Recently lightning struck my neighbor's house and blew out all the electronics that we had. In the bathroom, there is a set of two overhead lights and an outlet that no longer work. After replacing the bulbs and the switch, they worked until my wife turned on a hair dryer connected to the outlet. Now, after replacing the switch again, the lights do not work and nothing plugged into the outlet will work. Mysteriously, my voltage indicator shows power to both outlets, the switch, and both overhead lights, yet none of them work. What is going on here?
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Exactly, how did you measure voltage with your voltage indicator?
Is it a meter or a "bird dog" (sensing type that chirps)?
What wires/ surfaces did you measure from?
Is it a meter or a "bird dog" (sensing type that chirps)?
What wires/ surfaces did you measure from?
It is a "bird dog." Greenlee GT-11 Voltage Detector. I tested the two wires connected to the switch, both plugs on the outlet, and the screwed in lightbulbs. All showed a positive for current. This problem has me dumbfounded. If there is a current to each of these, what would cause the lights and outlet not to work?
Use a solenoid type tester. It will tell you if you have a "real" voltage present. You'll need to measure from hot to ground or hot to neutral.
I suspect you have a loose connection on the white or neutral wire somewhere in the circuit.
Do you have any other electrical problems?
Lightning strikes can cause a lot of problems that don't appear to be related, at first. Some strikes are very comples. You said your neighbors house was hit. The common connection between your two houses is probably the electrical transformer on the pole or the underground line from the transformer. There may be other things common.
Then again, your problem may just be coincidence!
Start by checking the circuit for the bathroom.
If the scope of the work appears overwhelming, hire a licensed electrical contractor.
I suspect you have a loose connection on the white or neutral wire somewhere in the circuit.
Do you have any other electrical problems?
Lightning strikes can cause a lot of problems that don't appear to be related, at first. Some strikes are very comples. You said your neighbors house was hit. The common connection between your two houses is probably the electrical transformer on the pole or the underground line from the transformer. There may be other things common.
Then again, your problem may just be coincidence!
Start by checking the circuit for the bathroom.
If the scope of the work appears overwhelming, hire a licensed electrical contractor.
