social

Troubleshooting Circuit Breaker Problems

83 Questions

Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.

August 9, 2017

I turned the breaker to my water heater off and when I turned it back on my water heater wasn't working. As it is a very old water heater I thought it had gone out, so I replaced it with a new one. It is still not working. The plumber installed it correctly, we filled it, and turned the breaker on, nothing.

Advertisement

The plumber checked the plug going into the hot water heater and it reads 110 on each side because it's a 220 plug. The last water heater we had was 220v 3800w 150 PSI, 30 gallon. This water heater is 240v 4200w. I have two questions. Would the wire test 110 on each side at the water heater if the breaker was messed up? Does the voltage make a huge difference being the old one was 220 and this one is 240?

Answers


Bronze Post Medal for All Time! 105 Posts
August 9, 20170 found this helpful

If the plumber installed the breaker switch correct this isnt an issue. It is normal to have a 240v 4200w breaker. The reading on this switch is correct 110v on each side. Your problem could be with your thermostat or heating element.

 
Read More Answers

August 2, 2017

I changed all the outlets in my house from two to three prongs. Within a week my son's room lost power. I checked the breaker and reset all GFCIS, but nothing. I then I bought a multimeter; it revealed that the lower pole out of a two pole breaker was dead (this was the only breaker dead in the box). I did buy a new 20 dual pole BR type breaker and replaced it, but there is still no power, in fact the lower pole is not giving me a reading just like the old one.


What can be the problem now?

Answers


Gold Post Medal for All Time! 677 Posts
August 2, 20170 found this helpful

You probably have a loose or broken wire in the circuit.

From doityourself.com:
What you have is either a broken or loose wire in the circuit. It is usually the white neutral wire, but could be the black hot wire. The most common cause of failure is a weak backstab connection at a receptacle; this can be repaired by moving the wire to the adjacent screw terminal on the receptacle.

Advertisement

The problem is usually at the first dead receptacle or the last live receptacle in the circuit; each device that is downstream from the break will not function. The method of fixing this is basically trial-and-error until you find the receptacle, switch or light fixture with the loose connection.

 
Read More Answers

July 2, 2016

I have a circuit breaker that tripped last week. The backyard lights and dinning room light run off it and everything was off when it tripped. It would not reset even after pushing it all the way to off. I thought maybe it overheated so I left it off over night, but then the next day it still did not reset.

I waited until today when I am off work to go to Home Depot to by a new breaker and see if that was the problem. As I was getting ready to leave, I decided to test the breaker again just in case and lo and behold it reset and everything works just fine again. What would cause a breaker to not want to reset for several days?

Answers

July 12, 20160 found this helpful

A breaker can trip from overcurrent (a condition in which too much current is flowing and heats an element in the breaker causing it to trip - this can be reset after cooldown after several minutes) or from short circuit (way way too much current causing an instant trip).

Advertisement

My guess is you have a short circuit. Outside light makes me think water is getting into a connection somewhere (switch, light, junction box) and tripping the breaker. When water dries out, circuit can be reset.

Another cause of short circuit is rodent damage of the cable.

 
Read More Answers

April 4, 2016

We have been experiencing a "hot" smell whenever we use the clothes dryer. We have cleaned all possible lint and dust from the dryer and the vent to make sure that was not the source.

New notice the smell coming from the circuit breaker panel, any thoughts?

Answers

April 5, 20160 found this helpful

If the hot smell is from your panel, it would be good to have an electrician look into this for you. You don't want to risk a fire.

The heat could come from a loose connection, either hot (black)at the breaker or neutral (white) on the bus.

Advertisement

The heat could be coming from an overloaded and faulty breaker. (the breaker should trip and is not tripping)

The heat could be coming from an incorrectly wired panel connection.

In any event, if you smell the panel heating up, the damage may already be done. Wire insulation is not rated for high ambient temperatures and could easily breakdown. This could causing more heating and arcing. Again, an electrician is your best call in this situation.

 
Read More Answers

April 10, 2010

I asked an electrician to fix the circuit breaker in my house because it was tripping. So he connected 4mm wire between the neutral and the earth. All was well for 2 days, then it kept tripping whenever you pull out the wire. What could be the problem? Could it be a floating neutral?

