electrical woes.

This was Electrical Mystery #2. Electrical Mystery #1 was the one in the kitchen when I was rewiring that circuit (and the result is here). But for this one, I sort of hate to think how long it has been since I have been stepping on and tripping over extension cords leading from the living room to my bedroom cos one day the bedroom circuit just decided to freak out. It was a Saturday morning and Julian came to me and asked why the fridge wasn't working (the fridge happens to be on an outlet on the other side of my bedroom so it is on the same circuit - hey, I didn't design the circuit OK). I said of course it was working I had just got something out of it. Turns out, uhh, he was right. It wasn't. And neither was anything on that circuit. Why I don't know. So I of course went downstairs to the breaker panel and checked if the fuse was tripped. Nope. Hmm, time to dig deeper so I grabbed a voltmeter and checked the panel. Hmmmmmmm, power leaving the panel on that circuit. So why were none of the outlets or fixtures working?

I tested continuity for the rest of the afternoon that day and was officially stumped. What I could determine was the first outlet on the circuit was out but there was f'in power leaving the breaker! What the heck!? So I let it sit.

Until today.

I had had enough so I crawled up to the attic to inspect a box I had pulled power into from an outlet below and wired a few splices into for my closet light, the ceiling fan and the wall sconces. There was no power going into or out of that junction box. But hmm, what was that ... ? A cable coming up from my bedroom. I tested it and it had power! What the heck ... so I checked and much to my delight it was on the bedroom circuit. So now I had one wire with power on that circuit. That one wire had to lead to the answer

So I followed it down. This meant taking down the drywall I had hung above my bed to see where it came from and where it went. I tested it -

Yep, power. After doing that I could see it - and my answer! It led to an outlet box below in the kitchen that I had actually sealed off with drywall when I hung sheetrock in the kitchen cos there was an outlet two feet directly below it so why have two outlets right there? Again, I did not design this circuit - let me just say that again.

But that had to be it. So I went into the kitchen with a drywall knife and cut out a square where that outlet box was and sure enough - there was power going into that box from that one cable but not leaving it -

I have no idea why. I still have no idea why. But I pulled off the wire caps on the neutral and hot splices and boom! The circuit lit up!

So I finished up with the electrical in my bedroom installing the sconces and testing and it all works.

What is weird is if I put the wire cap on the hot splice the circuit dies. If I take it off - it's fine. I still have to solve that mystery but no worries - I once again have power and it is sweet. I pulled the extension cords and tucked them back away in a drawer. And the sconces look pretty nice (I wasn't sure how'd they look - it was sort of a gamble for bedroom lighting).