Troubleshooting Electrician
{Bellevue WA Kirkland WA}
{Issaquah WA Redmond WA}
Licensed Electrical Contractor

The Circuit Detective is the troubleshooting electrician for mysterious malfunctions in houses and apartments. Among electical contractors, he is the Eastside's specialist in home troubleshooting, an electrical "crime scene" investigator/repairer. His name is Larry Dimock.

Homeowners in Washington can get electrical diagnosis and repair very quickly from Detective Larry, especially in the Seattle area's Eastside (Bellevue WA, Kirkland WA, Redmond WA, Issaquah WA, Sammamish WA, Bothell WA, Newcastle WA, Woodinville WA, Duvall WA, etc.).

Use the experience (since 1977) of this master electrician, his high-tech tools, and refined strategies to solve dead outlets, short circuits, and other home electrical problems.

WHAT I DO: Electrical Troubleshooting

(Diagnosis and Repair)

I take on the actual malfunctions that show up in your existing electrical system and locate the cause. Then, I am usually able to make the needed repair in the same visit. My average total time on a job of diagnosis and repair is about 40 minutes.

When part of your electrical system malfunctions, I can find the source of the problem among your receptacles, switches, fixtures, splices, wires, and breakers.

Why should there be a specialist in troubleshooting? By doing this detective work, day in and day out, I am alert to what evidence is relevant or not; I develop logic, approaches, and tools that are time saving; and I respect your observations and memories as being often indispensable.

Electrical diagnosis is my starting point. In fact, if there is no mystery about what is wrong, many electrical contractors would be useful. (I recommend Snoqualmie Valley Electric). I don't make myself available for every case of repair as such, but I do where diagnosis is needed.

As a fair warning, I want you to know what things I would not fix or not be able to fix. Problems inside an appliance, furnace, or portable lamp, or out in the neighborhood (the utility's power lines) will usually need experts in those areas. If on the phone or after diagnosis we determine this to be the case, I can refer you to such people. An exception is water heaters: I will test thermostats and elements and am able to replace thermostats.

If the trouble is inside a light fixture or wall-mounted heater, repairs are often more costly than replacement. If you will need me to order, get, and install the new one, you should realize that this will involve a return trip fee.

Where we determine that major repair work is needed (e.g., replacement of the main service), I will also refer you to others because:

• I want to remain available to the public for their simple repairs, not tied up on larger projects, as many electric contractors are.
• I want you to have someone whose judgment about your needs is not slanted by a vested interest in giving you bad news. If I don't do major surgery, you'll believe me if I tell you that you need it.
• Frankly, my body isn't up to that kind of thing any more.

How my Service is Unique

• My priority is to inform you accurately what your immediate problem is and solve it simply, not to take advantage of your anxiety with overkill solutions. That is why I put myself out as a Troubleshooting Electrician.
• My overhead and profit-motive are low, as reflected in my rates.
• By concentrating on diagnosis for houses -- day in and day out -- my tools, intuition, logic, and procedures tend to be sharper and save time.
• I have a great respect for the input of those who are most acquainted with your home: you. Once, a pet dog helped me find the trouble.

Examples of My Work

The lights in only some of Barbara's rooms would blink after they'd been running awhile. After checking two possible loose-connection possibilities, I checked in her main panel and found the bad spot. Next time The Circuit Detective might start at the unopened panel with a mechanic's stethoscope that could help me listen for the arcing that is responsible for that blinking.

Another kind of "blink" is more of a dimming and/or brightening of lights. This happened at Dave's house at unpredictable times. But I wasn't far away, so I came one evening when it was happening. It was a voltage problem, so we had Puget Sound Energy come check things. Nothing. But since the problem recurred, we had them put a recording-volt-meter on their lines for three days. Nothing! Since it acted up after the three days, I went to bat for Dave. I called up Puget and assured them the trouble wasn't in the house. I told them to try actually redoing two of the line connections. After they did that, there was no more problem.

Some of Alan's living room plugs and garage lights weren't working. A simple test of that circuit showed me that somewhere along the line one of the neutral (return) wires was broken or loose -- but where? After undoing two or three devices to check their connections, I followed a suspicion to the dining room light, which itself was working! Up in its electrical box was the loose junction, probably put together poorly by someone who had taken the light down during recent remodeling.

