Common Wiring Problems – Here are some common problems you might face, and their solutions. Some of these home wiring issues might result in the need for your entire home to be rewired so have the cost to rewire a house in mind when you are investigating what could be the source of your issue. It’s not just the nation’s power grid that’s antiquated. The wiring inside many houses is also out of date, straining to supply our ever-growing collection of electricity-hungry appliances, lighting, and electronics. Please Visit Plano Texas Handyman website to view and read about all of our capabilities.
“The circuits in these older homes weren’t designed to power the many gadgets of modern life,” says Ted with Plano Texas Handyman”. Some wiring problems are just inconveniences. But others can pose serious fire or electrocution hazards. To help you assess the state of your own electrical system, Ted with Plano Texas Handyman has to identified the 10 most common wiring problems he sees, the dangers they pose, and his recommended solutions. If you are unable to use Ted, you can alternatively go onto websites such as https://electricalsynergies.com/electricians-in-green-bay/ to find an electrician that can help you with the below issues.
1. Overlamping
What it means: A light fixture has a bulb with a higher wattage than the fixture is designed for.
Code violation? Yes.
Danger level: High. The bulb’s intense heat can scorch or melt the socket and insulation on the fixture’s wires, which increases the risk of arcing – sparks that jump through the air from one wire to another – a chief cause of electrical fires. The damage to the socket and wires remains even after the bulb has been removed.
Solution: Stay within the wattage limit listed on all light fixtures made since 1985. For older, unmarked fixtures, use only 60-watt bulbs or smaller.
2. Uncovered Junction Box
What it means: A light fixture has a bulb with a higher wattage than the fixture is designed for.
Code violation? Yes.
Danger level: High. The bulb’s intense heat can scorch or melt the socket and insulation on the fixture’s wires, which increases the risk of arcing – sparks that jump through the air from one wire to another – a chief cause of electrical fires. The damage to the socket and wires remains even after the bulb has been removed.
Solution: Stay within the wattage limit listed on all light fixtures made since 1985. For older, unmarked fixtures, use only 60-watt bulbs or smaller.
3. Lights Flicker When It’s Windy
What it means: Frayed wiring in the weatherhead (the outdoor fitting where overhead cables from the power line come into the house) is causing a short whenever the cables move.
Code violation? No.
Danger level: High. Aside from the annoyance, the frayed wiring can arc and start a fire.
Solution: Contact the electric utility, which may replace the weatherhead at no charge.
4. Too Few Outlets
What it means: Heavy reliance on extension cords and power strips.
Code violation? No; grandfathered in. (Today’s codes require receptacles within 4 feet of a doorway and every 12 feet thereafter.)
Danger level: Minimal, as long as you use heavy-duty extension cords, 14-gauge or thicker. (The thicker the wire, the lower the gauge number.) Undersize extension cords (16-gauge or smaller) can overheat and ignite a fire if loads are too heavy.
Solution: Add more outlets. Expect to pay an electrician about $100 per first-floor outlet and double that for second-floor work. (There will likely be a minimum charge.) This work requires cutting holes in walls and ceilings to snake the wires. Some electricians will patch the holes; others leave the patching to you.
5. No GFCIs
What it means: Increased risk of electrocution in wet areas, such as baths and kitchens. GFCIs (ground-fault circuit interrupters) shut down circuits in 4 milliseconds before current can cause a deadly shock.
Code violation? No; grandfathered in. (Codes today require GFCIs within 4 feet of any sink and on all garage, basement, and outdoor outlets.)
Danger level: High.
Solution: Replace old receptacles with GFCIs (about $12 each). This is a simple job that many homeowners do themselves. Electricians charge about $20 per outlet. (There will likely be a minimum job charge.) Note: As an alternative, GFCI breakers ($25) can be installed on the main panel. But then every time one trips, you have to go down to the basement to reset it.
6. Overwired Panel
What it means: The panel contains more circuits than it’s rated to handle, because too many single-pole breakers (one circuit) have been replaced with tandem breakers (two circuits) in one slot. (Tandem breakers aren’t the same as high-amp double-pole breakers, which take up two slots with one circuit.) A label on each panel specifies how many circuits the panel can accommodate.
Code violation? Yes.
Danger level: Minimal. It may become an issue when the house is being sold and an inspector looks inside the panel.
Solution: Add a subpanel with a few extra slots ($250), or, if you’re planning major home improvements, replace the existing panel with a larger model ($500 to $800).
7. Aluminum Wiring
What it means: You have a type of wiring, used in the 1960s and ’70s as a cheap substitute for copper, that is no longer considered safe.
Code violation? No; grandfathered in.
Danger level: High. Aluminum corrodes when in contact with copper, so connections loosen, which can lead to arcing and fires.
Solution: Retrofit a dielectric wire nut approved for aluminum wire (a pair sells for less than $1) onto each copper/aluminum connection in light fixtures. These nuts have a special grease that stops corrosion while maintaining conductivity. Make sure any replacement switches and receptacles are labeled AL-compatible.
8. Backstabbed Wires
What it means: On newer switches and receptacles, wires pushed in the back are more likely to come loose than those anchored around screw terminals.
Code violation? No. The practice is allowed, even for new construction.
Danger level: It depends. At a minimum, loose wires can cause a receptacle or switch to stop working. In the worst case, they can start a fire.
Solution: Check for backstabbed connections by removing a switch or receptacle from its outlet box. If one is backstabbed, there are likely to be more. Release the wires and attach them to the appropriate screw terminals on the receptacle.
9. Ungrounded (2-prong) Receptacles
What it means: Your house’s wiring has no way to safely conduct any stray current that escapes the confines of the wires.
Code violation? No; grandfathered in. (Today’s code requires grounded circuits and receptacles.)
Danger level: Minimal, as long as you don’t use an adapter to fit a three-prong plug into a two-prong receptacle. Doing so could destroy the device you’re plugging in, and increase the chance of electrocution.
Solution: Replace two-prong receptacles with properly grounded three-prong ones, if wiring allows it. Also, test all existing three-prong receptacles with a GFCI circuit tester to make sure they’re grounded. Rewire any that aren’t.
10. Plug Falls Out of Receptacle
What it means: Worn contacts in receptacle no longer grip the prongs firmly.
Code violation? No.
Danger level: High. Loose contacts can cause arcing, which can ignite dry wood and dust.
Solution: Replace the old receptacles as soon as possible. (A new one costs about $2.) Many homeowners feel comfortable doing this themselves. Electricians will charge about $8 or $10 per outlet, although there’s likely to be a minimum charge for small jobs.