We had this problem recently. A circuit breaker would trip as soon as we reset it. So, I set out to find the problem. I checked each outlet in turn through the dining room, down the stairs into the basement, and realized I was standing in six inches of water.
The basement had flooded!
A power strip was running from one of the outlets down into the water so the breaker would flip instantaneously. Needless to say this is quite dangerous, luckily nobody was downstairs when we were testing the breaker. Once we got the flood taken care of and replaced the power strip everything worked fine.
It was a good reminder to check the basic integrity of my surroundings rather than focusing in too closely on the specific problem.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I recently moved into a townhouse and have been having some trouble with the breakers. When I try to use my toaster the breaker for that outlet trips part of the way through the cycle. Just to be transparent I have an electric kettle on the same outlet, but I don't use it and the toaster at the same time.
The breaker is 20A so it should be able to handle just the toaster (which is rated at 1800W max). I'd understand if it tripped as soon as I turned it on, but it does it at seemingly arbitrary points. My first instinct was that the outlet was bad, but it and the wiring look good inside. I also thought about replacing the breaker, but for some reason there is no main installed in the box. The place where it should be is empty and covered with a plate.
Your main breaker is probably outside since it is not a requirement to have it inside.
The only way to tell what your problem is, is to do an amp draw test on your circuit. It could be a weak breaker or something else on this circuit.
I live in a three bedroom deluxe seven room plus basement altogether. So I just got my circuit breaker replaced because it was going out. The workers put in new one.
I keep small heaters on, but now that it's been replaced I can't use the microwave or my room, kid's room, parts of my mom's room, part dinning room, kitchen, and basement goes out. The guy who fixed it put it on 15amp. Should it be all on one like that?
By LW from Kansas City, MO
No, it should not. It might be a good idea to figure out what is all on that breaker. From my experience, a microwave takes a lot of power. Perhaps, in the short term, you can plug that microwave into a different outlet that is not on this circuit. I have too many outlets on one breaker, and I am going to have the electrician come in and add more circuits (put in more breakers). This may be what you need to do.
One circuit breaker is for the pool filter, it was working fine and now it keeps tripping. I unplugged the filter and it is still tripping?
What is wrong with it?
By Karen C.
Although breakers can go bad, it isn't very common. Chances are good that there is something else on the circuit that you don't know about that is causing the problem.
I live in a two tenant house. The upstairs neighbors keep blowing the circuit. Last night at least 2 went down. The landlord said that it's impossible for 2 different breakers to go without shutting power down to the whole house. He also said that they think I intentionally shut the breakers down and that this is a criminal offense. I know nothing about breakers (only to reset them). Is it possible for more than one breaker to trip without shutting power to the whole house down?
By Diane
Yes, it is possible. It used to happen here all the time. Whenever anything was on and someone used the toaster, the breaker for the kitchen outlets and the breaker for the lights would click off. The electrician said they were "cross wired".
Absolutely agree with everything Dena said! This landlord is trying to dodge the cost of having the house electricity supply brought into the 21st century. If he doesn't get it fixed within a week report him - this really is a fire hazard!
It's also seems he might be trying to cause trouble between you and your fellow tenants - you might want to make a point of talking to them so they know this is nothing you're doing. Then all of you can work together to make sure your landlord upholds his contractual obligations to maintain the wiring to a safe standard.
If you decide to move because of unsafe conditions, under most US state tenant-landlord laws you are not liable to any charges owing to breaking any lease. Don't let this creep intimidate you into paying a cent, this is HIS problem - multiple circuits being blown is not only possible, it means there are very serious problems with the wiring.
Check your lease - no tenant is ever responsible for faulty wiring unless they can be proved to have illegally tampered with it. Should the property catch fire the subsequent investigation by the fire department will prove tampering or that the wiring was deficient and sub-standard - can't fool FD (or insurance) investigators. Many have tried, all have failed.
Consult your local legal aid group, you do have a case.
I wonder - does your landlord even have proper zoning permission to be renting a multi-family property? You might want to check on that.
My circuit turns off when I plug in the heater. The rest of the house is fine.
I changed my breaker from a 15 amp to a 20 amp. I was hoping it would fix it from tripping. It is still tripping. What else can I do?
You could have a short circuit or a ground fault. I would call an electrician.
