I discovered last weekend that one seldom-used outlet in my house is not getting power. I assumed the outlet itself was bad. It's a GFCI outlet in the master bathroom and isn't resettable (tried pushing both buttons and nothing happens).

All other outlets in the house work. I also flipped every breaker on the 110 panel/box in the garage. Still the outlet doesn't get power.

I removed the outlet's cover plate and pulled the outlet out so that I could use a light-up tester to see if the wires themselves were hot. Nope.

I also tripped every other GFCI outlet in the house. Still didn't get power to that sole outlet.

Any ideas?

Has this outlet ever worked? Did you check it with a voltmeter or just a light stick?

Yes, it used to work. About a month ago, I tried to install one of those outlet covers (wallplate) that has built-in LED lights. That cover didn't fit and I later read that the built-in LED light cover was not intended for GFCI outlets. So, I abandoned that attempt and put the original cover back on. I don't think I checked for power at that time.

I only used the light stick today. When I first discovered the problem last weekend, I tried to plug in a dremel roto tool, which didn't come on. So, I plugged the dremel into another outlet in the same bathroom.

I tried this tool in the outlet and it didn't light up.


Then, I tried this tester in the outlet and it also did not light up. But, it did show 'CORRECT' for all other outlets in the bathroom

I decided to call an electrician, who had done work in that same bathroom/area about a year ago. I'll reply back with the root cause once it's fixed.

why don't you just replace it first?

sts7049 said:

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why don't you just replace it first?

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Two reasons:
1. I already used the tester to contact the wires leading to the outlet/receptacle. Didn't light up, so *appears* no power is even getting to the outlet in the first place.

2. I watched some videos that advised that the tester isn't 100% trustworthy, for example, if an "upstream" wire is loosely connected, then power may temporarily be restored as I'm touching/working with reconnecting the wires.

At that point, I decided it's not worth my time, or life. I can make a better use of my time by catching up on my work.

I now have the electrician scheduled and will have him take care of a couple of other things while he's here.

GFI's have a life expectacy of about 5 yrs +\- whether used daily or seldom. Go get a new 20 amp new one and replace. Simple swap. Dont even have to cut power to do it.

woodyhayes said:

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GFI's have a life expectacy of about 5 yrs +\- whether used daily or seldom. Go get a new 20 amp new one and replace. Simple swap. Dont even have to cut power to do it.

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Not sure I follow.

1. I used a tester to actually touch the copper wires that connect to the GFCI receptacle. No power. I don't see how replacing the GFCI receptacle will restore power. Even if the current GFCI is faulty, there should still be power on the "hot" wires and my tester should detect that when I touch the hot & neutral wires.

2. How in the world can I loosen the screws that potentially (normally) carry electricity, remove the hot & neutral wires from the old GFCI, and attach them to the new GFCI without cutting power by flipping the breaker?

My only other suggestion is to see if there Is maybe a switch controlling the outlet?

If there is another GFCI on that circuit check it. Check all plugs and switches on circuit you will find it.

Yeah, putting GFCI in series can cause tripping issues as well... but if your not even getting power to the wiring, that's a different root cause.

Any chance this outlet is breakered at the main panel outside? Unlikely, but possible if there was an oversight during the build.

Try checking the nearest outlets and switches to see if a hot or neutral is loose that feeds this one

Any updates on the solution?

toolshed said:

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Any updates on the solution?

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Nope. Electrician (handyman) has cancelled on me twice. I think the job is too small for him. May be time to call someone else.

I did check the main breaker panel on the outside of the house. On that panel, all is labeled and there's no GFI/GFCI 120V breaker.

Have you gone into the attic to find where the wires go down to the outlet and checked the reading there?

Or if it's coming in series from another outlet, checked the source-outlet for the line out to make sure there is a reading there?

i.e. troubleshooting back up the line until you find the break?

Something similar happened at my house... the GFCI in the master bath popped, and we couldn't reset it (the button on the outlet didn't do anything). I reset the breaker but it still didn't work.

My step-father-in-law told me to hit reset on all the wall pieces I could find. Finally one in the garage (total opposite side of the house) reset the master bath outlet.

Hit ALL the reset buttons in your garage and see if that works.

gvine07 said:

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Something similar happened at my house... the GFCI in the master bath popped, and we couldn't reset it (the button on the outlet didn't do anything). I reset the breaker but it still didn't work.

My step-father-in-law told me to hit reset on all the wall pieces I could find. Finally one in the garage (total opposite side of the house) reset the master bath outlet.

Hit ALL the reset buttons in your garage and see if that works.

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This EXACT same thing happened to me about 2 months ago. Posted it here too, I think.

I didn't know you could change out the GFCI without cutting the power.

I've heard the garage outlets by code must be GFCI. If I, as a homeowner, change it back to a regular receptacle, will I have to change it to sell the house?

The house doesn't have to be up to code to sell.

In 2010 my wife and I bought a 5-year-old house that didn't have GFCI outlets in the garage, but we didn't care. Of course 2 years later we were selling and the buyer insisted we "get them up to code."

So I think we just covered the outlets with plates. Problem solved.

What city ?

gvine07 said:

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The house doesn't have to be up to code to sell.

In 2010 my wife and I bought a 5-year-old house that didn't have GFCI outlets in the garage, but we didn't care. Of course 2 years later we were selling and the buyer insisted we "get them up to code."

So I think we just covered the outlets with plates. Problem solved.

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Excellent solution, I would have never thought to do that, hahaha.

Do you have a jacuzzi tub in your master? If so, are the jets working? I've seen them plugged into GFCI outlets under the tub, which contained the reset button for the other GFCIs in the bathroom.

Bird93 said:

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Do you have a jacuzzi tub in your master? If so, are the jets working? I've seen them plugged into GFCI outlets under the tub, which contained the reset button for the other GFCIs in the bathroom.

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Wow, great idea. So, there's a single-pole switch in the bath that controls the jacuzzi tub. I thought that was the only thing that it controlled.

But, due to your comment, I just went and flipped that switch and the GFCI outlet now works. I had no idea that that switch also somehow controls the GFCI outlet.

Thanks for the idea. Problem solved.

I'm glad it worked. That was a major pet peeve of mine back when I was building houses.