Power Flashed at the house last night, now what?

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dennishoddy

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You definitely need to verify the correct voltage at the breaker with the cover removed as step 1. When the OP said it didn’t feel right, that could very well be the issue.
First step of any troubleshooting is to separate the source from the final user. Checking voltage at the breaker will do that.
230V across the power leads, 115V from each power lead to ground.
 

TinkerTanker

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This makes sense. Is pulling the oven and checking the wiring where you would start the diagnoses?
I flipped off the breaker and told the wife and daughter not to touch the oven or cooktop.
I've never had a breaker go bad but even with a bad breaker the stove turning on the oven shows that the electricity is wired wrong somewhere and flowing where it shouldn't.
Typically if a breaker goes bad it stops altogether. You probably have a double breaker for the oven/stove unless someone wired it to two breakers, signifying a handyman or DIY job.

First thing I'd do and what you should do, is call an electrician. You should never do any electrical work yourself. You can die. It's dangerous. People smell like burned hotdogs when they cook. That memory stays with your family. Don't do it.

Now, if I were experiencing the same trouble, and I'm a certified idiot so don't do what I do, but if I were having this trouble, I'd first and foremost be scared to death that the wires were reversed on the oven. That would be my priority. I'd find out if the breaker is bad at the same time, but that oven/stove weirdness should be addressed.

I'd flip all oven/stove breakers to OFF. Then i'd have someone with better eyes and a diploma double check that off was still spelled off and that my breakers were on off. Off.
Then I'd pull the oven. There's usually just a couple of screws on the front holding it in. Then I'd take a picture of how it's currently wired back there. Then i'd untwist the wire nuts and set the stove aside. 220 is just two 110 wires going to an appliance so these instructions below applied to the black and red wire should check for ground at each one. I'd just pretend they're both black ("hot") and treat them accordingly.

I'd remember too that these wire colors MAY BE WRONG or WIRED WEIRD COLORS and treat ALL WIRES AS IF THEY WERE HOT UNTIL I VERIFIED THEY WERE NOT.

Once the oven is out, i'd make sure the wires were NOT touching anything or each other, then I'd have a buddy flip the breaker to the oven back on and test the wires like below.
https://www.thespruce.com/testing-receptacles-for-grounding-1152807

If the black or red wire isn't getting power I'd know the breaker was bad for sure and replace it. It's one screw. I'd also make sure I got the right breaker because different boxes take different breakers. It's stupid and can be confusing.

Then I'd verify the new breaker was working and the wires were getting power. Then I'd verify the wires on the oven are matching, I.E. I'd make sure neutral went to neutral, black went to black, red went to red, and if four wire that green went to ground or neutral. I might have to download an installation manual to the oven to verify or check the back of the oven for a wiring diagram.

Then I'd put my oven back in, making sure the screws go in the same holes they came out of. By this time my wife would be mad and wanting to cook, or she's be handing me some iced tea. Either way I'd look at her lovingly and say thank you because I like being married.

Then If EVERYTHING was right with the oven, I'd pull the cooktop and check that receptacle to make sure it wasn't miswired because again, the most important thing is making sure that it doesn't have the neutral and ground reversed. That is insanely dangerous and that power to the oven came from somewhere.

If I couldn't find it I'd just go out and bite the bullet and hire an electrician, but it's very likely I'd have it tracked down by this point.


That's what I'd do, and I'm dumb as a box of rocks. You should not do any of that. Call an electrician and let some other poor fool lose his fingers.

Edited for clarity and to fix my misspellings
 
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SlugSlinger

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Looks like 1 leg out of the breaker is showing zero volts. The other is reading 123.6 along with all the other breaker legs. Now the breaker doesn’t want to reset either.

BA1D2E4B-8750-4B44-9442-961B8DFC7B80.jpeg
 

TinkerTanker

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I replaced the breaker and the oven and cooktop are working again. Thanks for all the recommendations. Much appreciated!

Oh and it only took 5 big box stores to find the replacement breaker. Supply chain problems at its best.
Don't forget to look at that wiring, just saying. I'm glad you found the breaker problem, but there is no instance when you should turn on your stove and your oven kicks on.
 

SlugSlinger

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Don't forget to look at that wiring, just saying. I'm glad you found the breaker problem, but there is no instance when you should turn on your stove and your oven kicks on.
The oven wasn’t turning on, the clock and display were lighting up. I think when I turned the cooktop on, 120 volts was backfeeding to the oven display thru the common 220 volt connection.
 

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