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Electrical Repair Ann Arbor, MI
Dead outlets, tripping breakers and flickering lights in Ann Arbor, Pittsfield and Scio homes and rentals, tested to the cause and fixed. Free written quotes.
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Licensed and insured | Family owned | Free quotes | Office Mon to Fri, 7 am to 5 pm
3D Electric offers Electrical Repair Ann Arbor, MI for dead outlets, breakers that will not stay on, flickering lights and switches that feel warm. We test the circuit until the fault shows itself, show you what we found and price the fix in writing before we touch it. This page on Electrical Repair Ann Arbor, MI covers what tends to fail in Ann Arbor houses, rentals and storefronts, and how a repair visit from our Belleville shop works.
Repairs are one of several services on our Ann Arbor electrician page. We are a family-owned, licensed and insured crew, from master electricians to apprentices. 24-hour emergency service available; office hours Monday to Friday, 7 am to 5 pm.
Lectro's tip
Before you call, snap a photo of your open panel with the labels showing and jot down which lights and outlets went dead.
Stop first if something is hot, sparking or smells burnt
Heat and a burning smell mean a connection is failing under load. Switch that circuit off at the panel if you can reach it without risk. If you see smoke or flame, get everyone out and call 911.
Treat any wire lying across a yard or driveway as live. Keep well back, call 911 and then DTE Energy. Then call us about your side of the meter.
What usually fails in an older Ann Arbor house
Houses near campus and downtown were often rewired one room, or one owner, at a time. Each round left its own splices, and some sit in boxes later hidden behind drywall or paneling. A symptom in one room can start two rooms away.
What you notice | Common cause in an older house | What we test first |
|---|---|---|
Half a room of outlets dead | A loose or burned connection at an outlet upstream | Each device, panel outward |
Lights dip when the furnace blower starts | A loose neutral or a crowded shared circuit | Voltage at the panel and at the fixture under load |
A breaker trips on cold nights | Space heaters on a circuit meant for lamps | The load on that circuit and the breaker itself |
Two-prong outlets that spark when you plug in | Worn contacts and no ground wire | The wiring in the box and GFCI options |
Knob and tube and cloth-covered wire
Very old wiring cannot be judged from the outlet, and brittle insulation cracks when it is moved. We test the runs we can reach and say plainly which should be replaced. Replacement splices go in accessible boxes, like the one in the photo.
Repairs after a Washtenaw County outage
Long outages hit this county hard. Two days after the February 22, 2023 ice storm, about 65,000 Washtenaw DTE customers, roughly 38 percent, still had no power.
Lights that swing bright and dim
When lights brighten and fade, or motors hum and quit, a damaged neutral is one likely cause. It can be on DTE's side or in your service entrance. Unplug electronics, call DTE about their equipment and call us about yours.
Smaller problems after the restore
A GFCI that will not reset, a garage door opener that stopped, a furnace that will not restart. Many of these trace to one device that took a hit. If storms keep costing you electronics, read about whole house surge protection for Ann Arbor homes.
Damp basements on Ann Arbor's hills
Ann Arbor climbs from about 750 feet near the river to more than 1,000 feet on its high ground. Lots near the Huron River slope hard, and water finds the low side of a basement.
GFCI outlets that trip in wet weather
A basement GFCI that trips after heavy rain often points to moisture in a box or a cord, not a bad GFCI. A new device without a dry box just moves the trip somewhere else.
Sump pump circuits
A sump pump sharing a circuit with a freezer or a dehumidifier can trip the breaker as it starts. We look at how the pump is fed and whether it should have its own circuit.
Rental houses and units near campus
Plenty of housing near the University of Michigan is older homes split into units, each with a panel or subpanel of its own. Tenant reports tend to be short, such as "the kitchen stopped working."
Tell us the unit, which panel feeds it and what was running.
Arrange access to the unit and the panel, which is often in a shared basement.
Decide who receives our findings and who approves the estimate.
We test, send you what we found with a written price, and fix it once you approve. Work between leases goes faster, with every room empty and open.
How a repair visit works from Belleville
Most Ann Arbor addresses sit 18 to 22 miles from our shop, a straight run out I-94. A clear description up front puts the right parts on the van.
Call or send the form with your address, and say whether it is in the city, Pittsfield Township or Scio Township.
Describe the symptom, when it started and what was running.
Text a photo of the open panel with the labels showing.
We shut off and verify power, then test until the fault turns up.
You get a detailed written estimate before the repair, with no hidden charges.
We repair it, test the circuit under load and clean the work area.
Permits for repair work in Ann Arbor
Swapping a failed outlet or switch is routine. Bigger repairs, such as a panel replacement, a new circuit or a storm-damaged service, generally need a permit and an inspection.
Inside city limits, the Building Department in Build, Rent, Inspect takes applications through its STREAM online system. Pittsfield Township and Scio Township run their own offices. Confirm current requirements for your address before the work is scheduled.
When the fix is bigger than a repair
Sometimes testing shows the circuit is fine and the equipment behind it is worn out.
Scorched breakers, rust or a full panel point to an electrical panel upgrade in Ann Arbor.
Dimming through the whole house, or a mast pulled loose by a falling limb, calls for a look at your 200 amp service upgrade options in Ann Arbor.
If long outages are the real problem, see our generator installation work in Ann Arbor.
What sets the repair price
Price depends on how long the fault takes to find, where it sits, the parts and any permit. Quotes are free, and financing is available. Our electrical troubleshooting and repair guide lists safe checks to try before you call. To book, use the Ann Arbor quote request page or our main contact page. The city overview is on 3D Electric in Ann Arbor.
Related pages
Panels, service upgrades, lighting, chargers and repairs
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. One dead outlet or a breaker that will not reset is a normal call for us. We test first, so you pay for the fix and not for guesses. Quotes are free.
We test it and repair failing connections we can reach. Wiring that old often has brittle insulation. We tell you plainly which runs should be replaced and which can stay for now.
Unplug electronics and call DTE Energy, since a damaged neutral on their side is one possible cause. Then call us to check your service entrance and panel. Do not wait on this one.
Swapping a failed device is routine work. Panel replacements, new circuits and service repairs generally need a permit. The city Building Department, Pittsfield Township or Scio Township issues it depending on your parcel, so confirm current requirements for your address.
Yes. Give us the unit, the panel location and a contact for access. We report what we found to you and get your approval on the written estimate before the repair.
24-hour emergency service available. Office hours for quotes and scheduling are Monday to Friday, 7 am to 5 pm. If there is smoke, fire or a downed line, call 911 first.