Do-it-yourself repair of sockets in the apartment. How to fix an outlet: a list of tools, types of breakdowns and their self-repair

Malfunctions that occur during the operation of electrical installation products in a house or apartment are not uncommon. Frequent mechanical forces that occur when turning on and pulling out plugs of electrical appliances lead to weakening of electrical contacts, loosening of the socket housing in the wall, which in turn can cause fracture and burning of wires, overheating of contacts and burning of the plastic housing. In this article, we will tell the readers of the site how to fix the outlet if it fell off the wall, sparks or does not work at all.

We prepare the tool

In order to repair the outlet with your own hands, you may need the following tools:

screwdriver with voltage indicator;
, at home, a sharp knife is suitable;
insulating tape;
pliers.

It should immediately be noted that it is strictly forbidden to repair a live outlet (without de-energizing an apartment or house). Before starting work, be sure to turn off the machine in the shield that protects the socket group!

Crackling is heard in the socket

In this case, the device needs to be repaired. To do this, remove the outer cover and carefully examine the insides. Cracking indicates a periodic violation of electrical contact and spark breakdown of the gap that occurs in this place. Contact can be broken in several places:

Often a situation arises when a broken or burnt-out wire after a short circuit turns out to be too short. In this case, when repairing, you can. The best way to do it is as follows. Cut the second wire to the same length and strip. Take two pieces of copper stranded conductor several centimeters long and solder them to the wiring, after stripping the ends. Put pieces of a heat-shrinkable tube of a suitable diameter on the repair sites and gently warm it with a lighter.

This is one of the best repair methods, but you can also fix it with electrical tape, and repair the connection with a twist. Then, strip the ends of the flexible wire and connect to the terminals. This repair method is good because the flexible conductor fits very comfortably in the socket, and its further breaks are excluded.

How to restore pressure contacts is described in the video:

How to fix loose terminals

You can find out more in detail, and what to do in this case, from our separate article!

Plug and housing get hot

This symptom indicates that a significant occurrence has occurred at the connection point. This happens, as a rule, for the following reason. At one time, when there was a weakening of contact, repairs were not made. Over time, in a place of poor connection, under the regular influence of a small electric arc (accompanied by crackling), carbon deposits grow, which, being a poor conductor, heats up strongly when an electric current passes through it.

The crackles disappear, but the contacts get very hot. When the process is strongly started and traces of melting or burning are visible on the outer plastic, it is most likely impossible to repair the socket if it has burned out.

Having opened the cover, you can make sure that the threads of the screws of the clamping terminals are burnt and the screws are “sticky”, and the copper contact plates have changed color and, naturally, have lost their elasticity. In this case, it is impossible to repair them yourself. If heating attracted attention earlier, the device can be repaired by cleaning the parts from a small deposit and stretching the contacts.

There is no voltage in the socket

First of all, you should make sure that it is the outlet that needs to be repaired. To do this, you need on suitable wires.

If it is absent, then the fault must be sought closer to the power source. In this case, it is necessary to check the ends of the wires coming out of the wall for a break, as described above, if necessary, repair. Outlet malfunctions can be easily determined visually - this is either a burned-out conductor, or a break or burnout of the contact plates. Depending on the nature of the damage, repair or replacement of electrical accessories is carried out.

The video below clearly shows how the voltage is checked by the indicator:

Checking the voltage at the sockets

The mount loosened and the case fell out

The fastening of modern electrical installation products is carried out by a spacer mechanism consisting of two plates, which, when tightening the bolts that fasten them, cut with sharp teeth into the edges of the hole in the concrete wall, pressing the socket against it. Weakening most often occurs due to the destruction of the edges of the hole. Repair in this situation can be done by installing a plastic socket in the hole, fixing it in the wall with a dowel-nail. The space between the boundary of the hole in the wall and the sides of the socket box can be filled with mortar during repairs. Learn more about

Not all electrical wiring repairs require calling a specialist. To figure out how to fix an outlet, it is often enough to have school knowledge of physics (in particular, about the structure of electrical circuits), and to do the work itself, you have the necessary minimum of tools and free time. It must also be remembered that before repairing the outlet, the introductory machine must be turned off.

