Electrical Outlet Issue

[redpoint5]

I recently installed a powerful window AC unit in my living room. It runs just fine, but would trip the breaker if I ran the vacuum on the same circuit. No problem though, I reset the breaker and stopped vacuuming.

One day I came home to find the AC unit had no power, but the breaker was not tripped. My wall outlets have an upper socket, and a lower socket. All of the upper sockets in the room have lost power, but all of the lower sockets still function.

I ran into the same exact problem once before and resolved it by replacing a faulty GFCI unit in the kitchen. (apparently they are protected on the same circuit). This time though, I plugged a toaster into each socket of each of my GFCI units and verified power. I've reset them all too.

Strangely, I get a miniscule trickle of power on the upper outlets, as verified by the faint glow of an LED nightlight. I think this indicates a breaker did not trip, although the bulb may be lit by induced current from other live wires.

Is my GFCI to blame here, or am I looking at a problem with something else? Is it possible to get power on the outlets of a GFCI, but have the circuit to the other outlets disrupted?

[Frank Lee]

Sounds like possession by evil spirits to me.

[baldlobo]

i'd trip and reset the breaker, see if that fixes the problem; or you could go and replace all the recepticals

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by baldlobo

i'd trip and reset the breaker, see if that fixes the problem; or you could go and replace all the recepticals

Tripped all breakers this morning and reset, but the gremlins are still at it.

[redpoint5]

Well I'm a little slow sometimes...

I've lived in this house for over 3 years and didn't realize the top outlets were on a switch. The girls came over to clean, and they must have bumped it off.

Now that it's solved, the house is ready for the almost new in-laws. 10 of them.