Spent 4 hours chasing a phantom short in a j-box... it was a wire nut I dropped

I was doing a simple ceiling fan swap in a old house in Portland and the breaker kept tripping. Checked every connection twice, pulled the box apart, even swapped the fan out again... nothing. After 4 hours of testing I finally looked down and saw a loose wire nut wedged between the box and the drywall. Must have fallen out of my pouch when I was up on the ladder. Has anyone else had a dumb mistake like that eat up their whole afternoon?

3 comments

3 Comments

karen_sanchez491mo ago

4 hours? That's just part of the job.

amy_anderson1mo ago

Know that feeling all too well.

-1

the_lee1mo agoMost Upvoted

@karen_sanchez49 4 hours unpaid is actually illegal in 9 states.