Electrical Troubleshooting and Repair in Tulsa and Broken Arrow

Electrical troubleshooting in Tulsa and Broken Arrow, done by a licensed journeyman

Most calls start the same way: something stopped working and nobody knows why. A row of outlets in the bedroom went dead. The kitchen lights flicker when the microwave runs. Half the house came back after a storm and half did not. Electrical troubleshooting is the work of finding the real cause behind a symptom like that, and it is most of what Hot Shot Electric Service Co. has done for homeowners in Tulsa, Broken Arrow and the surrounding towns since 1995.

Every troubleshooting visit is run by a licensed journeyman. Apprentices learn on our jobs, but we have never sent an apprentice out alone, and we never will. The person testing your circuits holds an Oklahoma journeyman license and carries it with him, so you can ask to see it.

What happens when you call

We answer the phone ourselves. Before we book anything, we ask a few questions and walk you through the quick checks that sometimes solve the problem on the spot: a wall switch that controls the outlet, a breaker sitting in the middle position, a GFCI outlet in a bathroom or garage that needs its reset button pushed. If one of those fixes it, you just saved yourself a service call. If not, you get an appointment and a clear explanation of what the visit costs before anyone drives over.

1. The journeyman asks what you noticed, when it started and what was running at the time.
2. He tests the affected circuits, outlets, switches, breakers and connections with a meter instead of swapping parts until something works.
3. He shows you what he found and explains it in plain English.
4. You get the price for the repair before any work begins. Approve it, ask questions, or take time to decide.
5. Most standard repairs are finished the same visit once you approve them.

Problems we trace every week

• Outlets or lights that stopped working while the breaker still looks on
• Lights that flicker or dim when a large appliance or the air conditioner starts
• Breakers that trip repeatedly or will not reset
• Part of the house without power after a PSO outage
• Switches that feel warm, buzz, or control nothing anyone can find
• Outlets that spark, smell hot or show brown marks
• Fans and lights that turn on and off by themselves

Intermittent problems are the hardest and the most rewarding. A light that fails only on hot afternoons or a breaker that trips once a week will not show itself on demand, so we look at load, connections and how the circuit is built, and we ask about patterns. If you can write down when it happens, what was running and what the weather was, bring that to the visit. It often points straight to the cause.

Why a good diagnosis saves money

A wrong diagnosis is the most expensive repair there is. Replacing a panel because one breaker failed, or replacing a breaker when the real problem is a loose connection three rooms away, costs you twice. Our journeymen find the cause first and recommend only what fixes it. Customers notice that, and they say so in their reviews.

Hot Shot Electric was quick and immediately identified what was needed and what wasn’t. I had a prior quote that said I needed to replace the whole panel! Hot Shot came in the next day (that was the earliest time I could make it) and did a full evaluation. Ended up only needing to replace a couple things. Hot Shot saved me from a $3k bill.

While the journeyman is in your home, he will also tell you about anything else he notices that is unsafe or likely to become a problem. That is not a sales pitch. You hear what it is, how urgent it is, and you decide what, if anything, to do about it.

Partial power and the lost leg

One of the most common calls after an outage in the Tulsa area is a house that only half came back. The lights in some rooms work, others do not, and the air conditioner, dryer or range will not run. Homes are fed by two legs of power. When one leg is lost, every 240-volt appliance stops and about half the regular circuits go dark. Sometimes the cause is on PSO's side, at the line or the transformer. Sometimes it is in your own equipment: the meter base, the service entrance or the main breaker.

We ask about this on the phone before dispatching, because if the problem is on the utility side, PSO needs to come out, not us. If the utility side checks out, a journeyman traces it from the meter base inward. Read more in part of the house lost power after a PSO outage.

When troubleshooting turns into a bigger repair

Sometimes the cause is a failing panel, a run of aluminum branch wiring with loose connections, or wiring someone added without a permit years ago. When that happens you get the options, the price of each and an honest view of which one we would choose in our own house. Bigger repairs such as a panel replacement or aluminum wiring repair are scheduled as their own visit, with permits pulled where the city requires them.

What you can safely check yourself

Resetting a tripped breaker once, pressing the reset button on a GFCI outlet, and flipping wall switches are all safe for a homeowner, and we will walk you through them on the phone. Anything past that, such as removing cover plates, opening the panel or testing wires, is work for a licensed electrician. If a breaker trips again right after you reset it, leave it off; the circuit has a fault, and resetting it repeatedly heats the wiring.

Where we troubleshoot

Our journeymen work out of Broken Arrow and cover Tulsa, Bixby, Jenks, Owasso, Glenpool, Coweta, Claremore, Wagoner, Collinsville, Catoosa, Verdigris and Muskogee. Older Tulsa homes, newer subdivisions on the edge of Broken Arrow and rental houses all get the same process. If you are not sure we reach your street, call (918) 261-8024 and ask.