Troubleshooting and Repairing Electrical Circuits

[cyberbubba2006]

Okay, here's the history. The circuit in question was originally wired to only ceiling lights and fans throughout the inside, outside and garage. At some point later, someone added eight (8) wall receptacles on this same circuit on an external garage wall. Now to the problem, after a storm we noticed lights not working and I checked the circuit breaker, I found the breaker that was tripped and turned it on, it immediately tripped again. On my third attempt, the breaker stuck on, the ceiling fan lights in the bedroom, near the breaker in the closet, flashed bright and popped, the breaker began to smoke and I had to kill the mains. So, I attempted to troubleshoot the problem by disconnecting all plugs from the 8 receptacles in the garage, turned off all light switches and bought a new circuit breaker. I installed the breaker, and when I flipped it on, it sparked and tripped immediately. I used an ohm meter and determined that all of the receptacles and all light switches were shorted. I started with disconnecting the feeder to the receptacles, and none of the receptacles were shorted, but of course the feeder coming to them was. I then systematically went to each light switch disconnected each one and tested each switch, they were all good and the feeds to each switch were shorted. I am now at a loss, and don't know where else, or how I can trace the source of this short. Could someone please advise????? Please :-(
All help and suggestions will be most appreciated. Sincerely, Barrett

[markmark]

You obviously have a big problem, and should call a certified electrician.
In the future, if a circuit breaker trips, and you reset it, and it immediately trips again, you have a real problem. Do not try to keep reseting the breaker, it will not fix your problem.

[cyberbubba2006]

I understand the concept of multiple resets, but the second attempt was just to make sure that I had turned it all the way off, but I digress. Anyway, I hoped that some technically savy electrical folks would have some insights, as the whole purpose of a forum is to share knowledge, no? I am a computer conultant and if it were a computer hardware, software or related problem I assure you that I wouldn't suggest that you call a professional, that's me and I would share my thoughts and give answers that would solve the problem. I guess what I don't like about the "call a professional" answer is, I have two technical degrees, four engineering cetifications and I believe that with some informed direction I might be able to tackle this problem, or at least understand that I just might need an electrician. Anyone else?

[kitdesign]

I feel your pain..i know that there are many people out there that have ruined the remodeling industry by trying things they are not capable of nor trained to do, but I, like yourself, am a pretty knowledgeable person who sometimes just needs a little guidence. It seems people are too quick to cover their butts and say "call a pro" instead of just giving some sound advice. I think that everyone who reads/posts on this forum is well aware of the dangers of messing with electric and would not be reading/posting here if they were absolutley clueless as to what they were doing. I'm no electrician by trade, but I've re-wired a few houses and have a pretty good understanding of basic wiring but I know my limits. So like you stated, I feel I should be the judge of my own situation and I should decide if I need to "call a pro"..