Required Tools

For simple wiring work that can be done at home, you need a very small set of tools:

. Electric current is invisible to the eye, and not everyone can determine its presence by touching the conductor with a hand without consequences. It is suitable for a preliminary assessment of the condition of the wiring, but it is better if it is a sensitive device that reacts to an electromagnetic field - sometimes you need to find out which way the wire goes from the outlet.
Dielectric pliers. It is generally accepted that they are distinguished by the presence of rubber covers on the handles, but now even standard metalwork tools are equipped with such - so that they do not slip in the hand, therefore, on paper, those that have passed verification are considered dielectric, but in practice - simply with insulation. If at home there are only old pliers with non-insulated handles, then you just need to wrap them with electrical tape. In this case, you must first impose a pair of pieces of tape crosswise on the lower part of the handle, and then wrap its main part.
Screwdrivers - Phillips screwdrivers are most often used, but a regular straight one can also come in handy.
Knife. The smallest one will do - it is only needed to clean the insulation from the wires.
Hammer and mount. They are needed as a last resort, if you have to pick the walls in search of junction boxes, but as practice shows, they will come in handy anyway - at least as coasters.

This set should be enough, but if a standard tester is used, then some small device will also be needed to additionally test the outlet - at least a table lamp. You can also prepare a piece of wire so that it is enough from the outlet to the far end of the room - you may have to ring the wires one at a time.

Possible problems and solutions

If the outlet does not work, then all its breakdowns can be conditionally divided into explicit and implicit ones. The former include those that are immediately visible to the naked eye, and to detect the latter, you have to open the junction boxes, and sometimes disconnect the contacts. There are usually several outlets in a room. Some can be connected according to the original electrification plan of the apartment, while others can be added during its operation.

Accordingly, the possibility can never be ruled out that one or more outlets are powered by a junction box located in another room. Based on this, the primary diagnosis of all problems in the home electrical network is performed.

One socket does not work - melted insulation

A damaged outlet in an apartment can clearly “show” that it is out of order or electricity simply disappears in it. The first case is the simplest - melted places are visible on the case, which clearly indicates the most likely place in the electrical circuit that needs repair.

If the outlet cover is melted and it does not work itself, then most likely the contact wire could burn out. After the socket is disassembled, all this will be visible to the naked eye.

If the matter is in the wire, then you need to look at that part of it that is screwed to the outlet. Here it is necessary to assess the condition of the wire itself and the insulation. If overheating occurred repeatedly, then there is a high probability of destruction of the metal core itself at the attachment point. The metal becomes brittle, and in some cases ceases to conduct electric current - i.e. it looks like it is screwed to the contact, but it does not conduct current to it. This means that you will have to remove a piece of wire to the place where it is again flexible and plastic. In the worst case, the entire wire that is in the socket is spoiled, and in order to get to its undamaged section, you will have to disassemble the strobe in which it is laid.

In a more favorable set of circumstances, only the insulation itself will be damaged - it will be possible to put on a cambric on the bare area or wrap it with electrical tape. If at the same time there are darkenings on the contacts of the socket, then they will need to be carefully credited with sandpaper.

A case similar to the one described above is analyzed in detail in this video:

The most annoying of the obvious wiring faults is a short circuit. It is easiest to diagnose it - the closed section of the wire is simply absent, and the inside of the socket is covered with an oily coating. Repairing the outlet in this case is impractical, even if all its parts outwardly seem intact. The reason is that during the occurrence of a short circuit, the local section of the wiring is instantly heated to the boiling point of the metal, and it is simply sprayed over the entire inner surface of the box, mixed with soot from the insulation. The resulting plaque has a certain electrical resistance, but in some cases it begins to conduct an electric current, in fact being a time bomb. You can carefully wipe off the soot that has formed, but if it is possible to change the outlet, then it is better not to neglect it.

