Electrical Problems

When we got back to our house in Mbala after stateside our yard worker informed us that the gate lights do not work.  He had taken the light bulbs out and checked them in another light socket and found that they work.  So we were not getting any electric at the gate.  We put this on our mental check list of things to do.  At some point we would get to it and fix it.

Well, a few Saturdays later Steve was up early, in the shower getting ready to go to a funeral for the day when all the lights went out.  Now this shouldn’t have happened.  We have our lights wired that when the electric goes the battery automatically takes over.  We don’t have to do anything.  In fact, we hardly know it has happened. 

Steve goes out to the electrical box and something is buzzing.  He ends up turning off the outside lights and then all seams to be working fine.  He also unwired the battery.  We don’t want to ruin that fine equipment.  He then is off to a funeral and ends up being gone until dark.

Now, you have to know that I call Steve – Johnny on the spot.  If something needs fixing he usually is fixing it right away and will not stop to eat until it is finished.  One time just in the past month or two he comes out of the kids toilet room and asks, “How long has the toilet flushing knob been broken?”  It had only broke that week.  But I want him to come home and sit down to supper with us, so we can have a meal as a family.  I knew if I told him right away, he would fix it and we would be eating alone.  Then of course it just slips my mind and I forget to tell him.  So knowing all that it was very hard for him not to fix this on that Saturday.

So on Sunday afternoon he starts digging up the wires starting at our gate, as we have no idea where on earth it comes into the house.  At one point I went out to check on him and noticed which way he was coming to the house.  It dawned on me where he was going to end up.  There was this pipe above the ground that I have noticed before, but didn’t know what it was for.  Sure enough it was the buried electric for the gate, just not so buried beside the house.

Steve started messing with things.  Turning this off or unwiring that and then turning  the outside lights on to see if they still buzzed.  Then we couldn’t get any lights to come on.  The goal then became to just get the inside lights to work for the evening.

Monday morning we put our yard worker on the job of digging up the rest of the electrical wire between the gate and the house.  Steve got on our ladder and started checking out all the sockets and wiring on our outdoor lights.  We had a light switch outside that the bugs kept getting into and shorting it out.  He was thinking maybe this happened to one of the lights somewhere.  He cleaned them all our and tightened them up so that maybe the bugs will stay out of them.

In the end the problem was in the wire going to the gate.  Where it bent to go up the side of the house was worn away causing a short.

A missionary kind of needs to be a jack of all trades.  Steve wore his electrical hat for three days trying to fine the problem and then fixing it.

 

I’m not sure if you can see this well enough, but this was the wire. It basically just crumbled!  Thankful that my husband has a little know how in the electrical department.

God bless, Rita