Your circuit breakers protect your home from electrical issues by cutting off the flow of electricity to outlets, switches, and fixtures whenever excess current flow poses a hazard. Circuit breakers help prevent electrical shocks, fires, and damage to your wiring and appliances, but they can also cause inconvenience when they trip frequently.
If you find yourself constantly resetting your circuit breakers, diagnosing the issue can help you resolve the problem quickly. Below, we’ll cover how you can troubleshoot your circuit breakers.
What Is a Circuit Breaker?
A circuit breaker is a safety device that trips, or switches off, to interrupt the flow of electricity in your home. If a room partially or fully loses power or one or more lights, devices, or outlets stop working while other areas of the house remain unaffected, it’s likely that the breaker on that circuit has tripped. You can check on your circuit breaker by finding your home’s electrical panel and looking for a switch or switches that have moved from “on” to “off.”
Although there are many reasons a circuit breaker might trip, the three most common ones are:
- Circuit Overloads
- Short Circuits
- Ground Faults
Troubleshooting these issues can help you discover what’s causing your circuit breaker to trip and know when you need an electrician’s help to resolve the issue.
Circuit Overloads
When too much electrical current flows through a circuit, it overloads, causing the wires to heat up and trip the circuit breaker. Most breakers trip when the current flow exceeds 80% of the circuit’s full capacity.
Usually, an overload occurs when one high-powered device or several devices are plugged into the same circuit and drawing too much current while they are running. For instance, if your blender shares a circuit with other appliances, like your microwave and coffee maker, it could trip the circuit breaker when you turn it on. To prevent an overload, avoid plugging several appliances into one circuit.
High-powered appliances that contribute to overloads may include:
- Air conditioners and HVAC systems
- Kitchen appliances like refrigerators, microwaves, and toasters
- Bathroom appliances like curling irons and hair dryers
How to Troubleshoot an Overload
Flickering or dimming lights, buzzing sounds, and a sudden loss of power can all be signs of an electrical overload. If you suspect that an overload is causing a breaker to trip, determine which outlets, switches, and fixtures are associated with that breaker, then turn off every switch and shut down and unplug all the electronic devices on that circuit.
After you take these steps, proceed as follows:
- If you discover that a tripped breaker has flipped to the “off” position, switch it back “on.”
- If the room has plenty of natural light or you have a bright light source, look for damage to your outlets, fixtures, and wiring. If you notice an issue, you’ll need to turn the breaker back off and hire an electrician to assess the damage.
- If no damage is visible, leave the breaker on and turn on your lights, one at a time. Next, plug in and turn on your appliances, one by one.
- If your breaker trips again, check to see if the last appliance you plugged in draws a lot of power. If it does, consider moving that appliance to an outlet on another circuit or using it only when all other devices on the same circuit are turned off.
Should your breakers continue to trip after this troubleshooting process, hire a professional to check your wiring. A licensed electrician can upgrade your circuit so it can handle a greater load or install dedicated circuits for high-powered appliances.
Short Circuits
Electricity flows along the path of least resistance, and when two or more active and/or neutral wires touch each other, it can cause a short circuit that allows an excessive amount of current to pass through them. When an active, or “hot,” wire touches another hot or neutral wire in a device, switch, or outlet, it causes a large amount of current to flow through the circuit. Common causes of short circuits include:
- Split wires caused by corrosion, rodent damage, or contact with sharp objects
- Damage to wiring, components, or connections in an appliance
- Loose wires that slip out of place and touch other wires or components
- Faulty components like switches, outlets, fixtures, cords, and plugs
How to Troubleshoot a Short Circuit
Short circuits cause electrical surges that will immediately trip their breaker and may also produce sparks, popping sounds, and smoke. If you think you might have a short circuit, follow these steps:
- Turn off the main power source, then make sure the affected circuit’s breaker is flipped off.
- Unplug all the appliances, turn off all the switches on the circuit, and look for discoloration, cracking, burning, melting, or damaged wiring on your devices, switches, outlet panels, and the insulation around them.
- If you find any damage, hire a licensed electrician to thoroughly inspect all of the electrical connections and wiring on the circuit and repair or replace any faulty components or wiring.
- If no damage is visible, you can restore power and reset the breaker to see if it trips again right away, which could indicate a short.
Short circuits are extremely hazardous. They can release huge amounts of heat, start fires, permanently damage your electronics, and cause serious electric shocks, burns, or even electrocution. If you suspect that you have a short circuit, don’t try to fix the problem yourself—call a licensed electrician for help.
Ground Faults
A ground fault occurs when current escapes its intended path and flows to the ground. For instance, when a hot wire touches a low-resistance conductor that is connected to the earth, like a switch box, wire, device, or stream of water, electricity may flow through the secondary conductor instead of its primary circuit. The sudden loss of resistance leads to a sharp increase in current flow through your wires, which triggers the breaker and shuts off power. Common causes of ground faults include:
- Water leaks
- Damaged or defective wires or appliances
- Damaged or faulty ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) devices
Ground faults can be especially dangerous in damp areas like bathrooms, kitchens, patios, and decks. Like short circuits, they can cause electrical fires, shocks, electrocution, and other damage.
If you suspect a ground fault, identify and shut off power to the affected circuit and call an electrician to investigate the issue. Don’t try to fix the problem yourself; you could risk serious injury, or worse.
Additional Troubleshooting Tips
Sometimes, your circuit breaker may trip because the breaker itself has gone bad. If your breaker switch feels loose when you reset it or if it feels hot to the touch, it could be defective. Always use caution when you’re troubleshooting your breakers, and call a professional if they keep tripping. A licensed electrician has the necessary training and equipment to identify and repair or replace your problem breakers.
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A breaker that won’t stop tripping is a hassle that can become hazardous if it’s left unchecked. If you’re struggling with frequently tripping breakers, reach out to Birmingham Mister Sparky for fast, expert electrical service in Birmingham, AL. Don’t put up with any malarkey; call Mister Sparky today!
