Smoke, flames, someone shocked or a power line down? Call 911 first and stay at least 35 feet from any downed wire.
Electrical problems
What is the electrical system doing?
Most people do not know which service they need. They know what they saw, smelled or heard. Each page below starts from one symptom, says whether it is urgent, lists what is safe to check yourself and names the repair that usually follows.
Treat as urgent
Heat, smell, noise or a pattern that points to the service connection. Switch off what you safely can before reading on.
Electrical Burning Smell
A hot-plastic or fishy smell from an outlet, switch, fixture or the panel.
Usually fixed by emergency electrician or electrical repair
Sparking Outlet
When a spark at an outlet is normal and when it means a fault.
Usually fixed by emergency electrician or outlet & switch installation
Buzzing Electrical Panel
A hum, buzz, crackle or heat at the breaker panel and what each one means.
Usually fixed by emergency electrician or circuit breaker replacement
Partial Power Outage
Half the house has no power, or some lights are dim while others are bright.
Usually fixed by emergency electrician or electrical repair
Usually not an emergency
Annoying, sometimes a warning, and often something you can narrow down before calling.
Breaker Keeps Tripping
Overload, short circuit, ground fault or a worn breaker: how to tell which.
Usually fixed by electrical repair or dedicated circuit installation
Flickering Lights
From a loose bulb to a failing neutral: how to narrow down flickering and dimming.
Usually fixed by electrical repair or lighting installation
Outlet Not Working
Dead outlets: tripped GFCIs, half-switched outlets, loose connections and what to check first.
Usually fixed by electrical repair or outlet & switch installation
GFCI Won't Reset
Why a GFCI outlet will not reset or keeps tripping, and how to isolate the cause.
Usually fixed by gfci outlet installation or electrical repair
Not on the list?
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