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.
We have a 3 bedroom house and my son's family started living with us. Before this we were only using 1 bedroom. Now there is a 110 volt window unit in every room, AT&T U-verse TV in every room, plus naturally the lights. The breaker started tripping (15 amp) so we bought a new one. The new one is tripping now. Help! What to do? Can we go up to a 20 amp breaker?
By Carol
Do not put in a 20 amp breaker. Breakers are sized to protect the size of wire in a circuit. In general 15 amp breakers are used to protect 14 gauge wire, 20 amp 12 gauge. You most likely have 14 gauge wire and over sizing the breaker is dangerous and can lead to short circuits and fire.
I live in senior housing, 55 and older. I have an assigned post for my vehicle. When I plug it in the breaker trips. So I move to another plugin and that works for a couple days, then when I plug in again it pops the breaker again. Maintenance keeps telling me it's my car, but if I go to a friend's and plug in there are no problems. I just have problems at the senior housing. Why does this happen?
By Marilyn
Your car shouldn't be tripping the breaker at your home if it's not tripping the breakers elsewhere. Do any of your neighbours have the same problem?
The maintenance guy could be dangerously wrong; I say dangerously because the electrical problem needs to be looked at and resolved before it causes a fire.
The draw from your car (and anyone else') is overloading a circuit not up to the work of recharging your vehicle. But if you are plugging into a circuit that is assigned to the purpose of recharging your vehicle, the complex is responsible for maintaining that outlet in a safe and satisfactory condition to accomplish the recharging. For the maintenance guy to say it's your vehicle sounds as though he doesn't want to be bothered.
You should check your agreement to see if you have any recourse to the services of a licensed electrician to check the electrical system you are plugging into, and to whom you can lodge a request for further investigation of the electrical system. Be sure that your vehicle is checked by the dealer or a licensed mechanic certified to work on your model to be sure it really isn't your car, first:)
I just moved into a 1950s house. All the electric seemed to be working fine until carpet was installed yesterday. The circuit breaker flipped and flips again immediately after each attempt to turn it back on. There is no power being drawn on the circuit. It is only feeding overhead lights and outlets with nothing plugged in.
By Susan
If this started after carpet was installed, I'd say somewhere a wire got nicked. It is time to have an electrician come check it out.
I have an outside vapor light my husband installed on one end of our barn. The light is on a separate breaker with just the light and a plug on it. I have noticed the past few nights after it has been on about 6 hours the light goes out. When I went to check on it the next morning the breaker had tripped.
My husband had put another vapor light on the other end of our barn and it is fine; it also is on a separate breaker. We have a breaker box with about 20 breakers in it and so far none have tripped except the one.
By annie1 from Crosby, TX
Something is causing that breaker to trip-don't take the chance of a fire or electrocution, call a pro in to find out what is wrong.
The breaker to our living room and patio has tripped twice at night. Once my husband just flipped it back on and it was fine. The next night it happened again and will not flip back on. The things on the breaker are just standard things (TV, 2 lamps, an overhead light and fan, as well as, the overhead lights and fans on patio).
We can't figure out why it won't flip back on or why it is tripping at night when everything is off. Any ideas? Oh, and this is a new construction home. We have been in it 1 1/2 years.
By K.D.
Usually you will find it on the outside part of the things you mentioned. A bug or spider in the fixture. Turn the breaker off and clean all the fixtures outside including the plug ins. Moisture sometimes causes the wires to corrode, usually something simple like that if it hasn't been doing it before. I do my own and there is no risk as long as the breaker is off.
How do I fix a breaker to a separate storage shed that keeps tripping? This just started.
Have you changed something? Put in a stronger light bulb, or added a new electrical item to the load? Any wiring that could have gotten wet or chewed thru by an animal? You may try to replace the beaker with a larger one, or your breaker may have worn out. If you replace it, and it still happens, you have a short somewhere in your wiring.
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. Look for something else that isn't working when the breaker is tripped, check receptacles with a good lamp to see if you can find ones that don't work.
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". We had a new panel put in with more breakers and everything rewired, and the problem was fixed. He just doesn't want to spend the money. It's a fire hazard. You should report the problem to your local rentals board.
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.
