Klein Tools RT250 GFCI Outlet Tester that shows voltage with LCD Display, Electric Voltage Tester for Standard 3-Wire 120V Electrical Receptacles: Amazon: amzn.to/3IZrHox Also see: Playlist: Electrical Wiring by Sparky Channel: ua-cam.com/play/PLSD43kAzjUITARtRyFqvVhmqwNm34Ck5k.html Playlist: EMT Bending by Sparky Channel: ua-cam.com/play/PLSD43kAzjUIT9C0yzPTkqULBCmJXX_goh.html Playlist: 2023 NEC Video Playlist by Sparky Channel: ua-cam.com/play/PLSD43kAzjUISg0qOUMomYe8GH6a_C2xBv.html Playlist: IDEAL National Championship Competition Videos from Sparky Channel: ua-cam.com/play/PLSD43kAzjUIRfq58lAqj2dXKhTY_8QaDO.html
Thanks Sparky! My Mom has an Open Hot in an outlet in her home. She also has several GFCI circuits wired together from two different bathrooms and the same string of electrical receptacles in her kitchen - all on one circuit breaker.
Super training! Never thought that a dead outlet is not really dead! Great training Sparkman! I also notice all your plate cover screws line up! A real pro! Would love a video on prepping the wires before pushing them into the box. I still struggle with that. You are the best!
Hey Bill, I have a video idea you may be interested in. So I came to this video because I was trying to solve an “open hot” situation at my parents house. They had just done some siding work and multiple receptacles were no longer working. I checked the GFCI receptacle and it had a green light (I didn’t actually check the GFCI for voltage) so I turned off the breaker and began opening all the receptacles looking for a broken/disconnected hot wire and to my surprise they all were good, no issues. I thought maybe a nail had struck the hot wire and this was going to be a difficult repair. Luckily I turned the circuit back on and started over again checking the outlets with a Klein digital outlet/gfci tester. This time I tested the GFCI noticed that the GFCI outlet still had a green light, but showed “open hot” which was confusing. So I pulled it out and realized that the line/load had been reversed. So I corrected that and all the receptacles worked again. It turns out that the Leviton GFCI will still show a green light when the line/load are reversed, but the receptacle will be dead along with all receptacles down stream from it. Anyway this was a different open hot scenario I feel you would be great at explaining to people.
What do you mean? That the hot wire was attached to silver side and neutral wire was attached to gold side? Cause I'm dealing with same issue and I remember when I had it opened there was no disconnected wire..
@@jamesb1988 No. On a GFCI outlet there are "Line" terminals on top (silver/gold screws) and a "Load" on the bottom (silver/gold).. When you bring power into your GFCI you must connect it to the Line connections. If you accidentally connect it to the bottom load terminals on a Leviton it will still light up the green LED, but it won't work.
Hello Sparky, not many people use electrical tape around terminals anymore, my college teacher though the entire school to use this when wiring outlets... thank you for sharing.
another way of identifying the hot side of the receptacle it the smaller or narrower slot of the plug is the hot. This is also a good way of identifying the neutral of a cord. the neutral side is sometimes larger or there are ridges on the neutral wire in the cord! Just as a FYI to anyone, especially if you are replacing a male or female end of a cord. The neutral screw is commonly white in color and the hot brass colored; these colors and other identifying marks are to be able to discern which is a hot, neutral or ground. green should never be used as a neutral or otherwise known as the grounded conductor, which should not be confused with the grounding conductor. Article 200 convers the color coding of the neutral conductor or grounded conductor. This is really important electrical 101!
Great video. I had that situation, too. Replaced outlet. Confirmed proper connections. Still reads “open hot”. Suggestions? Other outlet in same room tests/works ok.
I have the same issue. open hot, other outlets tested and work fine. the open hot box, no wires are loose. Did you ever get yours fixed? If so, what was the solution?
There's only one much more dangerous situation, that's if your circuit tester indicates the red light and the right green one. That would mean line and ground are reversed, so the metal housing of a class I appliance would be live at mains voltage. And on such things it's always the best thing to use insulated tools. No german electrician uses uninsulated tools if he's working on a circuit, even if it is dead. Just an additional layer of safety. You can have a backfeed from a totally different circuit in the worst case. Especially on old installations many things were messed up in between by DIYers or other incompetent persons. And sometimes even electricians do wrong things. My favorite reported accident was in a restaurant. They had their bathroom in the finished basement. Next to the door they installed a cigarette vending machine and required an outlet for this. Back in the old days the three colours were black, gray and red. Do you remember about the thing with the PEN which was used as neutral and ground in combination? Normally black would be the line, gray the neutral and red the ground in old electrical installations pre 1965. But it was also permitted to use the red wire as a line wire, also as a switched line and in that case gray would be the PEN wire. The electrician made measurements, and connected the new outlet. Black as line, gray as neutral and red as ground. But in this case everything was different, red actually was the switched line for the light fixture in the bathroom. When he made his measurements he measured the PEN through the incandescent lamp which got a very low resistance when it's cold (PTC resistor). So every time when the light was on in the bathroom, the housing of the vending machine was live at mains voltage (230V against ground). So smoking could kill you before you even got the package. Ok, later another electrician came over for a different problem and became shocked by the machine, ambulance had to come over and reanimate him. So this report was filed to the worker's compensation board which investigates such accidents.
