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Make sure no one is going to touch the wires while they are exposed. To find out if a wire is live youll also need a voltage detector.
Once you find its power source you can turn the power off and disconnect the sockets wires there.
How to trace a wire with no power. To find wires without any power one of the handiest tools is an electronic stud finder. Most stud finders are equipped to handle finding wooden studs in the wall but some can also be used to find wires as well. To find out if a wire is live youll also need a voltage detector.
There are a many great testers that can be used to identify wiring problems. One type of tester I would recommend is the Non-Contact Voltage Detector which can be used to detect voltage in outlets lighting fixtures wires and cables. Testing for Broken Wires.
After this if you cant identify any power in a non-working outlet you can check working ones. Youre looking specifically for a disconnect in a wire that is feeding the rest of the circuit so logically the ones nearest the dead circuits are most likely to be doing that. Start with all the breakers off and plug a lamp – turned on – into an outlet.
Flip breakers on and off one at a time until the lamp lights up. Then plug the lamp into the other nearby outlets to determine which ones are on the same circuit. Flip light switches to see which circuit the lights are on.
Buy the Fieldpiece SC260 Here. Wont cost you a penny but helps me keep sharing helpful information. The key to tracing hidden wires is to separate the current paths by using a remote or separate ground.
Imagine the current path flowing from the HOT side of the power source thru the HOT wire connected to one lead of the transmitter thru the transmitter to the other lead then to the NEUTRAL wire GND wire or to a water pipe. Please be aware that you may need to open a working outlet to find the loose connection. This is because its possible for the wires up TO a working outlet to be intact.
But the wires that go FROM that outlet to the next nonworking outlet may be loose at the working outlet. Lastly the problem isnt necessarily confined to an outlet box. If not that then using an analog multimeter or Wiggins or test light but not a digital multimeter you need to verify all the breakers show power.
You need to open all boxes and check that there is no knob and tube wiring check for voltage at the wires move any back stab connections to the screws and replace any wire nuts with new ones. Make sure no one is going to touch the wires while they are exposed. Turn the breaker back on and see if the socket works.
If the socket does not work you found its source. If the socket still works repeat 2 4 until you find its power source. Once you find its power source you can turn the power off and disconnect the sockets wires there.
Unscrew the Receptacle to Check for a Loose Connection. Sometimes the problem really is your outlet itself. The only way youll know is to unscrew the receptacle from your wall and do some investigating.
Once out of the wall look for loose terminal screws or wires. We used this system to trace a few wires on a 1963 Buick Le Sabre wagon. We used it to locate the fuel sender signal wire inside the wire harness and traced it through to the dash letting us get the fuel gauge working.
The key to using the Power Probe and ECT2000 is the instructional DVD. In this video we do a little detective work to trace wires inside the walls and ceiling so we can prepare to replace the lighting. Products used in this.
The slot that looks like a small D-shaped hole is the ground slot and it is connected to the circuit ground wire. To test an outlet for power turn off the power to the circuit at the circuit breaker. Insert the two probes of the tester into the two vertical slots on the receptacle.
Many homes are served by a single main electrical panel in which case this task is simple. Find the main electrical panel open its hinged cover and look inside at the fuses or circuit breakers. Most electrical panels have a number embossed on the cover plate next to each circuit breaker.
110v on a runner hot wire goes into a switch then out to a light socket then through the lamp out the neutral side of the socket on the wire back to the neutral bus. Now we shut off the light switch cut the neutral wire in two connect our meter to the ends of the cut wire turn the switch back on. If no discontinuity exists then the wiring is sound and you need to then explore all wiring connections as described elsewhere in the other answers.
If one exists then examine the suspected route of the wiring and look for a possible intrusion a nail or screw or evidence of one having once been there a hole or a repaired surface.