help, I broke my (parents) house

[wrl]

Ok, here is the story, I was plugging in my active crossover for the first time and click, all of the lights in the room turned off. Naturaly, I figured I had blown the circuit breaker. So I went to the box and to my surprise, they were all fine. I reset the one for the room anyway, but to no good.

I think that maybe my ac wasn't grounded, but I'm not sure. I plugged the crossover into a power strip with surge protection and it now works fine.

But more importantly, anyone have any suggestions on what could have happened to the house? I don't think that anything could have happened to the wiring, but I can't think of any other explaination.

Help,
Wes

[Keith D]

Sounds like GFCI. Look for sme red or yellow buttons on outlets and push the reset one, if there aren't any I can't help you.

[till]

normally, at least in "old europe", we have some circuit breakers in series. I for example have in my house at the box the mains come into it 3*100A fuses. Next is a box with 3*32A fuses. Next is a box that distributes to different apartments in the house, with 3*16A breakers for each apartment. Last a box in every apartment with 16A breaker for each circuit. I don´t know how you make this ( in the newspapers in germany they write funny things about the electric distribution system in the US last 2 days....) But you may wont to investigate for more breakers or fuses.

[wrl]

No red or yellow buttons, I already looked.

Till, if this is the case, wouldn't there be visible evidence that some of the breakers had blown? It only affects the wall where I plugged it in initially. Everything else works fine (i.e. the lights in the same room)

Thanks,
Wes

[till]

That depends...
at least over here - in old installation normally all the lights and sockts in one room are at one circuit breaker. In new installation we ever have separate breakers for light, sockets, and fix installed devices like refrigerators etc.

You should go and search if there are more breakers somewere in the house. Of corse its also possible you melt a contact in a socket or a at place cables to the sockets are connected.

[SY]

It still might be a GFCI. Look carefully at every outlet in the same room- in mine, the button is recessed and the same ivory color as the sockets. If you find one (or more), press to reset.

[wrl]

Ok, everything is fixed. It was the GFCI switches. Good call guys.

In my own defense, I have to mention that the outlet had nothing plugged into it and was hiding behing a hanging wall picture... Who does that?? (aparently my parents)

Anyway, Thanks


-Wes

[Variac]

TAAA DAAAAAA!!!
Another life saved by DIY Audio!!!

[Da5id4Vz]

So uhm,

What were you doing around 4 PM last Thursday, and do you live in Ohio?

I once had a similar experience with a step down transformer I built and brought to Leningrad (I know Petersburg, but it was 1985 and still VERY Soviet when I was there).

When I popped the circuit in my hotel room at 4 AM, I was sure that I had just blacked out the whole city and that the KGB would immediately strafe my hotel room windows with machine gun fire. Adrenalin mixed with sleep deprivation and a little bit of stupidity can conjure amazing amounts of paranoia.

Glad things worked out for you. Sounds like you were got back in business a little quicker than I did. Why is the GFI located behind a picture? Does it provided power to the hidden wall safe alarm system?

[jleaman]

See even the little things in life can be asked on here. Diy fixed it again. good job guy's..