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ROUTINE ITEMS
Checking & Resetting a Circuit Breaker
If an electrical circuit gets overloaded or an appliance malfunctions, you can lose electricity to a part of the house while still having power in the rest of the place. If you know what caused the overload, unplug or turn off the offending devices(s). If not, just proceed on. To restore power to the circuit, you'll need to reset the circuit breaker that controls and protects that particular electrical circuit. In most cases all of the household circuits are found in one panel, close to the glass-covered electrical meter. The meter and main breaker are always located outside where the meter reader can get to it and where emergency personnel can get to the main breaker. The circuit breakers are generally below or alongside the meter, but in some cases they may be immediately inside the house (e.g., in the garage or in a utility room). Open the circuit breaker panel door and you should see a series of devices that look like electrical switches, these are the circuit breakers. They may be upright or they may be horizontal, but in either event, there will be a number of them stacked close together. If you look closely you will see ON and OFF positions marked on them. Look for a circuit breaker that is "out of position" relative to the others. When a breaker activates or trips, butting off power to the circuit, it doesn't go all the way to the OFF position. Rather, it only moves part way in that direction. One way to detect a tripped breaker is to gently run your fingers down or across the line of breakers until you notice one that is different from the others If it has moved slightly away from the ON position, that's an indication that the breaker has tripped. To reset the breaker, you first need to move it fully to the OFF position; then, move it fully to the ON position. Wait a few moments to make sure that it doesn't trip again. If it stays ON, you have power to the circuit again. If the breaker quickly trips OFF, something in the circuit is still causing problems. Before attempting to reset the breaker again, make sure that you have unplugged anything suspect. If need be, unplug everything on the line and then check things one at a time. If this still doesn't solve the problem, there could be a short in the house wiring and it's time to call for professional help.
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