Why didn't you use the non-contact voltage tester on the Romex supplying the power to the suspect outlet to determine if voltage was present? You could then verify if the correct circuit breaker was opened and proceed to troubleshoot the outlet.
I come back to this video time and time again for these situations. Although i can never recall seeing any other folks but you using the electrical tape, is that a widely known tidbit that a master electrician will perform on a residential job?
Yes, but more with older electricians like myself. We also like to crimp our wires around terminals before tightening. The new generation just uses a "U" shape on the wire before tightening.
True Story from someone who should know better (me): I have a plug-in kitchen disposal under the cabinet in my new house and I installed a CyberPower surge suppressor to kill any surges at the source when used. I noticed that the Green "OK" LED was out on the suppressor and wondered why. I grabbed my handy dandy outlet checker and got an "Open Hot" indication. Ok, wait for it now. After puzzling on what this means because the disposal works fine, it FINALLY hit me. I had the Switch in the "Off" position. Yup, that was a big "Duh" moment for me. When turned on, the Green LED light up just fine and the socket tester showed a correctly wired socket. Should have had that second cup of coffee...
Excellent video! I do have a question about wiring a four wire outlet (two black and two white wires). There is no power to the wiring after I removed the receptacle. I tested the open wires with a tester and no indication of power, however, the ceiling fan and one receptacle have power in the bedroom. The adjacent bedroom receptacles and light switch are not working as well. The circuit breaker appears to be working properly. The receptacle that may have caused the problem is used sparingly and recently a cell phone charger was connected which cause that receptacle and the other receptacles and light switch not work. Any advice on troubleshooting the problem?
Sound like you might have a reverse wire some where I would most definitely check into that ASAP . I picked up the fluke st120 socket tester small extremely light weight and easy use! It's like 30 bucks at Lowe's!
Any ways I would shut that breaker off and then you should be able to find common. (Direct power) then you should be able to you neutral and ground is obviously green or copper.
We have a outlet that was installed in the corner of the garage after building, by my friends friend, and it has had a open hot for years, it’s on a exterior wall with a plastic conduit outside, when it rains that circuit gfi trips, most likely that, but wouldn’t put it passed our builders wireing given other stuff we have seen from them, like a entire room isn’t grounded, non of the 4 lighting fixtures we have changed were, nor was the electric range
I believe that Backstabbing is never a good way to secure a terminal to an outlet. Over time, and with extensive use of the outlet. those backstabed terminals could come loose and cause arcing, or worse, a fire!
Can loose receptacle contacts (where the plug prongs go in) cause a false positive "open hot" reading? The reading on my circuit tester is mostly "open ground" but if i jiggle it, it can sometimes show open hot. When I plug a light into the outlet, it powers on. So i am getting something. Also, this only happens on the top plug, the bottom plug consistently reads "open ground."
I have this problem in one of bathroom it should still be safe if I just turn the power off to the bathroom itself instead of turning off the hole breaker box
Why cut off the whole house when you could just put your probe in the working receptacle and turn off and on the breakers until the power goes out on the feeder outlet?
Bill, I was hoping you were going to demonstrate the Sure Trace Circuit finder. I watched to contest you filmed with Greg using it but it didn't show a lot of the details of the settings when he was doing it. Who won that competition, by the way. You didn't show that part?
Is the outlet bad if one plugin shows an open hot wire and the other shows an open ground? Also all the outlets in the room show an open ground and in another room an outlet shows a hot/ neutral reverse reading. Do I need to go through and have them all rewired?
The upper portion of my receptacle is working, however the lower portion of the receptacle shows an open with my LEDS indicator. (GFCI is fine, BTW). By using the appropriate breaker switch, no electricity flows to the receptacle at all, so I SHOULD be able to work safely with it, yes?
what about hot on neutral with hot open? on my outlet checker it just says PE but it's just the middle one lighting up. I want to use some grounding equipment and I'm not sure what's wrong with it or what should I do
Bill, another terrific video. I would appreciate your recommendations for a generator I would like to get to serve as a backup power supply for my home. I would like to have 120/220v output and 45/22.5 amp minimum output. You suggestion will be most appreciated.
I don’t really have a budget limit, I just want to spend A reasonable amount but not Be wasteful. I would like the generator to be portable on wheels so I can move it or take it camping as needed. Also be reliable and can power electronic equipment like computers.
