Electrical help - urgent

I am experiencing an electrical issue at my house and need some serious help. I went to run the dryer 220v, and it just didn't want to go, thought it died. While later, watching tv, all power goes out... Uh oh, go out to the garage where the main panel is, lights in garage are working. That's when I realize it's a big uh oh. There is a 100 amp breaker that feeds the house in the main panel, it was tripped, reset it, it trips again, repeat a few more times, finally stays on. Still no dryer. Now, the well is not working, also 220v. Start fussing with the breakers in the sub panel in the house. I noticed if I shut the heater breaker off, it also shuts the lights to part of my house off, although they are on a separate breaker, big uh oh. Can someone explain what is going on, and what I need to do to fix the situation. I would really like some water, oh and it is supposed to be in the 39's tonight, so some heat would be nice too! If I had to guess, I would think it is a bad breaker, but electricity and I don't get along to well.
 
You may have lost one of the legs from the pole transformer. You should be able to meter 220 volts across the two "hot" legs and 120 volts from each leg to the center bar (neutral) in the fuse box. You're most likely going to need an electrician or electric company service call. The 100 amp breaker may be failing but usually they will stay tripped under load if faulty. Be careful with this as your appliances can be at risk from low or high voltage. If the ground leg to the pole transformer opens it's very possible to receive 220 volts on all of the 120 volt receptacles. You need to get this checked out asap.
 
Sounds like you've lost one leg of the incoming power. It could also be the main breaker.

Really need a tester to find out what's going on.

Is the main built into the panel or is it a back fed breaker? Either way, look it and the bus bars where it connects to the panel over for evidence of burning, overheating, hot wire smell.

If all looks good the problem could also be outside where the meter plugs into the meter base, or even further out to the transformer.

Still, a tester will tell the story. Turn all the breakers off to stop the feed back before testing. The feed back is why the lights go off with the heat breaker, the lights are burning through the heat elements, fed back from the one good leg.
 
Oddly, I plugged in my 220v table saw in the garage and turned it on, and it run just great, as that was my first thought, that I dropped a leg. So I think the issue is after the garage.
 
Something is open somewhere. If the pole feeds your garage then there will be 220 (2 hot legs and neutral/ground) jumped from the first breaker box to the one you are having issues with. The 100 amp breaker will be single throw dual pole - one for each hot leg. It is possible for a breaker to fail on just on pole. If so they will usually arc a little. Does that breaker smell hot?
 
Almost bet one of the input leg wires if the breaker box is loose. Common over time for heat to loosen them up. Go in and tighten up every where your input wires come in. Be sure you turn of the power at the pole before doing so
 
Open up the panels and start checking across the 2 legs for 220v.

Checking each leg to ground could be reading feed back.
 
From breaker to house is the 100 amp wireing copper or aluminum? If aluminum if it wasn't put in with compond to keep wire from oxidizing that might be the cause. Or an animal chewed into wireing causing a short.
 
You could have floating neutral or ground. One side of 220 can feed back through the other leg too. I would not have any trouble in calling in an electritian. DO IT. For the future....Pick up the meter that harbor freight sells for around $30.oo Well worth it and is the same one I use at work. Also have a Fluke but that is mine.
 
I suspect you have more than one problem; you may have had a bad neutral for some time and not realized it. Then the second problem cropped up and exposed the first. The reason I say this is I can't come up with a decent explanation for why turning off your water heater also kills the lights that doesn't involve two faults.

Troubleshooting starts at the beginning. In this case the main disconnect for your house, which is either at the meter or the main breaker panel. Turn off the main. Read all the voltages at the meter side of the disconnect: Hot to neutral (both legs) and hot to ground. All should be 120V. Hot to hot should be 240V. If you have any problems at this point, you need to call an electrician or your power company.

Now turn off all the loads on the panel and turn the main on. Check your voltages again on the load side of the main. If something is amiss here, you probably have a bad main disconnect breaker.

Now start turning on loads, verifying that the voltages remain good at the load side of the main (the buss bars). If a leg voltage starts dropping, you probably have a bad main disconnect. If you can get all the circuits turned on and the output of the main breaker is OK, then start checking the voltage from each breaker to neutral. I think you will have found something by this time.
 
I sounds as if the 100 amp breaker feeding your house from the garage may have a problem, or as I saw at a neighbors place, the buss in the back of the box may be be bad. If you have electric heat in your house, and /or central air, you may be overloading that 100 amp feeder. As others have said, I strongly suggest you call an electrician rather than risking your home.

You can see some strange wiring at times. Many years ago I worked in an appliance repair, and went to trouble shoot a dryer. Customer thought he had a bad motor and bought another one, that still ran too slow. In an electric clothes dryer the heating element runs on 220v, but the motor is 110v. Readings were 220v across the line, but each side to neutral only 80v. The wiring was in a metal conduit that came out of the kitchen and about 30feet around the house into the garage where the dryer was. The original person who did the wiring had only run 2 wires to the dryer, and depended on the conduit providing both the ground and neutral. It worked until the conduit corroded from the weather over the years.
 
I suspect you have a loose connection on one of the feeds, call in a licensed electrician before you burn something down.

I had same issue on shed, bad underground.
 
When you do that first shed all the 20 and 15 amp loads by turning off those breakers. Then turn on the main with no load .Check the main. Now start to bring each breaker back on one at a time. As you do check the 100 with your meter. The thing about shutting off lights with the heat breaker that have there own breakers-- thats a good one . I would have to come to your house to figure that one out. Thats a new one on me and I have seen some weird situations. [ I will guess you need a new 100 amp main and have some other issues as well.]
 
Update - I had an electrician out this morning, ended up being the line from the main panel going to the house. Apparently the deck was put in after the wire to the house was run, because the issue lied with the line being encased in the concrete poured around the deck post, line corroded and then pop! He spliced a temporary patch, and will be back tomorrow with 0000 wire to do a permanent patch. Thank you all for your input.
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top