NewB w/Electrical problem

Repair help for the do-it-yourselfer.
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Moderators: Greg, Mark, mhrAJ333, JD

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ChuckFoy

Hey Y'all

In Aug. '06 my wife and I bought a '93 Peach State Homes double-wide on Lake Sinclair in Eatonton, Georgia. Several weeks ago we noticed that electrical outlets in two rooms weren't "outletting". The ceiling fan doesn't fan and the outside lights don't light outside either. These outlets are all along one wall, and the outside lights are on the outside of that same wall. I checked all the breakers with my meter, and they're all okay. So I called an electrician.

And then I called him again. And then about six more times. So I called a different electrician and finally got him to go out and take a look. He said it was not a simple problem. He checked the outlets and says he thinks the problem might be in a junction box under the home that joins the two sides together or something like that?

I don't know jack about mobile homes or any homes for that matter. You guys seem to know everything about everything. I searched but couldn't find too much other than advice to call a professional.

Am I doomed?

Thanks for your help.

Chuck
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Greg
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Posts: 5696
Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 8:01 pm
Location: Weedsport, NY

Chuck, Hi & welcome to the family. I use the word family a lot here because that is what we are. That said, when we give advice here we give it to help you. There are 2 areas that we shy away from giving advice in, Gas & Electric. The reason is simple, if you do not have the experiance YOUR home & Your life should not be the test to see if you got it right.
Now back to a very BASIC answer to your question. The electrician could be right, It may also be a connection in an outlet, they are piggy backed down the circuit from one box to the next so if you loose connection in one box, all boxes from there will be dead.
Since you are new to mobiles, I would reccomend Mark's (the owner of this site)book, It is written in generic terms geared for the DYI. Check the "Parts & books" section of the site. Greg
"If I can't fix it, I can screw it up so bad no one else can either."
garrett_reukauf

The electrician was probably on the right track. On double-wides
there is a electrical junction box that allows the electrical power on both sides to be connected, allowing the other half of the trailer to have electric. If the home was rececntly moved, the install and setup crew may not have connected everything, or you may have a few loose wires. Take Gregs advice, call and find an electrician that is willing to come out and take a look and get it fixed. Its prolly nothing serious, I mean nothing that should be too expensive. If you cant get anywhere w/ the electrician, look in your phone book under "mobile homes" and see if there is a service company. But please do not attempt to fix this yourself, with out the proper knowledge, your attempts could be harmful or fatal.
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gram2logan
Posts: 91
Joined: Mon Feb 26, 2007 7:48 pm
Location: NW Indiana
Contact:

We had a similar problem with the outlets on the outside wall of our bedroom. And the ceiling fan too. We probably never would have figured it out if we hadn't remodeled the room addition on the front of our house. When hubby took off the paneling, he found that the electrical wiring was not hooked up right. Don't really know the specifics, but they fixed it and everything works fine now.
Stop talking before people stop listening!
SpongeBob

HI and Welcome Aboard!
Greg is exactly right....this sounds like a real cheap fix for an honest elctrician (most of them are). It is a loose connection in a junction box or I would suspect a receptacle that has "back - stabbed" connections that are prone to come loose and prevent the entire circuit from the loose connection on from working. Hope this helps.

-Bob
ChuckFoy

Thanks for the warm welcome and all the replies and advice. Forums rock! I've found forums to help me with my car, boat, bike, and even my sleep apnea!

Thanks again!

Chuck
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