There is light, but there is no voltage in the sockets - where to look

A typical case of implicit breakdown - sockets in one room do not work, but there is light in it. At the same time, there is voltage in the sockets of other rooms. If there was a short circuit somewhere, then the introductory machine should work or the plugs should burn out, but everything is in order, and the socket does not work. This means that there is a completely or partially burnt section of the wire on the way from the introductory machine to the outlet itself.

In case of such malfunctions, terminal boxes that are not plastered or glued with wallpaper will be a good help, because in most cases the malfunction must be looked for in them. It’s absolutely great if there is a wiring diagram for the electrical network plotted on the plan of an apartment or house - its presence will simplify and speed up the work by an order of magnitude.

But since in most cases these data are not available, you need to be able to do without them:

The first thing you need to pay attention to is that, for example, one or all sockets in the kitchen do not work. If there is one, then it is necessary to disassemble it and look for the cause initially in it.
The second thing to remember is that the electrical circuit is damaged at weak points, which are twists and any other connections. If everything is in order inside the outlet, then the break in the circuit should be looked for not in the wall, but in the junction box. At the same time, it is not necessary that the burnt contact will be immediately visible - it is likely that for this you will have to unwind the insulation on the twisting of the wires.
The third important point is how exactly the voltage disappeared - the sockets simply stopped working, or before that the introductory machine could work. In the second case, he was knocked out once or he “shot” even after switching on.
The last - the faulty outlet is ordinary or was supplied separately, for example, for a powerful oven or electric stove.

The answers to these questions are usually enough to understand what to do next.

Finding and eliminating an open in the electrical circuit

The most difficult option is when one or more ordinary sockets stop working, which are not known how and where they are connected. Simplifies the task by the fact that all the wiring, at least most of it, was done according to the standards, which means you can imagine how it is located. The first twist should be in the same room in the junction box. It is placed at a height of about 15-20 cm from the ceiling (like the main wire), but it often turns out to be hidden under wallpaper or even a layer of plaster. If you can’t visually determine its location, you need to tap the walls.

When the box is found and opened, then it usually contains a burnt contact, or you have to look for another box, from which the wire goes to the already checked one. Sometimes there are quite bizarre connection schemes, when the main switchboard is located in the corridor, it seems that the wire should go directly from it to the kitchen, but in reality it turns out that the wiring goes around the apartment through all the rooms and only then the last branch gets into the kitchen junction box. You can’t guess here without a visual diagram - you just need to sequentially ring all the circuits and it’s good if there are special devices for this, without which only an experienced electrician can cope with the task.

This video will help you understand the wiring device in the apartment:

The rarest and at the same time undesirable reason why the outlet does not work is when the wire inside the wall is somehow damaged. This may be a short circuit due to repeated overheating and cooling of the wiring, or accidentally hooked on the wire when drilling the wall. If the dialing shows that it is this section that does not pass current, then you will have to open the strobe and change the wire. In the best case, it will be possible to determine the place of the break and only part of the wall will have to be broken, but if the wire is shorted, then it is better to change it completely.

The only alternative to do without wall chasing is to disconnect the damaged wire from the junction box and instead lay a new one along the wall surface - to make open wiring.

Did the socket start to spark, work intermittently, or did it completely stop giving any “signs of life”? Such changes can occur for a variety of reasons. However, regardless of the source of the problem, corrective action should be taken as soon as possible.

First of all, you need to understand if there is a chance to repair the outlet, or if the only possible option is to completely replace it.

Signs that an outlet needs to be repaired

The specific smell of burnt plastic.
Excessive heat or even melting of the face of the outlet.
The appearance of smoke, sparks and various uncharacteristic sounds.
Departure from the surface of the wall, looseness.

As a rule, the looseness of the socket contacts leads to the appearance of the above reasons. The wiring of most houses is made of aluminum, which is characterized by very high ductility. It is this property of the metal that leads to a gradual weakening of the fastening contacts and in most cases the entire repair comes down to tightening them.

However, if you continue to ignore the loosened contacts, after a while the fasteners will also begin to weaken. It is at this moment that the socket begins to lag behind or even completely fall out of the wall.

Therefore, the repair of the outlet must be started in a timely manner. It is very simple to do, you just need to prepare properly.