By justine from SA

Answers


Silver Feedback Medal for All Time! 290 Feedbacks
April 10, 20100 found this helpful

I don't know that much about electricity, but call the electrician back to fix the problem. They are supposed to guarantee their work.

 
April 12, 20100 found this helpful

You had an electrician fix it and he connected 4mm wire between the neutral and the earth. All was well for 2 days, then it kept tripping whenever you pulled out the wire. What could be the problem? Maybe pulling out the wire is the problem.

Advertisement

If it was fine for two days after he did this, maybe it wasn't meant for you to keep pulling the wire out?

 
April 18, 20100 found this helpful

Some where on that circuit there is a bad neutral. You should not have to add the wire to it? Did you nail in something to wall and then it happened (*maybe nicked the neutral)?

Neutral wire could have broken.
Wire nut could have come loose in junction box.
Is the line overloaded? running too much stuff.
Ria

 
Answer this Question

November 21, 2008

I just moved into a new house a couple of weeks ago. It was pre-wired for cable. I had my cable installed last week. Ever since they installed the cable my breaker for my bedroom is tripping intermittently. I had the electrician at my house.

He said unless something happens when he is there he cannot find the problem. Is there anything I can do on my own to try and solve this problem? I had it trip 3 times this morning and it is getting very frustrating!

Answers

November 21, 20080 found this helpful

My first guess would be you have more than your bedroom on that breaker and the cable box is drawing just enough to make the breaker trip when something else turns on,especially a motor such as a furnce blower. Try turning off the breaker and see what else doesn't work besides the bedroom.

Advertisement

Otherwise it has to somehow be connected to the installation. Did the installer add straps and drive a nail or screw into a wire causing an occasional short.

 
November 23, 20080 found this helpful

I asked my husband the electronics whiz your question and this is his answer:

If it is a new construction house, the pre-wiring for cable may have been improperly installed but not actually tested until you had the cable service hooked up. That is, if the cable and electrical wires were installed running together in your bedroom, and a nail or staple or other problem inadvertantly connected a conductor in the electrical cable with a conductor in the TV cable (especially the grounded shield), it could have been OK until the cable company connected their service. This is similar to the possible reason in the first responder's post.

Hope this helps.
Susan in Omaha

 

Gold Post Medal for All Time! 846 Posts
November 24, 20080 found this helpful

I think you need a new electrician !!! Any electrician who knows their stuff doesn't need to 'wait for the problem to occur' in order to have a clue what the problem is ... Being this is a new home I suggest whoever did the installation find and fix the problem at no charge with threats of the Better Business Bureau, etc if they hum hah around about it !!!

 
Answer this Question

July 19, 2005

We recently purchased an old home (105 years old) and one day half of the lights on a circuit stopped working. They stopped when I turned on a sconce and it shorted and blew the circuit breaker. Half the lights on the circuit went out, not to be seen again.



I have checked all of the old outlets and replaced them as I thought I might be shorting back through the common. I am stumped as to what I should do. I had an electrician come out and take a look and he is stumped as well. Any advice?

Rick from Iowa (in an old home)

Answers


Diamond Feedback Medal for All Time! 1,023 Feedbacks
July 19, 20050 found this helpful

Hi Rick
One of the ancient wires or connections blew faster than the breaker.
You need a "tracer". That is a tool that you can get at electrical wholesalers and tool suppliers for tradesmen. It emits a tone when it is near a cable under power. You just follow along the cable, guided by the tone. Where the tone stops, that's where the break in the wire is.

Don't be tempted to just bypass that section. Dig it out and repair it properly. Otherwise, an intermittent contact could make contact again during a storm or any slight movement of the house and could cause it to burn down.

Have FUN!
DearWebby
webby.com/humor

 
By Pam (Guest Post)
July 20, 20050 found this helpful

I had the same type of thing happen to my home. It turned out to be the ground wire had melted. The old homes used aluminum and with todays load it is common for it to melt and break away if something causes a short. The electrician I had come out was resently repairing all the schools in our area with the same problem due to overloads in the classrooms now with computers and such. Anyway his solution was to put a grounding rod (lighting rod) and ground the entire home to the rod. Ask your electrician of this posability.

