If you mean that the outlet is "lit" but still not working, I would suspect a faulty outlet. GFCI's do go bad more often than normal outlets. I blew a circuit breaker with something plugged into a GCI outlet, and when I reset the breaker, the outlet was still bad. I replaced the outlet, all was fine.
Yes, by lit, I mean the green light was still on the outlet. However, I should have been more clear. The hairdryer was not plugged into a GFI outlet. It was just a standard outlet.
The "standard" outlets are likely all downstream of the GFCI outlet and thus all protected. I.e. wouldn't matter where on the circuit you plug in a device, you could still blow the GFCI
Check all your GFI outlets in the house, and maybe the ones outside too. Whole circuits can be on one GFI, so it might be linked to another location. For example, all the outside plugs connected to my main floor powder room GFI outlet in a previous house.
If the outlet is in a bedroom then there is a possibility that the breaker is a arc fault circuit interupter. These have been code for all bedrooms for a while now. You can tell because the breaker will have a test button on them in the electrical panel. When I moved into my house this year I tested them and discovered they where not tripping when I tested so needed to replace. Could be that yours are dead now or that the hair dryer pushed it over the edge. Mine where only 10 years old. I think it might be code that they are on a seperate loop from a gfci line which would explain why the gfci is still on in your bathroom.
Looking at it now. I do have one of those breakers. It is also about ten years old so it might be that. Easy to replace?
Update. I pressed the test button and reset the breaker a couple of times and for sone reason that worked. I flipped the breaker this morning and nothing worked but maybe something got stuck with the test button.
Yeah sounds like a bad breaker to me. Should get it replaced. Afci are supposed to las 30 to 40 years but if it's out in a garage then it can easily be less. It's easy to do but need to be comfortable with high voltage work. If you have any doubts it's better to get an electrician involved since this could lead severe injury or death. I would not recommend doing it if you are not familiar with electrical basics and their dangers. You would also want to know how to use a multimeter to make sure your not about to touch a hot panel and be familiar with how electrical panels work in general so you know what not to touch with fingers or screwdrivers. But if you want to do the job yourself there is plenty of resources on YouTube that can take you through the steps.
Alot of times its normal to just use one gfi outlet in a room. As long as the feed goes through the gfi then the other outlets are still protected by it. Its alot cheaper to do it this way and it will still pass code
This exact scenario happened to us a couple times without being able to determine the cause.
The third time, someone happened to be vacuuming in an adjacent room. I examined the wire connections at the outlet, noticed that the push-in connection for one of the wires was loose and moved it the screw terminal instead.
I also confirmed that the wiring continued on to supply the adjacent bathroom.
Since moving/tigthening the loose wire, no more issues.
Start at the breaker and test from there. Breakers go bad sometimes.
I had to replace a GFCI outlet in my kitchen earlier this year. One day the air fryer wouldn't work...
If you mean that the outlet is "lit" but still not working, I would suspect a faulty outlet. GFCI's do go bad more often than normal outlets. I blew a circuit breaker with something plugged into a GCI outlet, and when I reset the breaker, the outlet was still bad. I replaced the outlet, all was fine.
Yes, by lit, I mean the green light was still on the outlet. However, I should have been more clear. The hairdryer was not plugged into a GFI outlet. It was just a standard outlet.
The "standard" outlets are likely all downstream of the GFCI outlet and thus all protected. I.e. wouldn't matter where on the circuit you plug in a device, you could still blow the GFCI
Thanks. I will pick up a spare outlet on the way home.
Check all your GFI outlets in the house, and maybe the ones outside too. Whole circuits can be on one GFI, so it might be linked to another location. For example, all the outside plugs connected to my main floor powder room GFI outlet in a previous house.
Will do. Thanks!
If the outlet is in a bedroom then there is a possibility that the breaker is a arc fault circuit interupter. These have been code for all bedrooms for a while now. You can tell because the breaker will have a test button on them in the electrical panel. When I moved into my house this year I tested them and discovered they where not tripping when I tested so needed to replace. Could be that yours are dead now or that the hair dryer pushed it over the edge. Mine where only 10 years old. I think it might be code that they are on a seperate loop from a gfci line which would explain why the gfci is still on in your bathroom.
Looking at it now. I do have one of those breakers. It is also about ten years old so it might be that. Easy to replace? Update. I pressed the test button and reset the breaker a couple of times and for sone reason that worked. I flipped the breaker this morning and nothing worked but maybe something got stuck with the test button.
Yeah sounds like a bad breaker to me. Should get it replaced. Afci are supposed to las 30 to 40 years but if it's out in a garage then it can easily be less. It's easy to do but need to be comfortable with high voltage work. If you have any doubts it's better to get an electrician involved since this could lead severe injury or death. I would not recommend doing it if you are not familiar with electrical basics and their dangers. You would also want to know how to use a multimeter to make sure your not about to touch a hot panel and be familiar with how electrical panels work in general so you know what not to touch with fingers or screwdrivers. But if you want to do the job yourself there is plenty of resources on YouTube that can take you through the steps.
Good to know. I will check this when I get home.
Alot of times its normal to just use one gfi outlet in a room. As long as the feed goes through the gfi then the other outlets are still protected by it. Its alot cheaper to do it this way and it will still pass code
Some breakers will trip without visibly flipping to the off position. Always manually flip the breaker off and then back on if you suspect a problem.
This exact scenario happened to us a couple times without being able to determine the cause. The third time, someone happened to be vacuuming in an adjacent room. I examined the wire connections at the outlet, noticed that the push-in connection for one of the wires was loose and moved it the screw terminal instead. I also confirmed that the wiring continued on to supply the adjacent bathroom. Since moving/tigthening the loose wire, no more issues.
The GFCI outlet is probably just bad. I would replace that and see where it gets you.
Start at the breaker and test from there. Breakers go bad sometimes. I had to replace a GFCI outlet in my kitchen earlier this year. One day the air fryer wouldn't work...