What should I check before I call an electrician?

Some problems that look like a wiring failure are a switch, a breaker or a GFCI that did exactly what it was built to do. When you call (918) 261-8024, we ask a few questions and walk you through these checks first, because a five-minute check on the phone is better for you than a service call you did not need.

Check 1: the wall switch

Many outlets in living rooms and bedrooms are switched, so a lamp plugged into one works only when the wall switch is on. The same goes for porch lights, garage lights and some kitchen fixtures. Flip every switch near the dead outlet or light, including the ones you never use.

Check 2: the breaker panel

Open the panel door and look for a breaker that is not lined up with the others. A tripped breaker usually sits in the middle position. Push it firmly all the way to OFF, then back to ON. Reset it once, not over and over.

Check 3: every GFCI reset button

A GFCI outlet has TEST and RESET buttons. One GFCI often protects several regular outlets downstream, so a tripped GFCI in a bathroom can kill an outlet in another bathroom, and one in the garage can kill outdoor outlets. Press RESET firmly on every GFCI you can find: kitchen, bathrooms, garage, laundry, outside and near the pool or hot tub.

Check 4: is it the whole house, or half of it?

If the whole house is dark, look at the neighbors and check PSO's outage map before you call an electrician. If only part of the house is out, notice which things work. When the air conditioner, dryer, range or water heater stopped but some lights still work, the house may have lost one leg of its power. That is often a utility-side problem. Here is what to do when part of the house lost power.

What to tell us when you call

• What stopped working, and when it started
• Whether you smell or see anything unusual
• Whether it happens with a certain appliance running
• Which of the four checks you already tried
• Your city, so we can tell you when a journeyman can be there

That information helps us send the right journeyman with the right parts, and it tells us whether the problem is urgent. Urgent problems are worked the same day during business hours, Monday to Friday, 8:00 to 4:30.

What not to do

• Do not keep resetting a breaker that trips right away.
• Do not open the panel cover or replace a breaker yourself.
• Do not run an extension cord from a working outlet to cover a dead circuit for days.
• Do not plug a portable generator into a household outlet (it can back-feed onto the power lines).

If the checks do not fix it, we come out. Troubleshooting visits carry a diagnostic fee that includes a roughly 20-point safety inspection, and you get the price for the repair before any work starts.