Tripped Circuit Breakers

A tripped circuit breaker is generally caused by three reasons; the circuit is overloaded, a short circuit, or a ground fault. You reset the circuit breaker and it trips again. At this point you need to stop and identify the root cause of the problem that is making the circuit breaker trip. Circuit breakers are designed to trip and turn off power to a circuit when there is an overload, a short circuit, or a ground fault.

 An overloaded circuit is the primary reason for a circuit breaker tripping and occurs when a circuit has more electrical load than it is supposed to have. When more current runs through the circuit than the circuit was intended to take, the circuit breaker is designed to "break the circuit." Circuit breakers come in different ratings that determine how much current they will allow to flow through the circuit. If a 15 Amp circuit breaker is protecting a 15 Amp circuit, and 20 Amps of current start to flow through it because of overload from a hair dryer, TV, or small appliance that are all connected to the same circuit and on at the same time then the circuit breaker will trip to prevent overheating of the circuit. If the circuit breaker did not trip an electrical fire would result.

How to fix tripped circuit breaker problems:

1. The most common reason the breaker trips is that there is simply too much plugged into one outlet or multiple outlets connected to the same circuit. If this is the case move lamps, irons, hair dryers and other heavy power consuming devices to a different circuit that is not being heavily used or simply turn off some of the devices on the circuit to reduce the load.

2. Loose connections are a common cause for circuit breakers to trip. Turn off the power and check outlets for a loose wire and the electrical service panel hot wire connected to the circuit breaker to see if it has become loose. Retighten the connections if necessary.

3. If these suggestions do not solve the problem you may have a more serious problem such as a Short Circuit or Ground Fault

4. A short circuit is a more serious reason for a breaker tripping. A short is caused when the hot wire (black) touches another hot wire or touches a neutral wire (white). It can also be caused if there is a break in a wire in the circuit. Shorts are a bit more difficult to diagnose because they are usually caused by the wiring in your home or in something you have plugged into an outlet. To remedy a short circuit do the following:

• Confirm that power is off at the outlet into which your device is plugged.

• Inspect your power cords for damage or a melted appearance.

• Check your outlets and plugs for the smell of burning or brown or black discoloration.

• Check the insulation on the wires to make sure it is not cracked and touching a black and

• white wire together.

• If you do not find the problem, repeat the process for all the outlets in the circuit.

•  Turn off all light on the circuit.

•  Unplug everything from the outlets.

•  Go to the electrical service panel and reset the breaker.

•  If it trips again immediately, the short lies in the house wiring (outlets or switches).

• If the breaker does not trip turn on each light fixture not plugged into the wall.

• If the breaker still has not tripped, the short circuit lies in something you are plugging into the outlet.

• Systematically plug each item into the outlet until you find the faulty appliance or lamp and then have it repaired.

5. A Ground Fault condition exists when the hot wire (black) touches the ground wire (bare copper) or the side of a metal outlet box (because the metal box is connected to the ground wire). The ground fault is a type of short circuit and can be remedied the same as a short circuit except you must also check that the hot wire (black) is not touching the side of the metal outlet box or the ground wire.

If you continue to have tripped circuit breakers contact a professional electrician to remedy the problem.