- 1). Clear the area around the electrical panel to create enough working space. Dress up in protective clothing such as electrical gloves and dielectric footwear before doing anything else. Move close to the panel, and then look for any liquids or rusting around the electrical panel. The presence of either of the two means that the panel is unsafe and that you should take extra precaution when working.
- 2). Stand a few feet away and open the panel's door. Observe the circuit breakers stacked together inside with one large one probably at the top, which is the main switch that controls the power through the circuit breakers. Check to see if any breaker is turned to the "off" position, which would explain why a certain section of the house circuitry has no power. If any are off, turn them to the "on" position.
- 3). Use a screwdriver to remove the screws at each corner of the panel. This exposes the circuit breakers' parts and terminals. Do this only if the problem is persistent even after making sure all the circuit breakers are turned on. Check the components inside for burnt, overheated or damaged parts. Look out for damaged or disconnected wires.
- 4). Replace any damaged parts with new ones by placing the new parts in the exact position you removed the damaged ones, and connect the wires in the exact terminals marked the same as before. In case of damaged wires, fix the problem by cutting them at a point just before the damaged section with a pair of pliers, stripping a small section with a stripper at the new tip then replacing them inside the terminals. This is only possible if an extra foot or so of wire was included in the connection during installation
- 5). Pull gently on a damaged wire after removing it from its terminal in the panel to check if there was an extra stretch of wire left during installation. If none, cut off a section from an unused wire of the same type and connect it using a wire connector to the shortened wire after cutting off the damaged part. Cover any naked section with electrical tape. Replace the panel cover and its screws after you are done, and clean up your workstation.
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