Bathroom receptacles not working

[TMF]

This could be less of a faulty wiring issue and more of an older house issue when codes were different. I live in an older house and suffer the same problems as the OP. like I said before, check ALL the outlets... not just the ones in the bathroom.

[peejman]

You're going to learn just how totally screwed up the wiring is in your house. What sort of electrician puts the wall outlets in the garage and both bathrooms on the same circuit? The moron that did my house.

I have similar problem. There may be more than one GFCI outlet in the circuit. You've got to find and reset all of them.

1. Turn the breaker off.

2. Find and reset all the GCFI outlets. If one (or more) won't reset, replace them.

3. Once the outlets are reset, turn the breaker back on. Still no juice? Replace the breaker.

Why would anybody do that? More isn't better with GFCI.

I thought I made that clear...

As I said, garage and both bathrooms on same circuit. All three rooms have a GFCI outlet.

After grinding up a spoon in the garbage disposal, I decided to replace the toggle switch with a momentary. It's a double outlet and the other switch is the kitchen light. So I flipped breakers until the light went off, started to replace the switch, and got the crap shocked out of me (nearly literally). Two circuits, same junction box. Gotta love spec houses.

[mikegideon]

Cheap house wiring wins bids. My dad and I did a several when I was a young pup (summer job). I completely understand putting the garage and two bathrooms on the same circuit if code allows. Nothing unsafe about it. Since codes require so many areas to be protected by GFCI, the most economical scheme wins over user friendliness. I have no problem with the way they wired my house. I'll admit, I cussed them the first time the GFCI tripped. Now I know.

[mj12]

I think that if a GFCI outlet trips a lot, it will cause a premature failure, or at least false positives.

[mikegideon]

I think that if a GFCI outlet trips a lot, it will cause a premature failure, or at least false positives.

I don't know. That certainly happens with wall breakers after they have tripped a lot. If I had to guess right now, I would blame the GFCI.

[mj12]

To rule out a defective GFCI, you might try replacing it with a known good one from somewhere else in the house. Just kill the associated breakers first Just a thought...

[mikegideon]

To rule out a defective GFCI, you might try replacing it with a known good one from somewhere else in the house. Just kill the associated breakers first Just a thought...

You can rule it out by replacing it with a regular outlet for test purposes. If everything comes back, then replace the GFCI with a new one

[peejman]

Cheap house wiring wins bids. My dad and I did a several when I was a young pup (summer job). I completely understand putting the garage and two bathrooms on the same circuit if code allows. Nothing unsafe about it. Since codes require so many areas to be protected by GFCI, the most economical scheme wins over user friendliness. I have no problem with the way they wired my house. I'll admit, I cussed them the first time the GFCI tripped. Now I know.

I agree completely. When you live in a subdivision with 200 houses where at least 90% were done by the same builder, some things are inevitable. Think the inspector looked at every detail in every house? Think again.

The breaker panel in Dad's custom house is HUGE. Every room is on a separate circuit. Wall outlets are not on the same circuit as the lights... that way the lights don't go out when you trip a wall outlet. He's also got isolation valves in the plumbing so the water can be shut off to each bathroom, kitchen, and laundry independently. No need to turn off the whole house for a repair in one area. Simple stuff that doesn't cost a lot more but makes life a lot easier.

[mikegideon]

I agree completely. When you live in a subdivision with 200 houses where at least 90% were done by the same builder, some things are inevitable. Think the inspector looked at every detail in every house? Think again.

The breaker panel in Dad's custom house is HUGE. Every room is on a separate circuit. Wall outlets are not on the same circuit as the lights... that way the lights don't go out when you trip a wall outlet. He's also got isolation valves in the plumbing so the water can be shut off to each bathroom, kitchen, and laundry independently. No need to turn off the whole house for a repair in one area. Simple stuff that doesn't cost a lot more but makes life a lot easier.

It's common practice to seperate lighting circuits from outlet circuits. My house is done that way. Doesn't really impact costs that much. In a custom house, you can specify and they'll bid to spec. I've only worked on custom. Some were expensive.

[analog_kidd]

You can rule it out by replacing it with a regular outlet for test purposes. If everything comes back, then replace the GFCI with a new one

I was going to suggest this as well. Of course, a $10 multitester could also tell you if there is juice flowing to the outlet. In fact I would recommend that you get one anyway. If you are going to replace the outlet, you need to be sure that the circuit is actually off.

With a multitester just touch one lead to a black wire, and touch the other lead to either the white or bare wire. make sure to try both sides of the receptacle if there are two sets of wires connected. If you get a reading in the neighborhood of 120 volts, the circuit is hot and the receptacle should be replaced.

Another unlikely cause, but easy enough to try, is the circuit could be on an arc-fault breaker. It is similar to a GFCI, but the protection is at the breaker, not the plug. If you have arc-fault breakers, they will look a little different from the rest of the breakers. They will have a little reset button on the breaker. Today's code says you have to have arc-fault breakers on all bedroom circuits