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I recently ran a wire on a known 15 amp breaker to an outdoor GFCI outlet. Have 120 volt at the tie in, 120 volt at the outlet, all good. Then last night I lost all power at the outlet, now shows basically zero volts. Double checked all connections, no change. Breaker is good, wiring is intact, things before the tie in are still working... I'm lost. Ran 14/2 for 25 feet. From there it does a pig tail one line to a ring camera the other to said GFCI outlet, no voltage on those lines. Any ideas?

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  • where does it get lost ? after the breaker, after the gfci , on yhe wall outlet
    – asinine
    Jun 23, 2022 at 4:21
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    "things before the tie in are still working" - Could this be a clue? Jun 23, 2022 at 4:22
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    pull on the pig tail wires, do they come out
    – asinine
    Jun 23, 2022 at 4:24
  • How did you connect the wires to the sockets? #14 wire will fit inside backstabs, which are known to be unreliable. Jun 23, 2022 at 21:54

1 Answer 1

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You answered you own question.

Up to the pig tail, where you have 3 wire connection, the power is there, but not after the pig tail.

Remove and redo the pig tail.

If you twist the wire just a turn before pig tail, it helps.

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  • I have recently discovered Wago clamp-type connectors (thanks to this site), and they are a miracle when it comes to making easy splices! No twisting, no wondering if the connection is secure, if one wire isn't right, just undo that one wire and reconnect it. I don't work for them (though I wish I did - employee discount FTW!), but boy am I a fan now! Each one is more expensive than a standard wire nut, but the time savings make 'em worth it to me.
    – FreeMan
    Jun 23, 2022 at 12:23
  • Went on the hunt this am for the issue, before the attic becomes unbearable. Using a Klein non contact test pen I discovered the wires aren't hot all the way from my initial tie in. Went to the junction box and found the wires going in are not hot. Looks like it's time to dig through insulation and chase the wire back to the box. To be continued...
    – Mike
    Jun 23, 2022 at 16:11

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