Any electricians in the house? I have a breaker that tripped. I reset it and it tripped again. The area it controls has had no changes recently nor has anything else in the house. Is it possible the breaker has simply gone bad and needs to be replaced?
-SB
Common reasons for your circuit breaker tripping are because of either a circuit overload, short circuit or a ground fault. Here’s some information about the differences between a circuit overload, a short circuit and a ground fault to help you solve your circuit breaker and electrical systems issues.
Unplug everything on that circuit, reset the C/B and see if it trips. Ifmit doesn’t trip, plug back in, one device at a time and see which one causes the C/B to trip. If the circuit breaker tips with no loads on it, the C/B could be bad, or you could have a short to ground.
Not an electrician but have dealt with this issue over the years. Here’s some items to check:
— check that no rodents chewed wires in the wall or attic on that circuit.
— check outlets and switches on the circuit. They can go bad and more likely than the breaker itself.
— nails driven for hanging pictures can short out wires (don’t ask how I know this).
— overloads: too many items drawing too much current on the circuit.
— a faulty lamp or appliance using the circuit.
— an outdoor outlet that is on the circuit that got water in it.
Good luck.
Yes, breaker can fail just like that. Simply power off the panel, pry the end of the breaker up that is toward the middle with a screw driver. Pop it out and tape off or cap the wire you disconnect from it and power the panel back up.
Take the breaker to Home Depot or lowes and find the exact replacement, go home. Power the panel back off, re attach the wire and plug the breaker back in. Power up.
If it trips again, it wasn’t the breaker. Call an electrician. Most times it will work.