First of all, get ready to work. Many people at the sight of any problems associated with electrical appliances begin to panic. Doing this is absolutely not recommended. In such a repair, a decisive and calm attitude is important.

No need to waste time. It can take a couple of minutes from simple crackling in the outlet to a fire. Therefore, repairs are recommended to start as soon as possible.

Next, you will need to de-energize your apartment. Most often, the machines are located in the entrance, in a common shield on the floor. Usually they are signed by apartment numbers. If there are no such markings, the correct machine will have to be selected by turning off each of them in turn. In some cases, the switches are located in the apartment.

All electrical appliances must be unplugged from the sockets. It is best to do this even before you go to the entrance in search of your apartment machine. Remember, absolutely everything should be turned off. Even an elementary charger left in any outlet of the apartment for the duration of the repair is potentially dangerous.

What will be needed for work?

Self-repair of a faulty outlet is carried out using basic tools and fixtures.

Screwdriver Set.
Sharp knife.
Insulating tape.
File.
Pliers.
Voltage test tool.

With the help of the last tool, you will be able to determine whether the repair can be completed at all. Take the indicator and attach its working body to the wires. If there is no voltage, then the problem may not be in the outlet at all, but, for example, in the wiring or bag. If everything is fine with the wires, proceed to repair the outlet.

Socket DIY Repair Guide

First you need to remove the faceplate of the outlet. To do this, unscrew the fixing screw with a screwdriver. If the main reason for the repair was the replacement of a damaged socket housing, it will be enough to simply throw away the old front panel and install a new one in its place.

However, repairs are rarely limited to such manipulations. Therefore, after removing the front panel, you will need to try to determine the cause of the failure of the outlet. To do this, unscrew the clamping bolt and check the quality of all accessible and visible connections.

If the cause of the malfunction lies in poor contact, you need to carefully inspect the wire and assess the extent of the problem. Loose elements are repaired by conventional strengthening with an ordinary flat screwdriver.

If melted ends of the wires are found, cut them off with a sharp knife or remove them with wire cutters, carefully clean them with a file and connect them back to the terminal. The wire is strongly recommended to be insulated.

Remove any contamination from the guard mechanism. If the cause of the malfunction is a broken clamping bolt, remove it and install new fasteners. Damage to the terminal can easily lead to a breakdown of the outlet.

After fixing the breakdowns, you just have to assemble the outlet by doing all the steps in reverse order. That is, you will have to replace the terminals and fix the front panel with the fixing screw. Next you will need turn on the breaker and make sure that all faults are eliminated. It is better to do this with the help of some low-power equipment. Plug it into the socket and follow the situation for a while. If the equipment works, and the socket does not make any uncharacteristic sounds, smells and sparks, then you did a great job, you can congratulate yourself!

There are 2 ways to fix this problem: temporary and permanent. If you don’t want to spend time on repairs, you can simply try to straighten the petals a little more, due to which the socket is held in the wall, and return the product to its place. However, this option can be considered only as a short-term solution to the problem, it is better to immediately tune in and do everything right.

The reason that the outlet falls out of the wall is always the same: the retaining petals cease to fulfill their function. To correct this shortcoming, it is necessary to upgrade the landing slot.

Tools and fixtures for repair

Mounting box 6.8x4.5 cm. It is used when mounting various drywall systems.
Gypsum.
Construction knife.
polymer primer.
Spatula-shovel.

Turn off the electricity, mark the wires with a marker and dismantle the drop-down socket along with the contact group. Remove the screws from the mounting box. Remove the plugs so that later you can pass the wires inside the box. If possible, it is better to immediately remove the bottom so that during the installation of the box there are no difficulties associated in most cases with a mismatch between the dimensions of the hole in the wall and the dimensions of the box. Without a bottom, the box can be easily squeezed, cut, etc.

Install the socket base into the box. Installation must be done in such a way that the socket "sits" as tightly as possible. Install the box in the nest, correct inaccuracies if any, mark the location of the box to make it easier to navigate in the future, remove it and prime the hole.