My situation is different. It’s a GFCI outlet. It “tripped” and tripped the breaker too. If I hit the rest it trips at the breaker and sparks at the outlet. It was working fine, but just stopped. Now I replaced the GFCI with a new Leviton GFCI , I cant get the test to click, and the little green light is on. The Outlet tester says Open Hot. All other outlets on the circuit are good except the other GFCI in my bathroom which is dead. Can that be the culprit?
I bought one of these little testing gadgets at The Home Depot recently, and found out 3 pairs of wall outlets in the base floor, and two pairs of them upstairs in the bathrooms with this “open hot” problem. Yikes! Now I need to find a certified electrician somewhere. It's a new house but I haven't started inhabiting it in a very long time. What's the difference between turning off all the circuit breakers and the main source of electric current? I don't know where such main source is located, all I could do for now is turn off all the breakers.
under our kitchen sink, i noticed the outlet for the dishwasher and disposal that's plugged in is show open hot. however, both appliance still has power and still works. what could be the cause? it's an older home, so not sure if that should be replace with GFCI socket?
I switched my garbage disposal out and the new one I purchased required a plug in outlet where the original disposal did not plug in. I used the same wiring. I’m wondering what might be the problem that the disposal works fine when I plug it in to this new outlet but using a plug in outlet tester it’s showing open hot but it runs the disposal. How can I fix this issue? Today after noticing it showed hot wire I added in a ground wire because I had used a metal box rather than plastic box. Also today I switched out a regular std receptacle and put in a gfci. That still didn’t change anything. Thanks.
I messed around with my garbage disposal and ended up turning it which caused me to lose the seal I had with plumbers putty around the opening in sink where water runs down to disposal. It started allowing water to drip around that gasket under the sink. I had disposal running and it automatically shut off. Maybe a builder doesn’t do whatever is needed for a plug in outlet when instead the make a closed system of wiring to the disposal. Because either way there is s button reset on a garbage disposal if water comes in contact. If anyone sees this let me know your thoughts. Thanks.
The outlet under my sink where the garbage disposal and dishwasher washer are connect has one plug showing open hot. I’m guessing that’s wrong. The switch that powers the disposal on and off is under there as well a few feet away. When I connect the disposal on one of the plugs 🔌 it stays on all the time. I’m guessing that’s where the washer is suppose to be connected to. When I connect it to the other plug, it doesn’t power on at all when I flip the switch. This outlet is connected with a GFCI that keeps tripping on a separate wall. Any recommendations on what I can do to fix this? Obviously my electrical knowledge needs to grow. 😃
What if you show power at the outlet in question but no indication of power with the three light tester? And the 3 light test indicator works at other outlets.
I had a similar experience. The circuit tester indicated an open hot, but the voltage sensor showed power. Answer: the outlet was wired to a wall switch which was in the off position.
@@joelsturm3577 I think you helped me with the same problem with power to storage room. The joys of having an old house that was built before codes and lived in by people that didn't care.
I have 2 receptacle they are connected to each other in the same wall that reads open hot and I cant find the supply box I checked the one next to them on the next wall no luck and the room below with same position still no luck any other idea how to find the supply box to these 2 receptacle??
I probably won't be attempting to fix this myself, but I'm still curious about something. How can I find which circuit the defective receptacle is on if I don't already know? Since it currently doesn't work, I can't find the circuit by flipping the breaker switches to see which one makes it go out.
so i have an outside outlet that is not getting power. it reads blank on the outlet tester. I confirmed no power going to wire with ohmmeter testing for continuity. i pulled apart an exterior light above where the socket is. you can see this is where the power going down in the box towards the plug outlet. the upper light has power, so im assuming there is a short in the wall between that light and the outlet. there is no other lead going to the outlet so it only comes from one direction. what can i do to fix it? i confirmed no nicks or damage to the wire at the outlet. so thats why it must have a problem within the wall. thanks for reading
@@MakayaGemini3 the easiest way to to test if a outlet has power is plug a light in and see if it works. Unscrew outlet and touch wire. You will get shocked. Don't do that. Use an ohmmeter or test light and see it it flashes up. That is the safer way to test for power
@@JACMAN02 LOL. Ok,yeah pretty much knew all that just wanted to know what YOU found out to be the problem. The wiring inside the walls or what? If so I guess you just replaced all the line?
This *almost* helped. I had several outlets go out, on different circuits, just a couple hours after a storm. There are no water leaks anywhere in this 2-story house. The upstairs is not used at all, so nothing is even plugged in up there, but half the outlets in each room are out even though each room is on its own circuit. Downstairs, the east half of the house was fine, but the west half was not - outlets out. Getting open hot indicators on GFCIs and regular outlets. This problem is on the north and south ends of the house, and on the west side of the house. My bedroom fine, but my bath is totally out. Living room is: east fine, west not. NO circuit breakers were tripped. Even my 220 dryer is out. That doesn't make sense to me that so many went out at once, unrelated to each other. I will check back in a while to see if anyone has any info.
