Home electrical wiring with voltage between neutral wires - is this normal? [more inside]
posted by exogenous on Nov 12, 2012 - 6 answers

Rented carpet cleaner seems to have killed a bunch of outlets/lights in my house. Any ideas? [more inside]
posted by wongcorgi on Jun 26, 2012 - 6 answers

Help me understand the national electric code with regard to rewiring and updating several rooms in my 1940s-era house. [more inside]
posted by JohnFredra on Dec 6, 2011 - 8 answers

Need help with wiring a garbage disposal. [more inside]
posted by KevinSkomsvold on Oct 14, 2011 - 4 answers

Ethernet ports in every room, but none of them work. The brains of the system which is in the wall of a closet is a Square D Multi-Link Structured Wiring System. How do I find out how it's set up and how do make it work as it should? [more inside]
posted by cgomez on Sep 15, 2011 - 20 answers

I might hire an unlicensed electrician to work on my home. Is this bad? Worst case scenario? [more inside]
posted by thisisdrew on Feb 22, 2011 - 31 answers

Where to buy a 4 1/2" outlet box that is open on both sides for back-to-back light fixture installation? [more inside]
posted by Jim Biancolo on Dec 12, 2010 - 7 answers

This switch/receptacle has been miswired for years. For starters, neither device had the grounding wires attached. I want to put things the way they should be. [more inside]
posted by dhartung on Mar 23, 2010 - 14 answers

DIY: How can I swap my 1500W/220V in-wall space heater with two safe 220V outlets? I am in the state of Oregon and would prefer to do this myself. [more inside]
posted by roygbv on Feb 4, 2010 - 8 answers

Power surged in the house; circuit breakers did not break... [more inside]
posted by shino-boy on Jan 2, 2010 - 12 answers

When my living room lights are off, touching the screws on the faceplate for the electrical switch gives me a tiny little frisson of electricity. When my living room lights are on, I get a fairly painful shock from touching the screws on the faceplate. How dangerous is this? [more inside]
posted by jacquilynne on Nov 9, 2008 - 23 answers

Home electrical problem/mystery: I accidentally plugged the phone charger into an outlet incorrectly and now that outlet and the dishwasher don't work. Help? [more inside]
posted by mundy on Jun 27, 2008 - 10 answers

2 outlets & a ceiling light stopped working at the same time. None of the circuit breakers were flipped. What would cause this, and how can I troubleshoot it? [more inside]
posted by designbot on Aug 30, 2007 - 15 answers

I know, I know, light bulbs seem to fail in clusters, but I don't think this is to do with putting a bunch of lights in at the same time. This week for instance, I got up and turned on my kitchen lights (8 x 50w small spots) and one blew and tripped my Ground Floor Light fuse. A day later and I get home and turn on the same lights, another goes and trips the lights circuit again. Later in the week, another goes in my study. I replaced all the bulbs today. I turn them on, everything is fine, I go outside and turn on the porch/side lights (3 x 60w) and two of them blow. I nearly always have an inop light or two. My question is this : Is there an electrical fault which might explain this pattern of failure ? Thanks
posted by matholio on Oct 7, 2006 - 11 answers

Why would the lightbulbs burn out much more frequently in one room of my house? [more inside]
posted by pornucopia on Feb 22, 2006 - 9 answers

Is there a safe, easy way to ground a household outlet? [more inside]
posted by Gilbert on Sep 1, 2005 - 11 answers

We just moved into a townhouse. In the guest bathroom, the light and fan are operated by the same switch, so that the fan automatically comes on when you turn on the light. We hate the sound of the fan and would prefer to have two separate switches, one for the light and one for the fan. How complicated is this to do? Is it something we could reasonably learn how to do ourselves or should we leave it to an electrician?
posted by widdershins on Oct 18, 2004 - 10 answers