Downstairs 4 outlets and 4 of the lights stopped working. One of the outlets that doesn't work has the top plugin socket working but the bottom one doesn't. Also 2 lights still work even though they are in rooms where the sockets don't work. At the time we did have two computers running from the outlets and maybe some other electrical stuff. When the electrical went out we heard electrical sparking sounds.Then like a couple months later it happened again but upstairs. The lights and outlets stopped working in 2 bedrooms and the bathroom. I don't think we had very much electrical equipment plugged in just maybe a hair straightener.If I reset the breaker the switch will move to where its supposed to be but nothing happens.How much money should I have on hand for the electrician approximately? $200? $1000?
The key piece of information was the sparking sound. What you've got is a VERY common problem. A bad (loose) connection some where. Most likely at one of the receptacles. Since you've had the problem in more than one room, more than one circuit it's a good idea to have an Electrician come in and deal with it. Code allows us to attach the in coming wires to one set of screws on a receptacle and attach the out going wires to the other set of screws. Or worse yet, to push the wires into little holes in the back of the outlet, often referred to as back stabbing. That means that power is dependent on the connections on the recep. to pass from box to box. If any one of those 4 connection points fails everything down stream looses power. The cure is to splice all incoming and outgoing wires, add apig tail (short piece of wire) to the splice and attach it to the outlet. Much better connection and now the recep. is attached TO the circuit as opposed to being part OF the circuit. A really good electrician can make this change in a few minutes. Not counting moving furniture or dealing with other problems they might encounter. I strongly recommend having them make this change to all outlets in the house. Count up the # of outlets and multiply by 10 minutes each. THIS IS JUST a ballpark figure! I'm not there and can't say for sure! Could very well take longer but not a lot. Personally I can make the change and replace the receptacle in as little as 5 minutes, but I've run into situations that took MUCH longer. But now you have a MINIMUM time to work from. If the house is old or if the outlets have been painted over, this would be the time to change them. Available colors now include almond and light almond which in my opinion look much better than the common ivory. Hope I've been of assistance.
I would start by looking at the outlet where only one of the plugins work. Usually only kitchens are skip wired (2 separate circuits on top and bottom plug). When you had the sparking (short) it probably burnt a wire off.
Other people here have explained some of the possible causes but your question is about money. If you have $400 on-hand, it's going to be plenty enough. It may go as low as $150. The easier you make it for the electrician, the smaller the bill will be. Furniture in front of the outlets, all those boxes under the circuit panel and the painted-on cover plates will slow him down and cost you money. Something is wrong in one of those boxes.
sounds like you have a problem with your outlet.wires are fed from the source Breaker Boxto a junction box where it branches offyoull have an outlet that should have 4 or more wires connectedthis is because the wiring goes into the outlet on one side and out on the other to feed another recepticle, light, switch etcif half of your outlet is not working, the contact plate inside brokeit may arc and start a fire. because the plate is broken, there is no output to the other devices connected.replace that outlet and check any nearby junction boxesmake sure wire caps are tight. to replace an outlet will costs you around 80 bucks for an electrician, or about 23 cents to do it yourself if you learn about wiring.
Could be a few things bad outlets or loose neutral. I recommend getting an electrician to fix it .Most will give a free estimate
