Been trying to fix a circuit at my mother's house. Her place had some really old wiring along with newer. The circuit with the problem is the older wiring. She said she had electric heater plugged in and she saw a spark and the power went out like the breaker was tripped but at the breaker box all was good. I checked each breaker for 120 and they all were good.
Spent a day and could not get power to come back to that circuit. Later that night we were relaxing and the power decided to come back on. I have moved wiring and all kinds of stuff to try to see if there was a short but so far I can't make it do that again. Last night I turned on light and it flashed and now is off again.
I changed the switch the first day so it's not that. But this is the old wiring with the metal around the wire. Would think I could make it do it again my moving wire if it was a short right? I'm going to go over the whole circuit very carefully today. My outlet tester said it has a open ground.
Best Answer
There's only one solution, and that's to trace the circuit and examine every connection. You have a loose screw or a broken wire somewhere that's arcing and losing contact. That's where fires start.
I would take the opportunity to replace the devices where they're more than a few years old (both switches and outlets wear out), and make sure you have a good understanding of how to make connections safe. Don't use the stab-type connectors that some devices offer. Use the screws with good loops and use pigtails where necessary.
If you do that and the problem doesn't resolve you'll have to assume a broken or damaged wire in some concealed location.
Be sure to do some reading on house wiring first. Your confusion over the definition of a short demonstrates a lack of basic knowledge. You don't want to make the problem worse with incorrect technique. Or get professional help.