We have a circuit breaker that all of a sudden keeps tripping. The breaker box goes directly to the power pole and the only thing on the problem circuit breaker is the pump for our well. We've had this pump on this breaker for 15 years and just started having a problem in the last few days. We already tried replacing the circuit breaker. We replaced it with a 15 amp breaker because that's what was in there before. That did nothing. Can anyone help please?
By Tim A
The breaker is tripping from overcurrent. If it trips immediately, it is most likely a short to ground. It could also be a locked rotor on your pump.
If it takes time to trip, it is an overcurrent, and for some reason the pump is working harder than it used to. Maybe buildup within the pump or bearing failure.
Look for physical damage of the cable feeding the pump from the breaker.
If none is found, have an electrician megger the leads to the motor to see if you have a short to ground.
If you do not, you may need to have someone pull the pump and have the motor tested and/or replaced. If it has been the same pump for 15 years, it may be at the end of its life.
I bought my house a year ago. The electrical box was replaced because it did not meet code as well as some wiring and new outlets were installed. I have had absolutely no issues, never blown a breaker or anything.
I came home tonight to find only some of my house working. Half the kitchen, half the living room, half the basement, and my garage door won't open. I checked the electrical box and a breaker blew. I reset it and switched it back on and all it does is spark a little and shut right back off. I unplugged eerything in my house and waited a few hours and tried again and still nothing.
I live in Illinois where we've had the worst winter ever, averaging 70 inches of snow over the course of winter. Today however it reached around 50 so everything was melting and water just pouring down my house non stop. I read there is a box outside as well. Could that be an issue? Or a bad breaker? Please help! The electrician wants $150/hr.
By Missy Mo
That electrician might be worth every cent of that $150 /hour. Since you have had no serious issues before, and have just had everything replace, this sounds like a serious issue to me. I'd call the electrician. You may have something dangerous going on - better a big bill than a house on fire.
My trailer house has a breaker box in my trailer for different parts of my trailer, but it keeps tripping the breaker box on the outside pole that my trailer is plugged into. If I have the dryer and AC on it trips. If I have the microwave and washer on it trips and I have to go outside to reset the switch. Help.
By tootiel from Menominee, MI
Those appliances are pulling to much power. You or the owner of the trailer park need an electrician to up the ampage to the outside pole or to the house.
I have a 7.5 Kw motor started by a control circuit with breaker. The breaker is tripping while I stop the motor. What is the cause for this?
By Linga
There's an electrical problem of some sort that could be dangerous, that's why the breaker is tripping. Have the motor checked soon.
I have been living in my apartment for the last three years and have never had a breaker trip before now. My living room breaker started tripping a couple of days ago suddenly, and so far it has happened three or four times since then. It appears to only be affecting the outlet where I have a surge protector plugged in with the television, DVR box, Blu Ray player, and a small lamp attached.
I have changed nothing, and added no new items so I'm not sure why the breaker is tripping all of a sudden. Any ideas would be appreciated. I'm worried this could be something dangerous.I have a 15 amp circuit breaker that keeps tripping yet nothing is on related to that circuit. Parts of it go to an outside pond and 4 other outdoor outlets. The pond is unplugged; so again I have nothing running on any of the outlets. What could my problem be? A grounded wire that is buried?
Thanks in advance.
Two months ago, we had power outlets that were having issues getting plugs to stick, so my dad had us replace all of the outlets in the room, including mine, but my plugs were all working fine before yet he wanted them all replaced anyway.
At one point, we were having to fiddle with one of the outlets' wirings in the living room because we couldn't get it to work without shorting out two of our other rooms. So they eventually got it to work, but then, except for my fan, I've had no power in my room for two months. So I just didn't bother with replacing my outlets.
Only now has my dad stepped in to replace the perfectly fine outlets in favor of these newer ones, saying this'll bring back power into my room. I don't know how, he just said it would fix it. So then I test it and it runs hot. All of the outlets are receiving power and yet I plug my lamp in them and I'm still not able to get it to turn on.
I am getting outright annoyed with this. What did we do to get the outlets to stop working?
Make sure the lamp works in another outlet before you assume your outlet is faulty.
One of my breakers at the box is tripping at night. I only have an electrical heater on with an auto temp setting. I have had it on nightly before without issues.
