. Then you need to open the sockets in the whole room and check if the cables from them are burned out.

When you did not find any malfunctions during the inspection, the cable is damaged in the wall. Then the repair is much more complicated and you need to hollow the walls in search of the place of damage to the wires.

If the sockets are connected by a star, inspect the apartment electrical panel, the wire may have burned out from the terminal. The machine must be replaced, and the connection restored.

All outlets have stopped working

Repair in a situation when no outlet works in the room or in the whole apartment is similar. If the connection of the sockets is made by a loop, then start checking the connections in the socket. In this case, special attention should be paid to the first outlet in the circuit - all the others are powered from it. If there are no problems in the loop, inspect the junction box.

When connected by a star, the automatic machine of the outlet group was most likely knocked out or out of order. If the whole apartment is powered by one automatic machine - then look at the first distribution box after the shield - it should have a connection to the socket node.

Where are the two phases in the sockets and how to restore their work?

The answer is simple and short - a break in the neutral wire. The fact is that in an open circuit, even if the zero wire is broken, the end from the supply phase will be under potential. That is, both wires will be live.

Current flows only in a closed circuit. But the voltage at zero appears through the load, if you turn off all consumers (lamps, heaters, household appliances), the second phase in the outlet will disappear, and this will not help.

It is necessary to look for such a malfunction as close as possible to the beginning of the wiring - a meter or an electrical panel. If there is no problem in the apartment, look beyond. Check the connection in the access switchboard. When you restore zero everything will return to its place.

Conclusion

The main problem of the disappearance of voltage is a breakage or burning out of the cable, the restoration of this problem can take minutes, or maybe several days, at the cost of such restoration will be repair in the apartment, since you have to hammer the walls.

The main thing is to observe safety precautions and turn off the opening machine in an apartment or room.Do not work with wet hands, on damp floors and walls, if possible use an insulated tool. Despite the simplicity of operations, do not try to perform them if you did not have a relationship with electricity - this is very dangerous.