Residential · Franklin County & St. Louis, MO
Something's wrong and you don't know what. Half the kitchen is dead. A breaker keeps tripping. There's a burning smell from an outlet. CAS Electric diagnoses residential electrical problems across Franklin County and the Greater St. Louis area — Pacific, Washington, Union, Sullivan, St. Clair, Eureka, Wildwood, Villa Ridge, and Marthasville and fixes them right the first time.
Troubleshooting is a different skill than installation. A good troubleshooter starts with the symptom, forms a hypothesis, tests it with instruments, and works backward through the circuit until they find the failure. That's what we do — no guessing, no 'let's replace parts until it stops.'
The most common calls we get are: half a room dead after a storm (usually a tripped GFCI upstream or a burned neutral), lights that flicker with the HVAC (often a loose service neutral or a bad panel connection), breakers that trip randomly (frequently a shared neutral or a nail through a wire from a previous remodel), and burning smells from outlets or panels (backstab connections failing, aluminum branch circuits, or a loose lug at the breaker).
We show up with an insulation tester, a clamp meter, a receptacle tester, and enough experience to know what the numbers mean. When we find the fault we explain what caused it, what it takes to fix, and whether there's a bigger issue behind it.
We charge a modest diagnostic fee that covers the first hour of on-site diagnosis; if you approve the repair, the fee is applied to the repair. Repair work is quoted flat-rate after we've identified the problem — you'll always have a written price before we start.
We ask what's happening, when it started, and what changed recently. Half of troubleshooting is asking the right questions.
Meter readings, load tests, thermal imaging where useful, and step-by-step isolation until we find the fault.
You know what's wrong, what the fix is, and what it costs before we lift a wrench.
We fix the fault, retest under load, and confirm the symptom is gone before we leave.
Usually a loose neutral — either at your service, in the panel, or at a shared junction. The A/C's inrush current drops voltage on the hot leg with the loose connection, dimming lights on that leg. It's a fire risk. Get it diagnosed sooner rather than later.
Three main causes: overload (too much draw on one circuit), a short circuit (hot touching neutral or ground somewhere in the wiring), or a ground fault (hot touching a grounded surface like a metal box). AFCI breakers can also trip on arc signatures from failing devices. Correct diagnosis requires isolating the circuit and testing.
Yes. Stop using the outlet immediately, turn off the breaker if you can identify it, and call us the same day. Burning smells almost always indicate a failing connection that's arcing — it's how electrical fires start.
Most likely a tripped GFCI outlet upstream (often in the garage, bathroom, or on an exterior wall) that's feeding those kitchen counter receptacles. Reset it. If the problem returns, you have a ground fault somewhere that needs to be found.
Yes, a modest diagnostic fee covers the first hour on-site. If you approve the repair, we apply that fee toward the repair. It keeps us focused on solving your problem, not padding a bill.
Licensed, insured, owner-operated. We respond to all estimates within 1 business day.