Bathroom Electrical Wiring

Questions about Bathroom Wiring

Question from Joe, a Homeowner in Mariposa, California:
My bathroom light and fan do not work when switched on, what could be the problem?

The age of our home is 30 years, and there is a problem in the guest bathroom where the light and fan do not work when switched on. Each has its own separate switch. There is one GFCI plug installed in the bathroom. The GFCI has two pair of wires; one pair (hot) is connected to the LINE connectors on the GFCI connector. The second set of wires are connected to the LOAD section. The GFCI appears to be okay.

Also, the adjoining master bedroom has two outlets that do not have power.

The circuit breakers in the electrical panel seems to be working fine, there’s 115vac on the output side. All wires on the output side leading into the house are tight.

Thanks for any suggestions you can offer in finding the problem.

Dave’s Answer:
Troubleshooting a Bathroom Electric Circuit Problem

Joe, I suspect that the affected bathroom circuit has lost connection with either the neutral or the power wire. The circuit wiring should be checked starting at the last device that is working. Often we find a faulty wire connection to a receptacle outlet, or a burnt wire splice in a wire connection. Removing the affected circuit components and replacing them with components of the same specifications will typically solve the problem and restore the circuit power.

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NO POWER TO OUTLETS AND LIGHT SWITCH IN BATH ROOM

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Robert asks::
The other night we hooked up a new sauna. While running the sauna one of the kids started the washer and it tripped the circuit breaker. I reset circuit breaker but now I have no power to the lights fan in the downstairs living room. On the east wall of living room two outlets have no power and the downstairs bathroom light switch has no power. I removed and replace circuit breaker and removed and replace both outlets in the living room. I also replaced the light switch in the bathroom, but still no power? All other outlets work in the downstairs living room. I'm Puzzled

Dave's reply:
Robert, I can't help to be curious about the addition of the sauna circuit and how it was installed. When something like this occurs, I always work the problem backwards starting with the most recent work that has been done and begin an inspection of what exactly was done and by who, and of course was it done according to code and inspected, with the GFCI for the sauna being tested. Once the sauna circuit installation has been verified to be ok, then a process of testing and inspections would need to take place starting at the electrical panel by a qualified electrician in order to find out exactly what the cause is.