Electrical system sabatoged???

[troy michaels]

Hi, i recently purchased a older home and all the lights and receptacles were working. The house was vacant for a while, thus, somebody had stolen the ac condensor. I had a guy come in that does electrical work for contractors to give me a estimate on how much it would cost to get my heating and air back up and running. I enformed him the theromostat wasnt working also. He played around with the wires on the thermostat and went into the attic and told me i need a transformer for the furnace, a new thermostat and the ac condensor. I said ok, and told him i would get back to him. The next day, i noticed some of my lights and receptacles all of a sudden didnt work. I wonder if he had did something on purpose because i later found out he wasnt trustworthy. Could the wires on the thermostate to the ac system or something in the attic been sabatoged by him to cause my problem so that he could get paid more? The electrical system has a circuit breaker box and one of the breakers will trip and not stay on now. There is a seperate breaker labeled lights that allows the lights in the bedrooms and the basement to work, but the unlabeled breaker controls the receptacles and lighting in the kitchen, bathroom and living room, none of which work all of a sudden.

[Erby Crofutt]

It's also possible he inadvertently stepped or pulled on a wire in the attic that is now causing a problem. Those wires are commonly NOT protected as well as they should be.

Have you looked at the wiring in the attic between the entrance and the unit?

[troy michaels]

no, i havent been in the attic. i will do that.

[Billy Stephens]

i recently purchased a older home and all the lights and receptacles were working.

The next day, i noticed some of my lights and receptacles all of a sudden didnt work.

The electrical system has a circuit breaker box and one of the breakers will trip and not stay on now.
.
Troy,

You say it is an Older House, How old ?

If some of the wiring was disturbed ( intentional or other wise ) the results would be instant and would not show up the next day.

There are Brands of Electrical Breakers that have ( all brands can ) a history of failing.

Maybe the Breaker needs replacement.

Pictures of the Electrical Panel with the front Cover removed to show the wiring would be helpful.

[Ron Bibler]

Get more information on this guy.

if you can get an inspector to go up in that attic and look around before you go up in there.

Best

Ron

[troy michaels]

.
Troy,

You say it is an Older House, How old ?

If some of the wiring was disturbed ( intentional or other wise ) the results would be instant and would not show up the next day.

There are Brands of Electrical Breakers that have ( all brands can ) a history of failing.

Maybe the Breaker needs replacement.

Pictures of the Electrical Panel with the front Cover removed to show the wiring would be helpful.

i didnt notice until the next day because i didnt have the lights on. it was light enuf inside the house to walk around and have him check out stuff, so, i dont know when the breaker tripped, i just noticed it the next day. i DO know that everything worked BEFORE he came into the house. is it a coincidence, i dont know. what i will do is remove the main panel and take a picture and post it within the next couple of days. i was thinking the same thing, that there is a outside chance the breaker itself is bad.

[Wayne Carlisle]

I enformed him the theromostat wasnt working also. He played around with the wires on the thermostat and went into the attic and told me i need a transformer for the furnace, a new thermostat and the ac condensor.

Playing around with the wires on the T-stat will burn up the transformer you are talking about IF two certain wires were touched.

If the T-stat wasn't working before it may have been because of the step-down transformer already being burnt out. This would cause the condensor not to come on also.

So what I am saying is you may only need the transformer.

[troy michaels]

Playing around with the wires on the T-stat will burn up the transformer you are talking about IF two certain wires were touched.

If the T-stat wasn't working before it may have been because of the step-down transformer already being burnt out. This would cause the condensor not to come on also.

So what I am saying is you may only need the transformer.

the condensor was already missing from the house. i called him to come and give me a estimate on replacing the condensor and checking the thermostat and the furnace. he pulled some wires out of the thermostat and went in the attic to check the furnace. all he said was i need a transformer, a new thermostat and a new condensor. the next day, i noticed the stuff not working that had already been working. i looked inside the receptacles to see if any wires were cross or loose, didnt see anything. im thinking the problem is in the attic , the breaker itself or thermostat? can the thermostat cause a short?

[troy michaels]

im really beginning to think that the only problem i had was the missing condensor, and that this dude came in and sabotaged stuff to get more work. he really BUGGED me over the next few days trying to get work. a PROFESSIONAL wouldnt do that. in fact, i noticed he was pulling something on the furnace. he didnt know i had came up behind him when he was in the attic. i put my money that he did something to the furnace to cause a short.

[Ron Bibler]

im really beginning to think that the only problem i had was the missing condensor, and that this dude came in and sabotaged stuff to get more work. he really BUGGED me over the next few days trying to get work. a PROFESSIONAL wouldnt do that. in fact, i noticed he was pulling something on the furnace. he didnt know i had came up behind him when he was in the attic. i put my money that he did something to the furnace to cause a short.

Dude go get an inspector the has HVAC certs. stop playing around with this (Im thinking in my head stuff).

You may have a joker in you attic. but you need to get things look at.

Best

Ron

[troy michaels]

found the problem. it was a bad breaker. thanx for all the help.