Wait for the primer to dry. Next, you will need to dilute the gypsum with water, process the resulting mixture in the wall, and then install the mounting box into it. Remove excess and seal existing gaps with a spatula and plaster mortar.

The gypsum will set in 10-15 minutes, you can rest a bit. After the plaster has set, install the base of the new outlet in the box. Next, you will need to wedge the base. To do this, turn the adjusting screws. In the end, it remains only to install the front panel. The socket will not fall out again.

Video - How to fix an outlet

Pro Tips

How to fix a socket with your own hands

One of the most common breakdowns in the home electrical network is the failure of the outlet. In this article, we will take a closer look at how to easily and safely fix the outlet in the apartment with your own hands.

One of the most common breakdowns in the home electrical network is the failure of the outlet. This happens for several reasons: exceeding the permissible load (turning on a powerful consumer), loosening contacts or mechanical breakdowns.

As a result: the electrical wiring does not withstand and begins to heat up, and sometimes even melt. This can cause a short circuit, cause failure of the wiring or connected household appliance, electric shock to a person, and in advanced cases, even a fire.

First of all, you need to turn off the electricity: unscrew the plugs or turn off the machines on the shield.
Repair of the outlet is carried out in dielectric gloves, with a serviceable tool with insulated handles.
It is necessary to warn all residents that work is being done on the line so that no one accidentally turns on the electricity. You can also hang a label on the circuit breaker.

Advice! Before you repair the outlet, you must once again make sure there is no voltage on the conductors. To do this, use a probe, tester or multimeter.

Required Tool

In order to correctly and quickly repair the outlet, the following set of tools should be at hand:

Screwdrivers: Phillips and straight.

Knife for cutting cables.
Insulating tape.
Pliers and cutters.
Probe or multimeter.

You may also need a file or sandpaper.

Socket repair

Having dealt with all organizational issues, let's move on to the question of how to fix the outlet yourself. To do this, consider the sequence of work:

First of all, the faulty outlet must be disassembled. This is very easy to do: the bolt located on the front panel is unscrewed, after which the decorative trim is removed.
The next step is to inspect the wires and contacts. The wires that have fallen out of the socket are inserted into place and clamped. If the ends of the wiring are melted or burnt, they need to be cut and cleaned again.
Burnt or oxidized contacts are disassembled and cleaned with sandpaper, after which they are assembled back.

If the socket has moved away from the wall, tighten the fixing screws. They are usually located on the sides of the block. You can tighten them by removing the decorative trim.

Sometimes, when you open the outlet, you find that the wires are burnt out and their length is not enough for a new connection. In this case, it is required to build up, that is, “finish” a new piece of cable of the required length. To do this, the cores are stripped on both sides and connected by twisting (the terminals often simply do not fit into the socket). Then the twists are carefully wrapped with insulating tape, protective caps can be put on.

Socket Replacement

The decorative cover or overlay is removed.
Loosen fixing screws. In some cases, they will need to be completely unscrewed.
The box is removed from the box. It is important to be careful here so that the wires do not break.
Then the contact terminals are untwisted and the old frame is removed.

Now let's figure out how to install the outlet correctly. To do this, the ends of the wiring are cleaned, inserted into the contact group of the new block, carefully clamped. If you have three wires coming out of the wall - one of them is grounding (has yellow-green stripes). It is connected to a separate side contact, which is labeled accordingly.

The socket was patented in 1904 by Harvey Hubbell. An American inventor introduced a kind of adapter to the world. The socket was screwed into the cartridge. It remained to plug in the plug of some device.

Outlet that fell out of the wall

The design was attached to the wall, instead of being partially immersed in it. The method is relevant to this day in wooden houses. By fixing the outlet to the wall, you minimize the risk of fire. After installation, there are also risks, for example, sparking or short circuit. Therefore, the question is how to fix a socket.

In what cases the socket needs to be repaired

To repair the outlet, you need to be sure that it is she who is broken. The problem may also lie outside the connection point, for example, in a junction box. It is worth contacting it if a working electrical appliance does not work from any outlet in the house. If only one “sinks”, the junction box has nothing to do with it.

