This question and answer page will help you to troubleshoot why there is no power going to outlets in one room or on one wall. Remember to always remove or disconnect power before troubleshooting electrical issues.
Question: The power outlets along one wall are no longer getting power to them. The outlets that stopped working are located in our kitchen. This problem is only happening on one wall not the complete room. The dining room and kitchen are side by side and separated by a wall with the outlets that are not working. The outlets on the dining room side wall are still working. So our issue is just one wall of outlets in our kitchen where we plug in all of our appliances is not working. We checked the breaker box in the garage and no circuit breakers have been tripped. There is no GFI reset button on the outlets to press. What can I do to troubleshoot and fix this?
Answer: The first thing to do is to unplug everything that is plugged into all the outlets that do not have power. Then reset the designated (and hopefully labeled) kitchen breaker in the breaker box by turning it off and then on again. Sometimes a breaker will look like it is not tripped but in reality it is. By turning it off and then back on, you are making sure that the breaker is on and supplying power to that region of your house. Check to see if you have power on that wall and if so then it was just a tripped breaker. If this did not solve your issue, see below for what to do next.
If the breaker is on and the outlets are still not getting power on that wall, be sure that even if one of them is a GFI that you press the reset button. If there is no GFI reset button, then your issue may be that one outlet is damaged or has a loose wire. This could be causing the other outlets to also have no power. In simple terms, the outlets that are not working may be daisy chained. Think of it like the old Christmas lights. When one went out, they all went out. Your outlets may also be wired this way. You must determine which outlet is the first in the row to not be working. Most likely that outlet will be the one that has a loose wire or has become defective or possibly burned.
Newer USA outlets have an easier way to install the wires. These outlets save time when installing an outlet but sometimes the wires can come loose. These type of outlets are called back stab or stab-in outlets. If you have these type of outlets then you can check to see if possibly a wire has popped out. Turn off the breaker to the outlet before doing any type of electrical troubleshooting. Remove the 1 screw holding the wall plate on. Remove the 2 screws that hold the outlet in place. Pull out the outlet carefully and check to see if all wires are connected. If you find that the outlet has a loose wire, you can either push the wire back into the connector it came loose from or wire it to the screw connector so it does not pop out again.
If you did find an outlet that had a wire come loose and you fixed it, reinstall the outlet and turn the breaker back on. Get a night light or something simple and plug it in and be sure it lights up. If so then check the rest of the outlets and they should all now be working properly. If you encounter a burned outlet, then it will need to be replaced. Remember to always turn off power before doing any electrical work.
Is your outlet not working? How to reset your GFCI outlets and circuit breaker
If none of the above has resolved your power outlet issue, then it may be best to call a professional electrician to be safe. You may have a bad breaker in the breaker box itself or another possibly dangerous wiring issue that should be handled by a professional.
If you know of another safe and easy way to troubleshoot and fix an electrical outlet problem, please leave a comment below to assist our other readers.
Written by Keith Schneerer
Certified Appliance Tech · Founder, RemoveAndReplace.com
Keith has spent 30+ years repairing machines, starting as a military mechanic and later maintaining food processing equipment before moving into appliance repair. He founded RemoveAndReplace.com to share field-tested repair advice.
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We plugged something in and it shot out power on one side of the house except the outlet it was plugged in at? What do I do
Ray,
You may have a GFCI outlet that has tripped. Are you replacing all outlets with GFCI? Check all outlets to be sure one has not tripped and reset it if it has.
If one trips, the rest of the outlets may not work depending on how the outlets are wired.
-RR
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I have one outlet in a room that is not getting power to it, all other outlets work in the room and a light near this outlet works. So, I know this one outlet is not in that circuit. I need to know how do I find out what circuit it’s on. No breakers are tripped and I tested each wire in breaker box ,all tight and hot. I’m stumped on this one.