Hey Sparky, I was looking for something like this; however, my bottom outlet does work when the light switch is on. The home is wired like this in all 4 bedrooms for the outlets that are alongside the wall where a bed would normally be placed. The builder (2010) I believe did this on purpose wiring a "half hot" outlet so that we could plug in night lights that turn off with the use of the light switch. We live in Hawaii and our inspector just flagged all of those outlets and light switches accordingly. Does the wiring of a "half hot" switch like this go against the National Electrical Code? Hawaii adopted the 2014 NEC back in March 2017 as well as the 2015 International Energy Conservation code at the same time.
My problem there IS electricity there but as soon as I plug the tester or anything else in there is no power thereat all until I unplug the tester or whatever device I plug in. It even turns off another circuit in my house when I turn on the circuit breaker even with the breakers on.
@@SparkyChannel I'm confused why you would post this video but then tell us to hire a professional. DYI'ers like myself don't want to hire an electrican for such an easy job that cost 100-200 for an electrician to come out. Just shut off the power box and test to make sure everthing is off. You'll be fine!
I have a wire that both hot and neutral wires are testing hot, and the receptical is reading open hot. I can't for the life of me find the other end of the wire. I want to disconnect that wire and run a new one. I may need to gut the house.. Figured I could get away with fishing it through the walls.
also, I hate to say it, but nothing is grounded. the previous owners said everything was new, but they only made it look that way, and did their best to hide everything.
I want to do this myself because an electrician is probably going to charge me 200 dollars just to do this. What’s the best way to avoid getting shocked? Aside from the obvious of turning off the breaker
After shutting off breaker giving it a couple minutes for energy to cease, wearing gloves and using tools that are insulated with a rubber handle are also positives.
I turned off a fan and went to bed, but, in the morning, the fan would not come on! Testing of the outlet, and the other outlet on that wall, show "open hot." I turned off the power and checked inside the outlet. No wires were loose. NOW WHAT??
An open hot is dangerous and the hot black or red wire touches to metal where the ground is bonded causes sparks, short, arcing, may trip the breaker for Safety, this is not good at all and we need to fix this issue by turning off the Right breaker or turning off the Main breaker instead
Klein Tools RT250 GFCI Outlet Tester that shows voltage with LCD Display, Electric Voltage Tester for Standard 3-Wire 120V Electrical Receptacles: Amazon: amzn.to/3IZrHox
Also see: Playlist: Electrical Wiring by Sparky Channel: ua-cam.com/play/PLSD43kAzjUITARtRyFqvVhmqwNm34Ck5k.html
Playlist: EMT Bending by Sparky Channel: ua-cam.com/play/PLSD43kAzjUIT9C0yzPTkqULBCmJXX_goh.html
Playlist: 2023 NEC Video Playlist by Sparky Channel: ua-cam.com/play/PLSD43kAzjUISg0qOUMomYe8GH6a_C2xBv.html
Playlist: IDEAL National Championship Competition Videos from Sparky Channel: ua-cam.com/play/PLSD43kAzjUIRfq58lAqj2dXKhTY_8QaDO.html
What does it mean when the red light is on and nothing else
Thanks Sparky! My Mom has an Open Hot in an outlet in her home. She also has several GFCI circuits wired together from two different bathrooms and the same string of electrical receptacles in her kitchen - all on one circuit breaker.
Good demonstration Sparky. I really enjoy this troubleshooting series.
Thanks Gary!
Super training! Never thought that a dead outlet is not really dead! Great training Sparkman! I also notice all your plate cover screws line up! A real pro! Would love a video on prepping the wires before pushing them into the box. I still struggle with that. You are the best!
Thanks Joe! I'll see what I can do.
@@SparkyChannel Hello. Did you ever get around to making a video for dressing the wires? I'm subscribed but have yet to see one; maybe I missed it?
Hey Bill, I have a video idea you may be interested in. So I came to this video because I was trying to solve an “open hot” situation at my parents house. They had just done some siding work and multiple receptacles were no longer working.
I checked the GFCI receptacle and it had a green light (I didn’t actually check the GFCI for voltage) so I turned off the breaker and began opening all the receptacles looking for a broken/disconnected hot wire and to my surprise they all were good, no issues. I thought maybe a nail had struck the hot wire and this was going to be a difficult repair. Luckily I turned the circuit back on and started over again checking the outlets with a Klein digital outlet/gfci tester.
This time I tested the GFCI noticed that the GFCI outlet still had a green light, but showed “open hot” which was confusing. So I pulled it out and realized that the line/load had been reversed. So I corrected that and all the receptacles worked again. It turns out that the Leviton GFCI will still show a green light when the line/load are reversed, but the receptacle will be dead along with all receptacles down stream from it.
Anyway this was a different open hot scenario I feel you would be great at explaining to people.