Breakdowns of sockets are divided into categories:

mechanical failure
contact loosening
excess load

Working, but faulty sockets, signal this:

Burnt smell. It comes from melting wire or plastic.
Crackling and sparkling.
By heating the case or conductor.
Loosening in the grooves and detaching from the wall.

Noticing the warning signs, the owners think how to fix wall socket. The process begins with security measures and tool preparation.

Burnt socket

Precautions and Toolkit

The electricity needs to be turned off. It is necessary to unscrew the plugs or block the machines on the shield. Work is carried out in special gloves. They are called dielectric. Gloves are made of latex or rubber, prevent current from reaching the skin.

Residents must be informed of the ongoing work. Otherwise, someone can turn on the electricity.

From the socket repair tool you will need:

straight screwdriver
crosshead screwdriver
pliers
wire cutters
multimeter
insulating tape
cable cutter

It is important that tool handles are securely insulated. Sometimes a file and sandpaper are also required. Everyone should stock up on them.

Repair sequence

To fix electrical outlet detached from the wall, it is enough to tighten the fastening screws. Access to them opens when removing the protective cover. The screws are visible on the sides of the block.

There are cases of loose sockets, leading to falling out of the wall. This usually happens with a structure fixed without a cup holder. Sockets are fastened with spacer plates.

They are metal, mounted on tightened bolts. Sharp teeth on the outer edges of the spacers cut into the socket bed. In older houses, building material may crumble.

How to fix a fallen socket? A cup holder is added to the old design. It is desirable to strengthen the bed around it with cement mortar. If the old outlet is broken, the algorithm of actions is as follows:

The bolt on the front panel is unscrewed.
The front panel is removed.
Contacts and wiring are examined.
If there are wires that have fallen out of the socket, they are returned to their place, clamped.
Detected melted or scorched ends of the wiring are cut off. The tops of the remaining wires are stripped.
Oxidized contacts are protected with sandpaper.
The design is assembled by closing the front cover.

Deciding fix the socket yourself you may encounter difficulties. It may, for example, require extension of wires. After burning and stripping, their length is not enough to connect. You have to add new cables.

The cores of wires on both sides are built up and twisted and closed with electrical tape or caps. You can connect the extended wire to the native one using terminals. However, they rarely enter the socket.

The task of building wires often arises when solving the issue, how to fix a socket if it sparks. A short circuit in the structure leads to heating and charring of the cables. Internal contacts can literally crumble. In this case, repair is not possible. The socket needs to be replaced.

Socket Replacement

The process is two-stage. First comes the dismantling of the old outlet. Its front cover is removed, the fastening screws are loosened or unscrewed. Then, the socket block is removed from the box so as not to damage the wires. It remains to unscrew the terminals and remove the frame. You can start installing a new outlet:

strip the ends of the wiring by inserting into a new contact group
clamp the wires
connect the wire with yellow-green stripes to the side contact marked
insert the socket into the socket
fix the structures with fixing screws

Yellow-green cable is not always available. Sometimes there are 2 wires. The third is grounding. For him, a separate side contact is provided.

Dismantling a faulty outlet

socket repair cost

If the work is carried out independently, their cost is made up of the prices for:

Sockets, which are single, or consisting of several inputs. The latter can be covered with a decorative panel-door, or be open to the review. There are sockets colored, metallic, with glass elements. The more bells and whistles and plugs, the more expensive the product.
Coasters. Standard costs about 10 rubles. For other models, they rarely ask for more than 50 rubles.
Wires, if extension is required. The question is penny, like a cup holder.
Dielectric gloves. They cost from 200 rubles.
tool if not available. A complete set of budget models can be purchased for 600-700 rubles.

If the equipment of the home master is zero, the question is, how to fix an outlet if it fell out or sparkled, may promise greater costs than paying the so-called husband for an hour. However, most people in their homes have all or most of the outlets needed to repair them.

Not everyone decides to self-repair, even with the availability of inventory. Some don't have enough time. Others are not electrically savvy. Then the question arises how much does it cost to fix an outlet by calling an electrician. An example price list is as follows: