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Electrical Wiring

Microwave Outlet Not Working

16 years ago

Hey guys! I turned my microwave on yesterday and it ran for 5 seconds before it completely shut off. The microwave works in any other outlet in the kitchen OTHER than the one it was in. I checked the GCFI in the kitchen and it is fine. I plugged a circuit tester into the outlet and it lights up about 50% as bright as when it is plugged into other outlets. It seems like the outlet is not getting full power. I even replaced the the outlet and still the same problem.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

-- Jase

Comments (5)

dozer
16 years ago
sounds like a bad connection or a bad breaker.

The first thing I wold do is cycle the breaker several times. If no success, and you are comfortable doing electrical work, I would swap one of your other breakers with the possible offender.

If this cures the problem, it's time for a new breaker.

If no success, then I would start looking for a bad connection. Since all you have is a light up tester, it is difficult to tell more precisely what you are looking for but I would simple track the circuit back to the panel remaking the joints in any junction boxes along the way.

be sure that if you have back stab receptacles used, move the wire to the screw on the side or replace the receptacle.

There have been sssooooo many problems attributed to a bad connection within the back stab part of those things I am surprised they are still allowed.
maniacjmp
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks dozer!

The outlet the microwave plugs into is the end of the line. There is an outlet right before it that works correctly and I'm thinking maybe the outgoing line that goes the microwave outlet could have a bad connection or even one of the outgoing terminals went bad. I think tomorrow I'll replace that outlet then if that fails try the breaker solution.

Quick question, if the breaker was bad, could that cause every other outlet aside from the last one connected (microwave) to not work correctly?

The line goes like this: garbage disposal, dishwasher, outlet, outlet (microwave).

Thanks for your help! I also have a multimeter and know how to use it, but not really sure what I'm looking for. Thanks again for your help Dozer! It's going to rain all day tomorrow so plenty of time to experiment.

-- Jase
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I agree that a tripped GFI somewhere ahead of what you have is the most likely culprit. The challenge is to find it. Look behind furniture. Check in the cellar, especially right under or nearly under the bathroom. Look in the garage, including behind stuff. It might even be outside. When GFIs were new, they were expensive. Fairly often, a single one was daisy-chained to some or all of the other receptacles that the code said had to be protected. It's not common for a second GFI to be fed from a first, but I don't know of any harm that can cause. As for why it would be, it's possible that a previous owner didn't know the bathroom receptacle had GFI protection upstream (if it does), and added another. Another possibility is a loose connection on a receptacle that feeds the first dead one. That receptacle itself would still work if one of the downstream terminal screws were loose. Parenthetical anecdote: one of my rentals is a late 1950s tract house. I lived in it myself for a while, and during that time I did a little electrical work on it. I was astonished to find that on NONE of the original receptacles was the second set of terminal screws used. The electricans who wired the house -- and remember, this was not an expensive custom home -- actually made up soldered and taped connections in each box where there were receptacles downstream. The soldering was clean, too. No cold joints that I saw.
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jason1083
16 years ago
check the voltage on the problem outlet, since you say it doesnt seem to be getting full power.
maniacjmp
Original Author
16 years ago
Okay more information!

After further exploration, the outlet BEFORE the microwave outlet does not jump over to the microwave. There are only 3 wires connected to that outlet as well.

I took my voltmeter and if I connect the bare copper wire (held with a green screw) to the black wire, I read 125 volts. If I touch the black wire and the white wire with my volmeter, I read 80-85 volts.

I should also read 125 volts across the black and the white wires as well, correct?

-- Jase
DavidR
16 years ago
Sounds like you have a loose neutral connection. You'll need to trace the circuit from the troublesome receptacle back until you find the problem.

You might be lucky and find that it's a homerun to the panel, and the neutral connection in the panel is loose. If it's been overheating, which is likely, don't just tighten it. You'll want to remove the neutral wire from the bus, probably cut the end off, restrip to get clean copper, and secure the wire properly (maybe even in another hole on the neutral bus).

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