 
July 8, 20100 found this helpful

One of the below answers is probably correct, but I think the real answer is to call in a different electrician. There is no problem of this type that a competent electrician should not be able to find and fix; they will have tools like the tracer mentioned below. And as ThriftyFun wrote, it's not safe to just work around this; it needs to be fixed.

 
Answer this Question

March 23, 2019

Every time I turn the 20 amp breaker on it trips back off, I am wondering if it's the breaker or a short.


Read More Answers

September 30, 2017

My recessed lights in my home's ceiling trip the breaker only when the temperature is a little colder inside the house. The only thing on the circuit is the lights in my family room, hallway, laundry room, upstairs steps light, and the guest bedroom. We have had the house two years and had no problem until now. Here are some clues I have discovered.

After resetting the breaker the small light on the steps will work, but when I turn on any other light on the circuit it trips.

After several hours and the temperature rises in the house the lights work no problem.

it seemed to start when we had the painters in and the light switch covers were taken off. But even when they were still off later in the day when the temperature went up they worked again.

While experiencing breaker tripping, I disconnected each switch to see if there was a bad switch, but no luck the breaker would still trip.

The only thing left I can think of is a bad breaker, but I have never heard of one being sensitive to cold temperatures. Any ideas?

Read More Answers

May 13, 2017

I wired a new room addition to my house. I'm using the 30 amp breaker and 12-2 wire. Every time I turn the power on power comes to the room, but when I flip the light switch it trips the breaker.

How come?

Read More Answers

April 17, 2017

What could cause the wiring in my house to maintain a low voltage current when the main breaker is turned OFF? We have unplugged all of the surge protectors, cable boosters, computers, microwave, etc. that may have a capacitor allowing for potential bleed-back. We have even turned of the external breakers for the HVAC unit and still have a low voltage current (<20volts) running through the lines.


Read More Answers

March 10, 2017

I have a 220 breaker that hums when turned on. It goes to a second breaker at the AC. Then that breaker feeds my well. I replaced both breakers. When the AO 200 a60 breaker is on at the AC box that feeds the well, it makes the breaker in the main box hum for a few seconds and then it trips the main box breaker. Any help please!


Read More Answers

August 8, 2016

I turned off the breaker to fix a lighting fixture. After the repair, we went to turn the breaker back on. It's a double one, and when we flipped it, the bottom one goes all the way on, but the top one gets stuck in the middle and sparks. We unplugged everything on the breaker (it's a heavy load - all the upstairs, stove, washer, and outdoor lights) and let it rest a while.

The same thing happened. We tightened the connections; same thing. We replaced the breaker, with the same thing happening, it still keeps sparking and the top one won't reset. Guessing it's time to call an electrician?

Read More Answers

February 13, 2016

I plugged a small space heater into an outlet in my bedroom. I then showered, dressed, returned to the bathroom, plugged in my hair dryer, and lost all power in bedroom/bathroom/hall.

I flipped all the switches in the circuit breaker panel, but that failed. Help!

Answers

February 15, 20160 found this helpful

It sounds as though the circuit was overloaded, so resetting the breaker is correct.

To reset a breaker, first shut off then turn on. Most breakers have a red flag in a window to signify they are tripped. This , I assume is what you already did.

Breakers, on an overload, will trip due to heat (kind of like the thermal overload that will prevent your hair dryer from running when it overheats), and may need to cool down before they can be reset. So you could try resetting again now without the hair dryer and heater plugged in. (the more things you can unplug or switch off of the dead circuit, the better)

If that doesn't do it, look for an AFCI or GFCI receptacle that may have tripped and reset it.

If that still doesn't do it, then an electrician would be needed to determine if the breaker is bad, the wiring has problems or a receptacle is bad.

Good Luck.

 
Answer this Question

October 11, 2015

I have a 42 in. plasma, a lamp, another smaller TV, a DVD, and a Dish box connected to brand new surge protector. I went to turn my TV on and everything connected to that surge protector went out.

Do you think maybe it had a sudden surge and it tripped the protector or is it the breaker box?