What do you mean? That the hot wire was attached to silver side and neutral wire was attached to gold side? Cause I'm dealing with same issue and I remember when I had it opened there was no disconnected wire..
@@jamesb1988 No. On a GFCI outlet there are "Line" terminals on top (silver/gold screws) and a "Load" on the bottom (silver/gold).. When you bring power into your GFCI you must connect it to the Line connections. If you accidentally connect it to the bottom load terminals on a Leviton it will still light up the green LED, but it won't work.
@@pattognozzi that's exactly what's wrong with mine, I appreciate your explanation!
@@jamesb1988 great to hear
Hello Sparky, not many people use electrical tape around terminals anymore, my college teacher though the entire school to use this when wiring outlets... thank you for sharing.
It's not code but it is very good practice to use the electrical tape.
Thanks for responding Sparky!! God bless you
@@Nifares1971 God bless you as well.
another way of identifying the hot side of the receptacle it the smaller or narrower slot of the plug is the hot. This is also a good way of identifying the neutral of a cord. the neutral side is sometimes larger or there are ridges on the neutral wire in the cord! Just as a FYI to anyone, especially if you are replacing a male or female end of a cord. The neutral screw is commonly white in color and the hot brass colored; these colors and other identifying marks are to be able to discern which is a hot, neutral or ground. green should never be used as a neutral or otherwise known as the grounded conductor, which should not be confused with the grounding conductor. Article 200 convers the color coding of the neutral conductor or grounded conductor. This is really important electrical 101!
Excelent video Bill!!!!! Educational for apprentice electirician. Thanks Bill !!!!!
Thanks Mario!
Great video. I had that situation, too. Replaced outlet. Confirmed proper connections. Still reads “open hot”. Suggestions? Other outlet in same room tests/works ok.
I have the same issue. open hot, other outlets tested and work fine. the open hot box, no wires are loose. Did you ever get yours fixed? If so, what was the solution?
Having this issue with my 3 outside outlets but everything inside is fine… 😫
There's only one much more dangerous situation, that's if your circuit tester indicates the red light and the right green one. That would mean line and ground are reversed, so the metal housing of a class I appliance would be live at mains voltage.
And on such things it's always the best thing to use insulated tools. No german electrician uses uninsulated tools if he's working on a circuit, even if it is dead. Just an additional layer of safety. You can have a backfeed from a totally different circuit in the worst case. Especially on old installations many things were messed up in between by DIYers or other incompetent persons. And sometimes even electricians do wrong things.
My favorite reported accident was in a restaurant. They had their bathroom in the finished basement. Next to the door they installed a cigarette vending machine and required an outlet for this. Back in the old days the three colours were black, gray and red. Do you remember about the thing with the PEN which was used as neutral and ground in combination? Normally black would be the line, gray the neutral and red the ground in old electrical installations pre 1965. But it was also permitted to use the red wire as a line wire, also as a switched line and in that case gray would be the PEN wire. The electrician made measurements, and connected the new outlet. Black as line, gray as neutral and red as ground. But in this case everything was different, red actually was the switched line for the light fixture in the bathroom. When he made his measurements he measured the PEN through the incandescent lamp which got a very low resistance when it's cold (PTC resistor). So every time when the light was on in the bathroom, the housing of the vending machine was live at mains voltage (230V against ground). So smoking could kill you before you even got the package. Ok, later another electrician came over for a different problem and became shocked by the machine, ambulance had to come over and reanimate him. So this report was filed to the worker's compensation board which investigates such accidents.
Great information, thanks!
Why didn't you use the non-contact voltage tester on the Romex supplying the power to the suspect outlet to determine if voltage was present? You could then verify if the correct circuit breaker was opened and proceed to troubleshoot the outlet.
I come back to this video time and time again for these situations. Although i can never recall seeing any other folks but you using the electrical tape, is that a widely known tidbit that a master electrician will perform on a residential job?
Yes, but more with older electricians like myself. We also like to crimp our wires around terminals before tightening. The new generation just uses a "U" shape on the wire before tightening.
Lol. You can always tell who is old school and who ain't. We didn't have most of this stuff back in the day all across the board
True Story from someone who should know better (me): I have a plug-in kitchen disposal under the cabinet in my new house and I installed a CyberPower surge suppressor to kill any surges at the source when used. I noticed that the Green "OK" LED was out on the suppressor and wondered why. I grabbed my handy dandy outlet checker and got an "Open Hot" indication. Ok, wait for it now. After puzzling on what this means because the disposal works fine, it FINALLY hit me. I had the Switch in the "Off" position. Yup, that was a big "Duh" moment for me. When turned on, the Green LED light up just fine and the socket tester showed a correctly wired socket. Should have had that second cup of coffee...
Great video I have the same situation except my outlet read it had power when I checked with my voltage test.
I had the same situation & it was a tripped circuit breaker. Make sure you check that first before checking the wiring or calling an electrician.
It is not recommended to use the back holes on outlets. Use the side screws..
