Lights and outlets stop working, breaker not popping

[Cromacster]

Question for all you sparkies out there.

Every now and then certain lights and outlets will quit working for a period of time, 5 minutes or so.  The lights and outlets in question are on the same circuit.

When it happens I check the breaker and the breaker isn't tripped, reseting it does not help.  I check and reset any GFCI in the circuit, still doesn't help.

After a little time has passed the lights and outlets will start working again.  Is there a short in my system?  Is it a bad GFCI?

Any insight and help is appreciated.

[Cromacster]

If they are all on the same circuit, I'd consider replacing the breaker.  You could swap the breaker with another in the panel and see if the problem moves - then you would have isolated it as a bad breaker.  Hopefully it's as simple as that and you don't have some short somewhere.

Also - did you do any recent wiring work - change out a switch or anything?

I did recently rewire a bathroom switch to include a timer for the fan, which is on the circuit that is having issues.  I can check that to see if there are any issues or if I need to redo the wiring.

I can try swapping the breakers.  I've never messed with breakers before is this something I could do?  I have experience running wires, wiring lights, outlets etc, just never a breaker.

[Exflyboy]

If they are all on the same circuit, I'd consider replacing the breaker.  You could swap the breaker with another in the panel and see if the problem moves - then you would have isolated it as a bad breaker.  Hopefully it's as simple as that and you don't have some short somewhere.

Also - did you do any recent wiring work - change out a switch or anything?

I did recently rewire a bathroom switch to include a timer for the fan, which is on the circuit that is having issues.  I can check that to see if there are any issues or if I need to redo the wiring.

I can try swapping the breakers.  I've never messed with breakers before is this something I could do?  I have experience running wires, wiring lights, outlets etc, just never a breaker.

Yes its easy.. just turn off the main breaker feed to the panel. You can do them hot but there is no reason to do so.. The basically unplug but you sort of rotate them out.. as soon as you seen it done once its obvious.

Have a look on Youtube.

[Cromacster]

I would definitely take a look at the new wiring. 

If your problem is readily reproducible (sounds like it is), take the timer out completely and see if the issue goes away.  Then put it back in, and see if the problem returns.  It may be a bad timer, it could be wired incorrectly, or there could be a short.

I'll take a look at it tonight.  I always assumed a short would trip the breaker, is that not the case? 

If I can't find anything obviously wrong I will give a go at swapping some breakers.

Thanks for the help guys!

[BudgetSlasher]

1) Definitely examine the new wiring for an issue.

2) Turn the breaker off and identify every item that is on that breaker. If there are more than the ones you are having issues with examine those connections.

3) If the problems and item one didn't fix the issue try swapping the breaker.

4) Next time it happens you could do nothing (don't cycle the breaker or the GFI) and see if it is a similar pattern, if the pattern changes you might want to examine those.

5) Look to see if there is any other pattern; such as is it when a certain light or appliance is turned on (maybe that new timer for the fan in engaged for a 5 minute period).

[nedwin]

I had this same problem in a former home, it was 20 or 25 years old at the time.  One circuit would go dead intermittently, then it died altogether and would not revive itself.  I first replaced the breaker, but that did not change anything.  An electrician was able to diagnose the problem in about 5 minutes.  When the home was built, the electrician used the compression fittings in the back of the outlets on all the circuits in the home.  These connections apparently wear out over time and eventually fail, causing every item on the circuit below the failed connection to loose power.  The electrician suggested installing pigtails to each outlet and to use the screw connections, rather than the compression connections.  This solved the problem. 

[paddedhat]

I've done a fair amount of electrical troubleshooting, and this would have me concerned.  In the few times I have dealt with this, it was a loose, or burned connection. The connection develops a high resistance, due being loose on a terminal screw, or being damaged by that damn "push wiring" that nedwin refers to. The circuit opens up until the connection cools, then the current path is reestablished. I have pulled receptacles out of the wall and found that the combination of a heavy load, like a hair dryer, or toaster, and the use of the push wire terminals on the back of the receptacle, has lead to the "hot" wire being literally cut in half by the spring clip making the connection, inside the device.

The key to troubleshooting, as mentioned by BudgetSlasher,  is to do a survey to determine what exactly is on the circuit. If you wait until the next failure, find out where the circuit is dead, and still hot. This will give you an idea of where to pull switches and outlets to find the weak spot.  Now this could be all useless information if the problem is something you recently reworked, and somehow created this entertaining mess,  but I doubt it.

Finally, there is a slight chance that the breaker could be failing and creating the situation you describe. I just did a water heater swap for my little brother. I got the job done, flipped the breaker back on, and drove away. This, oddly enough, has worked pretty darn well for the other dozen, or so, water heaters I've gotten roped in to doing for friend and relatives, for free, LOL. He called a bit later to report that there was no hot water. I agreed to return the next morning. He then texted to report that the breaker cured itself, and hot water was flowing. I stopped the next day and put a new breaker in. It was a five minute job and the breaker was less than $10. In your case, unless it's a really oddball electrical panel, the breaker should be less than five bucks and take five minutes to swap, so I would do that first, just so you are not diving down the rabbit hole, to fix a problem that doesn't exist.

Good luck, and be safe.

[Spork]

I had a similar problem to the one described that started a few months after my house was built.  We called out the original electrician and he figured it out in about 10 minutes.  It appears he nicked one of the wires when he was stripping the insulation.  As the wire warmed up, it would expand and drop the circuit.