Answers


Silver Feedback Medal for All Time! 337 Feedbacks
October 12, 20151 found this helpful

Well, have you checked the breaker? Go turn it off and on and see if that fixes things. I do not think that that is a heavy load on that breaker. Are you sure that that is the only outlet that is on it? We have an electrician who often comments. Let's hope he can give you some advice.

 
Read More Answers

July 21, 2015

I just replaced a fuse box with circuit breakers. Now my stove is not getting hot. It just gets warm. They just put a 40 amp breaker in and it is still not hot.


Answers


Silver Feedback Medal for All Time! 337 Feedbacks
July 23, 20150 found this helpful

Time to call in a certified electrician, I should think. That is what I would do.

 
Read More Answers

June 4, 2015

When I run my two window units at the same time why does the breaker arc/spark? It rarely trips the breaker.


Answers

June 5, 20150 found this helpful

That breaker is worn out and/or damaged. They are not repairable. Replace it, and smash the bad breaker with a hammer to ensure it will never be used to burn your house down.

 
Read More Answers

April 19, 2015

I have tried every breaker in the box, but cannot turn off the stove top unit. Help!

By Rdm

Answers

April 20, 20150 found this helpful

If you turned off the main breaker and killed power to your entire house and the stove stayed on, then your stove is not on that panel.

A residence typically only has one panel in the house, but confirm you do not have two.

If you do not, it may be possible that your stove is connected directly to the incoming main. If this is the case, it is not legal and you need to get it corrected immediately.

Consider getting an electrician involved and the electrician may have to get the utility involved to get this fixed.

 
Read More Answers

March 21, 2015

What would it be if you turned off your main breaker, then turned it back on and there was one breaker to a bedroom that was tripped and could not be turned back on?

By Patty P.

Answers


Silver Feedback Medal for All Time! 337 Feedbacks
March 22, 20150 found this helpful

It would be time to call an electrician to come and change the breaker.

 
Read More Answers

February 4, 2015

I woke up this morning to one entire side of my kitchen not working including the main overhead light and dining area light. The other side has my large items and it appears they are fine. I checked my box and one of the circuits had tripped. I tried to reset it, but it would not. It would trip again and it sparked. I have unplugged and turned everything off and it still will not stay on. Any suggestions?

By Joye J

Answers


Bronze Answer Medal for All Time! 220 Answers
February 4, 20150 found this helpful

From your description, it appears you need to have an electrician check the problem to see what options you may have for repair.

 
Read More Answers

February 1, 2015

We had a storm and somehow ended up with a leak in the roof. The leak is directly over the breaker box. The electricity had gone out during the storm. When the power restored only some of the rooms had power. My concern is, could the wet breaker box lead to a fire?

By Jerry

Answers


Bronze Answer Medal for All Time! 220 Answers
February 1, 20150 found this helpful

I am not an electrician, however, I would definitely have an electrician check the breaker box, etc., for any possible problems. You do not know what happened and it is, of course, best to be safe than sorry!

 

Silver Feedback Medal for All Time! 337 Feedbacks
February 2, 20150 found this helpful

Any time you have water near electricity, it is trouble. Call an electrician at once to repair the problem. This is not something to attempt to fix yourself.

 
Answer this Question
<< First< PreviousNext >
Categories
Home and Garden Home Improvement Lighting and ElectricMarch 22, 2012
Pages
More
👒
Mother's Day Ideas!
🐰
Easter Ideas!
🌻
Gardening
Facebook
Pinterest
YouTube
Instagram
Categories
Better LivingBudget & FinanceBusiness and LegalComputersConsumer AdviceCoronavirusCraftsEducationEntertainmentFood and RecipesHealth & BeautyHolidays and PartiesHome and GardenMake Your OwnOrganizingParentingPetsPhotosTravel and RecreationWeddings
Published by ThriftyFun.
Desktop Page | View Mobile
Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Contact Us
Generated 2024-03-28 18:48:51 in 6 secs. ⛅️️
© 1997-2024 by Cumuli, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
https://www.thriftyfun.com/Troubleshooting-Circuit-Breaker-Problems-1.html