I live in 1976 mobile home. Could it be rodents or moisture? What should I do? Thank you.It could be either. As a firefighter/emt, I must say do not use it or that outlet again, until after you have an electrician check it out. It could be the heater having an issue and the breaker is tripping as it should, or it could be faulty wiring. Either are a fire hazard and a trailer goes up quickly, before the occupants can get out at times.
Rodents can do a lot of damage to wiring. If you know you have them, that would be my first guess. It's worth having a qualified person do the repair. Insurance will not pay for fire damage if a faulty repair caused the fire.
The ceiling fan and light will not work and when I flip the switch it trips the circuit breaker.
I live overseas, and have a 220V circuit. Yesterday, when I came home and turned on the light at the bottom of the semi-outdoor stairwell, the main circuit breaker shut off. I turned it back on and it was fine and I shut the light off from the switch at the top. It happened again today, but this time I switched it off from the top before I turned on the circuit breaker.
I plan to not use the stairwell light any more, but is that enough or is it dangerous to leave in that condition? I can call the landlord, but if it's not dangerous, my lease is almost up and I expect to be moving in a couple of months anyway so I'd just as soon not bother the landlord now. But I will if I need to.
By Joy C
I would alert the landlord just in case. You might save the life of the person that moved there after you.
As a landlord myself, I would definitely want to know about this problem so it could be fixed. Even if you are moving, please contact the landlord ASAP and let him know.
I would recommend telling your landlord about the problem because if you don't he/she may very well charge you for any repairs that have to be made or not release your bond when you leave.
I have 1 2000/1500w 240v heater on a dual 15amp breaker. The house is only 3 years old. Every time I try and turn on the heater the breaker trips.
Is it possible it's just a bad breaker or something more complicated?
I have had the same appliances, television and computer connected to the same 15amp circuit for at least a year. However last night I connected a lamp to that circuit and it tripped the breaker. When I reset the breaker with the lamp disconnected within a second the breaker tripped again. Next I disconnect all the appliances from that circuit (resulting in no load on the circuit) and tried resetting the breaker again.
The same thing happened the breaker tripped again almost immediately. In this scenario would I be safe in assuming the circuit breaker is bad and should be resplaced? Thank you in advance for your assistance.I live in an RV that has a double pole 15 amp breaker that's tripping. The load is 8 plugs and 2 110 volt AC window units.
The breaker box is full, so can I install another breaker box and split up the load?Another box would probably require another feed, maybe another generator or power source.
The breakers is protecting the wire within the walls. It does not allow more current to flow through them than what they are rated for. This is to prevent overheating.
volts times amps equals watts. 240 volts times 15 amps equals 3600 watts. This is where your breaker will start tripping. If each A/C unit is less than 2880 watts (12 amps) (80%) then they can be run individually but not together.
An electrician is always your best bet.
We live in a 10 year old home. The main breaker in our box has shut down our power two days in a row. We have been able to re-set it and get power back, but we are concerned.
Any advice? We haven't been operating anything new in our home, so our usage should be the same as it's always been.To be safe, call an electrician. This could potentially be a serious problem.
Starting about 2 months ago the main breaker outside has shut off my electricity 7 times. I had to call maintenance each time as I do not have access to the breaker panel. In each case, there were no breakers tripped on the panel inside the apt. The maintenance man said I should not have the central air/heat running at the same time as the washer and dryer. Last week the air conditioner had been turned on a little while prior to it happening, but neither the washer or dryer was in use.
Then yesterday, it happened again. This time, the central air/heat and the washer and dryer were off. There was a small electric heater being used in the bedroom, but we didn't even own the heater during the first 5 times the main breaker tripped. Also, last month our bill showed we had used over 5,000 kwhs! Our highest usage ever was around 2,000 prior to that. What is going on?Just a question, Linkeen1, but do your power circuits (the use of which are calculated and billed to you) include any outside outlets? Is it possible someone has been plugging in at your expense?
Well, you need to urge the people who are in charge to get an electrician in to check out that breaker. Breakers do wear out. I have never had a main breaker do so, but that doesn't mean that it wouldn't. In the meantime, you should know that ovens, dryers, AC, microwaves, and electric heaters are all big draws on your current. Try not to run two of those at the same time. However, if you are using 2 1/2 times as much power as previously, you should contact the power company, as there may be some other malfunction. If you are in a rental property, your first move is to get management to call in an electrician to investigate why the breaker keeps tripping, and also why you might be using so much power if you are not doing anything differently.