Yeah, the back stabbers aren't great... eventually they will betray you. I mean it's in the name lol.
@@jamesb1988 😂😂 that sounds about right.
I did not backstab. Those are back wired receptacles. It is a very big difference.
Excellent video! I do have a question about wiring a four wire outlet (two black and two white wires). There is no power to the wiring after I removed the receptacle. I tested the open wires with a tester and no indication of power, however, the ceiling fan and one receptacle have power in the bedroom. The adjacent bedroom receptacles and light switch are not working as well. The circuit breaker appears to be working properly. The receptacle that may have caused the problem is used sparingly and recently a cell phone charger was connected which cause that receptacle and the other receptacles and light switch not work. Any advice on troubleshooting the problem?
Sound like you might have a reverse wire some where I would most definitely check into that ASAP . I picked up the fluke st120 socket tester small extremely light weight and easy use! It's like 30 bucks at Lowe's!
Any ways I would shut that breaker off and then you should be able to find common. (Direct power) then you should be able to you neutral and ground is obviously green or copper.
Great video Bill!
Thanks Darrin!
We have a outlet that was installed in the corner of the garage after building, by my friends friend, and it has had a open hot for years, it’s on a exterior wall with a plastic conduit outside, when it rains that circuit gfi trips, most likely that, but wouldn’t put it passed our builders wireing given other stuff we have seen from them, like a entire room isn’t grounded, non of the 4 lighting fixtures we have changed were, nor was the electric range
So what was your fix to repower your gfci outlet ?
@@saulfigueroa5630 I just cut whatever power to it for now, I don’t use it
I believe that Backstabbing is never a good way to secure a terminal to an outlet. Over time, and with extensive use of the outlet. those backstabed terminals could come loose and cause arcing, or worse, a fire!
I did not backstab. Those are back wired receptacles. It is a very big difference.
Can loose receptacle contacts (where the plug prongs go in) cause a false positive "open hot" reading? The reading on my circuit tester is mostly "open ground" but if i jiggle it, it can sometimes show open hot. When I plug a light into the outlet, it powers on. So i am getting something. Also, this only happens on the top plug, the bottom plug consistently reads "open ground."
I have this problem in one of bathroom it should still be safe if I just turn the power off to the bathroom itself instead of turning off the hole breaker box
Why cut off the whole house when you could just put your probe in the working receptacle and turn off and on the breakers until the power goes out on the feeder outlet?
Beautiful I’m learning. Thanks very much
Wonderful! My pleasure!
Bill, I was hoping you were going to demonstrate the Sure Trace Circuit finder. I watched to contest you filmed with Greg using it but it didn't show a lot of the details of the settings when he was doing it. Who won that competition, by the way. You didn't show that part?
Is the outlet bad if one plugin shows an open hot wire and the other shows an open ground? Also all the outlets in the room show an open ground and in another room an outlet shows a hot/ neutral reverse reading. Do I need to go through and have them all rewired?
Great video!
Mine is showing open hot. The light indicator on the outlet is green. Didn't see any breaks on the wire though.
This is the exact issue I am having right now and I have checked everything
What was the problem? Have the same issue now
Same issue here. The outlet arced or sparked and burnt so i replaced it. The tester shows open hot but the gfi indicator is lit.
Thanks for this information
The upper portion of my receptacle is working, however the lower portion of the receptacle shows an open with my LEDS indicator. (GFCI is fine, BTW).
By using the appropriate breaker switch, no electricity flows to the receptacle at all, so I SHOULD be able to work safely with it, yes?
what about hot on neutral with hot open? on my outlet checker it just says PE but it's just the middle one lighting up. I want to use some grounding equipment and I'm not sure what's wrong with it or what should I do
Bill, another terrific video. I would appreciate your recommendations for a generator I would like to get to serve as a backup power supply for my home. I would like to have 120/220v output and 45/22.5 amp minimum output. You suggestion will be most appreciated.
What's your budget?
I don’t really have a budget limit, I just want to spend A reasonable amount but not Be wasteful. I would like the generator to be portable on wheels so I can move it or take it camping as needed. Also be reliable and can power electronic equipment like computers.
Very good explained..
My situation is different. It’s a GFCI outlet. It “tripped” and tripped the breaker too. If I hit the rest it trips at the breaker and sparks at the outlet. It was working fine, but just stopped. Now I replaced the GFCI with a new Leviton GFCI , I cant get the test to click, and the little green light is on. The Outlet tester says Open Hot. All other outlets on the circuit are good except the other GFCI in my bathroom which is dead. Can that be the culprit?
What did you ever find out?
@@MakayaGemini3 the 'load' wasn't on correctly on the bottom screw
@@paulbonaventura4969 Ah,Thank you! Glad you figured it out!