Jim's well circuit would not stay on. There was a short-circuit somewhere along its 700-foot line. My tester showed the path the line took in the ground, but was not as helpful pinpointing the bad spot. I bit the bullet and dug down at three places, each time cutting the line, measuring its resistance, and putting it back together. A bit of praying let me find the exact spot to repair at my fourth hole! The process was time consuming but much less costly than someone digging a whole new line in.

Bob had been given a high price by an electrician to change the main breaker in his panel. A second opinion from me was that the main breaker was fine, but two smaller breakers were making poor contact in the panel. I found better places for them in the panel. (Bob had been about to buy a new dryer because it didn't put out any heat even after he gave it a new element. I saved him that expense too: the dryer breaker was one of the ones that had been doing poorly till I moved it. He can do laundry now.)

Mrs. Finley was getting shocked when she touched her fridge and the stove at the same time or the fridge and the sink. The common denominator is the fridge, I figured, but is that my problem or one for the appliance guy? My testers confirmed that the frame of the fridge was energized. I took a quick peek underneath it -- nothing obvious. This was an older fridge without the third prong (ground wire), or else it would have blown a fuse. Still I wondered why she hadn't been shocked before. Finally I plugged it in the opposite way (turned the cord end over), and the stray voltage was gone. There is a wire touching metal somewhere inside her fridge, but there is no more danger unless someone reverses the cord end again.

Here's a good one. A breaker in Pat's garage tripped and wouldn't reset. Fortunately all the wiring was still accessible (no sheetrock). I traced the short to a place along one wire. I opened the wire ("cable" to be more accurate) and found that the factory had made a splice inside the cable but hadn't taped or insulated it. This is very rare. The splice had finally come close enough to the bare ground wire next to it to short over. I repaired it with a proper splice.

More troubleshooting stories, particularly from Bellevue electrician, Carnation electrician, Duvall electrician, Fall City Electrician, Issaquah electrician, King County electrician, Kirkland electrician, North Bend electrician, Redmond electrician, Sammamish electrician, Snoqualmie electrician, and Woodinville electrician.

Rates and Payment

(Effective 2/1/08)

If we agree that I should come to your home, there will be a trip fee that depends on locality (see Rate Chart Below). Though I promote myself as an Eastside electrician, I do range farther in the Seattle area.

In addition, my in-the-home labor is at $1.00/minute. That is equal to $60.00/hour, but I do figure to the minute since my work usually takes less than an hour. (Most electrical contractors round -- up -- to the nearest fraction of an hour, or charge for a minimum of an hour; I do not). If I am interrupted by something unrelated to your problem (using your bathroom or responding to a phonecall), my stopwatch helps me keep track.

Troubleshooting work is an unknown quantity, so I expect you to be a little anxious about how long it will take and how much it will cost. I am anxious about it too; I don't want it to be any more drawn out than necessary. If I have not made good progress within an hour, I am likely to check in with you to let you know the difficulty. And I encourage you to check in on me and see how I'm doing. Some problems can just be let go after a good attempt, without a repair-type solution. Often there is a way to "work around" it.

If we agree I should make a return trip to install an item I don't stock, or to continue investigation under better conditions, there will typically be a second trip fee. This is not usually necessary.

I normally expect payment by check or cash before leaving. If you can't be there when I'm working, I'll send the bill. If your funds are a little low, you can ask me to hold on to your check for a few days. If you are poor, I sometimes make special arrangements, but it is best to bring this matter up before I come.

Availability: Mine and Yours

Larry, your troubleshooting electrical contractor, is available by cellphone at 425-260-4250, 7:00 AM - 9:00 PM, Monday through Saturday. This is a local call for Seattle, Mercer Island, Renton and most of the Eastside except Bothell and Woodinville. Duvall and east Woodinville should call 425-333-4400.

You will almost always get to talk with me personally, but on the occasions I am out of a good reception area, you can leave a message and I will respond soon.

The times I would come to your home would normally be between 9 am and 4 pm, Monday through Friday, but exceptions can be made. I realize that your schedule may not let you fit into mine.

© 2008 Larry Dimock