Loss of Power in an Exterior Electrical Outlet

Power Load

• A circuit breaker and the wiring between the outlet and the breaker can support a specific electrical load. Once more electricity is demanded from the circuit breaker than it can handle, the breaker trips. When a breaker trips, the circuit between the device plugged into the outlet and the power supply is severed. The breaker switch is thrown from the “On” position to the “Off” position to stop the flow of power and protect the outlet and its adjoining electronic devices from a power surge. You can flip the circuit breaker switch back over to the “On” position to reinstate power to the exterior outlet, but the problem might still continue, if the breaker can’t handle the electrical load. If you suspect that the breaker isn’t fit to handle the outlet’s electrical demand, you can contact an electrician to replace the breaker and upgrade the wiring to the exterior outlet.

Devices

• If you have multiple items plugged into the exterior outlet, this might cause the power demand from the circuit breaker to increase. When this happens, the breaker trips and power loss occurs. Sometimes a breaker supports more than one power outlet. One breaker might control a whole section of the home. You can prevent the breaker from tripping again, if less devices are used within the circuit breaker’s designated area. To avoid the possibility of overloading the breaker again, you can unplug devices from the outlets and move them to an outlet supported by a different breaker.

Wiring

• An exterior outlet receives electricity through its circuit breaker. If the wiring is incorrect on either the outlet or the breaker, odd electrical situations can occur, such as the connected device having a problem turning on and off. Contact a technician to take a look at the wiring to rewire the outlet and breaker if either of these situations occurs.

Hot Wires

• The wiring from the circuit breaker to the exterior outlet is covered with rubber-like insulation. This prevents the actual bare wire inside from touching other objects. If it happens that the two wires from the circuit breaker to the outlet are bare and touch each other while in use, the power demand increases and causes the circuit breaker to trip. It also causes a very dangerous situation, as two hot wires touching might start a fire. If you suspect that there are two bare wires touching, you should shut off the circuit breaker immediately and contact a technician to inspect the problem.