I bought one of these little testing gadgets at The Home Depot recently, and found out 3 pairs of wall outlets in the base floor, and two pairs of them upstairs in the bathrooms with this “open hot” problem. Yikes! Now I need to find a certified electrician somewhere. It's a new house but I haven't started inhabiting it in a very long time.
What's the difference between turning off all the circuit breakers and the main source of electric current? I don't know where such main source is located, all I could do for now is turn off all the breakers.
Home inspector found one mis-wired on one of the receptacles. Not sure what that meant. I guess I have to follow your procedure here.
under our kitchen sink, i noticed the outlet for the dishwasher and disposal that's plugged in is show open hot. however, both appliance still has power and still works. what could be the cause? it's an older home, so not sure if that should be replace with GFCI socket?
What if everything is wired fine but still have an open hot? Bad gfci?
What if there the hot wire is connected and not damaged at all and tester still reads open hot?
The problem could be farther upstream on the circuit.
Great video !!!
Thanks!
I switched my garbage disposal out and the new one I purchased required a plug in outlet where the original disposal did not plug in. I used the same wiring. I’m wondering what might be the problem that the disposal works fine when I plug it in to this new outlet but using a plug in outlet tester it’s showing open hot but it runs the disposal. How can I fix this issue? Today after noticing it showed hot wire I added in a ground wire because I had used a metal box rather than plastic box. Also today I switched out a regular std receptacle and put in a gfci. That still didn’t change anything. Thanks.
I messed around with my garbage disposal and ended up turning it which caused me to lose the seal I had with plumbers putty around the opening in sink where water runs down to disposal. It started allowing water to drip around that gasket under the sink. I had disposal running and it automatically shut off. Maybe a builder doesn’t do whatever is needed for a plug in outlet when instead the make a closed system of wiring to the disposal. Because either way there is s button reset on a garbage disposal if water comes in contact. If anyone sees this let me know your thoughts. Thanks.
Do you have a link or model for the outlet tester you are using?
Thank you for your information 🙂
The outlet under my sink where the garbage disposal and dishwasher washer are connect has one plug showing open hot. I’m guessing that’s wrong. The switch that powers the disposal on and off is under there as well a few feet away. When I connect the disposal on one of the plugs 🔌 it stays on all the time. I’m guessing that’s where the washer is suppose to be connected to. When I connect it to the other plug, it doesn’t power on at all when I flip the switch. This outlet is connected with a GFCI that keeps tripping on a separate wall. Any recommendations on what I can do to fix this? Obviously my electrical knowledge needs to grow. 😃
Thank you for this video!
You are so welcome! Thanks!
Thank you for sharing!!
My pleasure!
Can it be that the wiring issue is in the (working) outlet next to it?
I put new outlets and tester beeps fast as it says it has power but I plug it in and doesn’t power anything
I have a open hot but my outlet reads or detect live power with my voltage tester?what are my options?
What if you show power at the outlet in question but no indication of power with the three light tester? And the 3 light test indicator works at other outlets.
I had a similar experience. The circuit tester indicated an open hot, but the voltage sensor showed power. Answer: the outlet was wired to a wall switch which was in the off position.
@@joelsturm3577 I think you helped me with the same problem with power to storage room. The joys of having an old house that was built before codes and lived in by people that didn't care.
I have 2 receptacle they are connected to each other in the same wall that reads open hot and I cant find the supply box I checked the one next to them on the next wall no luck and the room below with same position still no luck any other idea how to find the supply box to these 2 receptacle??
Get a tone generator to 'tone out' the electrical wiring (after ensuring there is zero juice going to the lines of course).
My reader said there was multiple open hot outlets.
But they worked.
Is that normal?
What is model of the kline tester that you used on outside that goes down to 12 vt?
I probably won't be attempting to fix this myself, but I'm still curious about something. How can I find which circuit the defective receptacle is on if I don't already know? Since it currently doesn't work, I can't find the circuit by flipping the breaker switches to see which one makes it go out.
Chances are there is going to be atleast one other outlet or light on same circuit that is near one you are having issue with.
Shouldn't you check it before you put it all back together?
so i have an outside outlet that is not getting power. it reads blank on the outlet tester. I confirmed no power going to wire with ohmmeter testing for continuity. i pulled apart an exterior light above where the socket is. you can see this is where the power going down in the box towards the plug outlet. the upper light has power, so im assuming there is a short in the wall between that light and the outlet. there is no other lead going to the outlet so it only comes from one direction. what can i do to fix it? i confirmed no nicks or damage to the wire at the outlet. so thats why it must have a problem within the wall. thanks for reading
I'd like to know what you figured out? Seems like NO ONE really replies back from the channel anymore.....
@@MakayaGemini3 the easiest way to to test if a outlet has power is plug a light in and see if it works. Unscrew outlet and touch wire. You will get shocked. Don't do that. Use an ohmmeter or test light and see it it flashes up. That is the safer way to test for power
@@JACMAN02 LOL. Ok,yeah pretty much knew all that just wanted to know what YOU found out to be the problem. The wiring inside the walls or what? If so I guess you just replaced all the line?
