some major major major fuse help PLEASE!

[terrawrist III]

I stupidly lowered my futon in my room right on to a carbon monoxide detector which led to to some major sparks which obviously led to a blown fuse)or at least I think so!)...I changed the fuse marked "hallway/rooms" to no change!!...did I completely fuck up the electricity for that area with this shit!...man I don't know what the fuck to do!

 

[terrawrist III]

the outlet where it happened is a little blackened...not a good sign

 

[graham]

I'd make sure no power is flowing to that area until you figure it out

 

[smile]

electrical fire?

 

[terrawrist III]

everything else is fine,just that area...I can't get ANY fuses to work in the marked fuse(unless it's wrong which I doubt)...man why me

 

[terrawrist III]

any good home repair FAQ sites around??

 

[graham]

what does it look like inside the blackened outlet ?

again make sure no power is possibly flowing there

 

[graham]

not that I know shit about burned electrics

 

[graham]

one thing for sure:

don't pour water on it

 

[Spinsah]

yes, only syrup will do.

 

[zoo]

now's a good time to call any electrician friends you may have

sorry i can't offer much help, other than be careful if you plan on investigating the current carying wires ... [make %100 sure the power is turned OFF]

 

[swenard]

first of all... Look for a fuse that is black on the inside. In case you are changing the wrong one. They should all be clear.

Second... If that doesn't work, you might have melted the inside of the outlet, which is causing it to short out again and again. In that case it takes $0.69 and 5 minutes to change the outlet.If you live in an apartment, you can have the landlord come change it for you. It is really easy!

Unless you are standing ina puddle of water 120V is barely enough to even hurt. So you don't have too much to be afraid of.

 

[Ditto Much]

Originally posted by swenard
first of all... Look for a fuse that is black on the inside. In case you are changing the wrong one. They should all be clear.

Second... If that doesn't work, you might have melted the inside of the outlet, which is causing it to short out again and again. In that case it takes $0.69 and 5 minutes to change the outlet.If you live in an apartment, you can have the landlord come change it for you. It is really easy!

Unless you are standing ina puddle of water 120V is barely enough to even hurt. So you don't have too much to be afraid of.

This is probably the case! In all honesty its pretty hard to mess up changing a socket. If you have never done it before and you want to learn I think I have the day off tommorrow and I can teach you real quick. Like swenard says it costs less than a buck to fix.

 

[moose-meat]

Just the existance of fuses [ instead of breakers ] suggest an older building with old wiring. If you replace the fuse and it blows again , the futon probably caused the plug to move around such that the black wire has come loose and wants to flow to ground.

Its a quick fix , but best to have someone who has done it before. Like everything else.

The syrup suggestion did have some merit to it though.

 

[PosTMOd]

Originally posted by swenard
Unless you are standing ina puddle of water 120V is barely enough to even hurt.

But it does have potential...ahahahaha...

 

[daddyiwantchocolate]

Listen to swenard.

I've done a lot of electrical wiring along these lines (installation of switch boxes, dimmers, timers, brah, brah, brah) and it's really quite simple.

Cut the 'tricity off before you do anything.
Take the box apart and remember how it's wired as you undo it.
Buy a new one.
Rewire it (you might have to cut off portions of wire that appear to be fried).

Done.

If it still doesn't work, then other than an issue at the fuse box, I'm all of of ideas.

 

[terrawrist III]

ok ok...thanks for the suggestions

when i get home im gonna shut off the power and remove the outlet covers and see what's what...hopefully it is a simple outlet change but if not I may need more assistance on fiddling with the actual fuse box(wirings etc.)ANYTHING to avoid the cost of an electrician coming in

the irony is we just moved in and were gonna replace the fuses with a breaker system sometime this week!

why oh why didn't I just put the carbon monoxide detector in the closet

 

[PosTMOd]

Originally posted by PosTMOd
But it does have potential...ahahahaha...

Please, someone, tell me that it was funny. I mean, it wasn't electrifying, but worth a chuckle at least.

 

[terrawrist III]

the syrup idea is the last straw...

I just grabbed a book at the always resourceful library on DIY lighting and electrical devices so it's all good...thanks again for the help

 

[swenard]

Originally posted by terrawrist III
the syrup idea is the last straw...

I just grabbed a book at the always resourceful library on DIY lighting and electrical devices so it's all good...thanks again for the help

good idea.

 

[swenard]

Originally posted by PosTMOd
Please, someone, tell me that it was funny. I mean, it wasn't electrifying, but worth a chuckle at least.