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Fix it yourself

Electrician repairs you can do yourself

Resetting breakers, replacing batteries and testing outlets are safe. Anything behind a faceplate or inside the panel is where licensed work begins in most markets — the guides say exactly where.

You can do
8
Pro-only
1
Typical time
10–90 min
  1. 01

    Burning smell from outlet

    Unplug whatever is in the outlet if the plug is cool enough to touch; otherwise leave it.

    Don't do this yourself

  2. 02

    Dead outlet

    Test the outlet with a lamp that works elsewhere; test the other outlets in the room to see how far the outage extends.

    easy 10–30 min· $0–10 for a tester

  3. 03

    Electrical Buzzing Sound

    Find the source: stand still and listen at each outlet, switch, dimmer and the panel; a dimmer with LED bulbs that hums quietly is common and harmless if nothing is warm.

    easy 10–30 min· $0 — isolate and call

  4. 04

    EV charger not working or charging slowly

    Read the status light or app: a fault code tells you whether the charger sees a ground fault, an over-temperature, or a car-side refusal; write it down.

    easy 15–45 min· $0 — checks and resets only

  5. 05

    GFCI outlet keeps tripping

    Unplug everything on the GFCI and on the outlets downstream of it, press RESET, and see whether it holds.

    easy 15–40 min· $0 — a replacement GFCI is $15–25 if you are comfortable with outlet replacement where allowed

  6. 06

    Lights dim when appliances turn on

    Write down which lights dim and which appliance starts them: a dip on the vacuum's own circuit is a full circuit; a dip through the whole house when the AC or dryer starts is the service or the panel.

    easy 20–60 min· $0–20 for a tester and bulbs

  7. 07

    Outdoor motion sensor light stays on

    Reset it: switch the fixture off at the wall switch for 30 seconds and on again — a brief off-on flick puts many sensor lights into manual-on mode until they are reset.

    easy 15–45 min· $0 for adjustment; $15–40 for a sensor head

  8. 08

    Solar panels producing less power than expected

    Compare like with like in the monitoring app: this month against the same month last year, and a clear-sky day against a clear-sky day; cloud and season explain most 'declines'.

    easy 30–90 min· $0–30 for a pole brush

  9. 09

    Tripping circuit breaker

    Unplug or switch off everything on the circuit that tripped, then reset the breaker: push it fully to OFF, then to ON.

    easy 15–45 min· $0

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