This *almost* helped. I had several outlets go out, on different circuits, just a couple hours after a storm. There are no water leaks anywhere in this 2-story house. The upstairs is not used at all, so nothing is even plugged in up there, but half the outlets in each room are out even though each room is on its own circuit. Downstairs, the east half of the house was fine, but the west half was not - outlets out. Getting open hot indicators on GFCIs and regular outlets. This problem is on the north and south ends of the house, and on the west side of the house. My bedroom fine, but my bath is totally out. Living room is: east fine, west not.
NO circuit breakers were tripped. Even my 220 dryer is out. That doesn't make sense to me that so many went out at once, unrelated to each other. I will check back in a while to see if anyone has any info.
Good luck!
How about an update. Was it just 1 phase out? Problem at the pole?
I don’t get it, I have one that says open hot, but it’s connected. Then in the same room, it says open neutral? Am I missing something?
Is this Will kilmer?
What if I have multiple outlets showing open hot?
Hey Sparky, I was looking for something like this; however, my bottom outlet does work when the light switch is on. The home is wired like this in all 4 bedrooms for the outlets that are alongside the wall where a bed would normally be placed. The builder (2010) I believe did this on purpose wiring a "half hot" outlet so that we could plug in night lights that turn off with the use of the light switch. We live in Hawaii and our inspector just flagged all of those outlets and light switches accordingly. Does the wiring of a "half hot" switch like this go against the National Electrical Code? Hawaii adopted the 2014 NEC back in March 2017 as well as the 2015 International Energy Conservation code at the same time.
Liked the video, Sparky thanks for information, it's going to help me..explained my questions. 👍
Good information Bill. i really love your videos
Thanks Carlos!
My pool light switch keeps tripping gfi and outlet says open hot
Can you reupload the (How To Fix A Bootleg Grounded Outlet) video.
I'll look for it.
@@SparkyChannel please n thank you
My problem there IS electricity there but as soon as I plug the tester or anything else in there is no power thereat all until I unplug the tester or whatever device I plug in. It even turns off another circuit in my house when I turn on the circuit breaker even with the breakers on.
Helpful, Thanks
great video
Thanks!
Hey @Sparky Channel can you please make a video of the klein cl800 clamp meter?
I'm sorry, I don't own one.
Can you also reupload the (How To Fix A Open Neutral Wire) video.
Yes, either that or I'll make a new one.
What about when there is power but the tester shows open hot
Isn't it supposed to be clockwise?
I have several recepticles that test hot but they will not run anything. I'm confused 🤷
i have an open hot outlet that is getting power.......what can cause that?
in one of my bedroom there are no outlet working, but they are getting power.
I don't know but be extremely careful. I feel that you need a professional electrician to help you out.
@@SparkyChannel I'm confused why you would post this video but then tell us to hire a professional. DYI'ers like myself don't want to hire an electrican for such an easy job that cost 100-200 for an electrician to come out. Just shut off the power box and test to make sure everthing is off. You'll be fine!
I have a wire that both hot and neutral wires are testing hot, and the receptical is reading open hot. I can't for the life of me find the other end of the wire. I want to disconnect that wire and run a new one. I may need to gut the house.. Figured I could get away with fishing it through the walls.
also, I hate to say it, but nothing is grounded. the previous owners said everything was new, but they only made it look that way, and did their best to hide everything.
I want to do this myself because an electrician is probably going to charge me 200 dollars just to do this. What’s the best way to avoid getting shocked? Aside from the obvious of turning off the breaker
After shutting off breaker giving it a couple minutes for energy to cease, wearing gloves and using tools that are insulated with a rubber handle are also positives.
@@jamesb1988 thanks man!
I turned off a fan and went to bed, but, in the morning, the fan would not come on! Testing of the outlet, and the other outlet on that wall, show "open hot."
I turned off the power and checked inside the outlet. No wires were loose.
NOW WHAT??
Great video super great video
2 woman in the house, mom and daughter we count on you :) :)
Bless you both!
An open hot is dangerous and the hot black or red wire touches to metal where the ground is bonded causes sparks, short, arcing, may trip the breaker for Safety, this is not good at all and we need to fix this issue by turning off the Right breaker or turning off the Main breaker instead
Very scary is why I shut off all power to be safe
Kick ass
Right on!
I have 3 all of a sudden doing this...😱😱😱😱😱
It's most likely just one and the other two are down stream of it.. I would start with the one physically closest to the circuit breaker.
This guy doesn't know what he is doing the screw has nothing to do with the hole in the back
A very dangerous situation??? HAHAHAHA, spread the fear!
You leave yours wrong then..no worries.. no big loss in your case .. obviously
😎🍻🍺
Cheers with a beer! :)
Idk why you wrapped it in electrical tape it’s actually best to not do that.
Thanks.