How to Troubleshoot the Wiring for a Bedroom

Determine which circuits your bedroom outlets and light switches are on. Turn on all the lights in the bedroom and plug a turned-on lamp into each receptacle. Only one side of the receptacle needs a lamp. Have someone work slowly to switch off and turn on the breaker switches at the breaker box one by one until the lamps shut off. If all the lamps go out together, then all the receptacles and switches are on the same circuit. If some go off while others stay on, continue to search for the circuit that powers those lamps. Draw a diagram of the room and note which receptacle and switch goes with which circuit breaker switch.

Set your multimeter to read AC and plug the black and red test probes into the receptacles. The reading should be between 110V and 120V. It is possible that a multimeter will read the proper amount of current but appliances or lamps still will not work while plugged in. This is a major problem in the wiring and should be checked by a qualified electrician.

Turn the power off for all the bedroom circuits at the main breaker box. Verify by double-checking that the power is out by either hooking a lamp to the receptacles or using your multimeter. Unscrew and remove the face plates for the receptacles and switches.

Unscrew the receptacles and switches and gently pull them away from the circuit box. Look for loose wires, wires where bare copper is touching bare copper from other wire, burned or discolored insulation, scorch marks anywhere in the box, or covers and wire nuts that are coming loose. Tighten all wires to the screws and, if necessary, replace a loose wire nut with a fresh one. If two wires appear to be too close to one another, try to relocate or push one to a slightly more distant location. Put everything back together when finished, and turn the main circuit back on.

Recreate the conditions if you can when you know that a problem occurred. For instance, if the bedroom breaker trips once or twice a week, then by observing what is happening each time you can redo it purposefully to see what happens. It may be as simple as a hairdryer using all the available circuit when someone turns on the bedroom overhead light, pulling more power than can be handled by the breaker.